The T-shirt, while often overlooked, is one of the greatest inventions of all time. A perfect combination of comfort, affordability, and self-expression, T-shirts are for everyone. T-shirts were invented in the late 1800’s by laborers who cut their jump suits in half as a way of keeping cool during the hot summer months. Shortly thereafter, the U.S. Navy began using them as undershirts for their servicemen. Today, the worldwide custom t-shirt market exceeds $4 billion in annual sales. T-shirts are sold at every type of retailer imaginable- from gift shops and specialty apparel stores to grocery and sporting goods stores. Given the variety of t-shirts and sizes available, T-shirts can be challenging to merchandise. So, what is the best way to display a t-shirt? The answer is: it depends. There are a host of factors that determine the most effective type of t-shirt display to use, including required inventory of t-shirts, floor space availability, and breadth of product selection. Let’s look at 10 t-shirt apparel booth displays that are designed to increase sales in different retail environments.
T-Shirt Cubby Displays
T-Shirt cubby displays are a great way to display t-shirts. In addition to being high-capacity fixtures, they provide a space for shoppers to see the graphic on each t-shirt. Each cubby can hold a dozen or more t-shirts. Many t-shirt cubby displays spin so they can be placed almost anywhere in the store- even in corners that might otherwise go unused.
Below is an example of a 4-sided spinning 20-cubby display which holds 240 t-shirts. We made the display out of bamboo so it is also highly sustainable.
Not all 4-sided t-shirt cubby displays need to incorporate 20 cubbies. The example shown below is a 16-cubby display. Although it is designed for fewer t-shirts, we added cap pockets on top to capitalize on cross-merchandising opportunities.
Brands and retailers who are more budget conscious might be interested in a wire version of a T-shirt cubby display like the Calcutta example shown below. This display has the same carrying capacity as the wood versions and can accommodate t-shirt graphic panels as well as a 2-sided cap attachment with a header.
For small format stores who might not have the space or might not want to invest as much in t-shirt inventory, a 10-cubby t-shirt display is a good option. The Cherished Girl spinning cubby display shown below is a colorful example.
Wall-Mounted T-Shirt Displays
One of the smartest things space-constrained retailers can do is take advantage of wall space. Retailers with slatwall can hang t-shirts on face-outs for a front-facing presentation or on apparel bars for a side-facing presentation. Another approach is to use wall-mounted cabinets. The cabinets can show the t-shirt graphic on the outside of the cabinet while holding neatly-folded inventory on the inside.
Hybrid T-Shirt Cubby and Hang Bar Displays
Combining cubbies with t-shirt hanging accessories is an effective way to create a mixed merchandiser. The example below features 10 cubbies, a middle shelf and hang bar below it, a brand-building header, and informational side graphics.
Free-standing Multi-Product Apparel Displays
T-shirts are also a good fit for freestanding multi-product displays that use waterfalls, faceouts or jet rails. The 2 examples below show how t-shirts can be cross-merchandised with shorts, caps, and shoes. The first is an example of a customized version of our stock 4-WAY-EXT apparel fixture. The second is the same stock display without customization.
A similar approach can be used to create a 2-sided display. The Uscape Apparel display shown below can be found in college book stores across the U.S. It utilizes waterfalls to hang t-shirts and features custom branding on the base and header.
Combining faceouts and apparel bars like the Free Country SFL-HRACK shown below is a good way to attract shopper attention with a front-facing presentation on the ends while using apparel bars on the middle panels to pack in more product. Our example shows jackets, but the same display could be used for t-shirts. You get the idea.
Similar options are available by using another RICH LTD. stock fixture called the WD-HG-TGW-SG. This example shows a merchandising mix that includes folded t-shirts on shelves, side-facing t-shirts hanging on an apparel bar, and front-facing t-shirts on waterfalls.
There are a variety of ways to merchandise t-shirts. Selecting the right type of display for your unique retail environment will help to ensure maximum sales impact
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Jim Hollen is the owner and President of RICH LTD. (www.richltd.com), a 35+ year-old California-based point-of-purchase display, retail store fixture, and merchandising solutions firm which has been named among the Top 50 U.S. POP display companies for 9 consecutive years. A former management consultant with McKinsey & Co. and graduate of Stanford Business School, Jim has served more than 3000 brands and retailers over more than 20 years and has authored nearly 500 blogs and e-Books on a wide range of topics related to POP displays, store fixtures, and retail merchandising.
Jim has been to China more than 50 times and has worked directly with more than 30 factories in Asia across a broad range of material categories, including metal, wood, acrylic, injection molded and vacuum formed plastic, corrugated, glass, LED lighting, digital media player, and more. He also oversees RICH LTD.’s domestic manufacturing operation and has experience manufacturing, sourcing, and importing from numerous Asian countries as well as Vietnam and Mexico.
His experience working with brands and retailers spans more than 25 industries such as food and beverage, apparel, consumer electronics, cosmetics/beauty, sporting goods, automotive, pet, gifts and souvenirs, toys, wine and spirits, home improvement, jewelry, eyewear, footwear, consumer products, mass market retail, specialty retail, convenience stores, and numerous other product/retailer categories.