A retail display is an effective and necessary tool to build brand awareness and maximize product sales in today’s competitive marketplace. Consumers can choose among a countless number of product labels and are often overwhelmed when thinking about what to buy. We all know it’s busy and competitive in the retail business. Attracting customer attention is the most important factor to survive in today’s retail economy. In this blog we will review 5 basic steps that will provide the basic building blocks for how to design retail store fixtures that sell.
Step 1- Analyze your competition
The easiest and most rational way to start thinking about your ideal custom retail display solution is to understand what your direct competitors are using to drive sales. How do they differentiate from the rest of the pack at retail?
Step 2- Target you audience
Think about who is mainly interested in your product? Find retail fixtures that appeal to your customer base by matching their common taste and buying behavior. Make your product exclusive by presenting your brand on retail display racks that focuses on targeting a special group- your ideal buyer. This is an effective strategy to increase a product’s value and improve your margins by increasing perceived value of your product.
Step 3- Communicate your brand message
Integrate into your POP display additional information about special features and benefits of your product. Use creative signs and graphics that both are eye-catching and informative. This is a great tool to help your target customer understand your product’s attributes, and it will give your product a big advantage against competitive products on the shelf.
Step 4- Find trusted partners
Do some research about designers and manufacturers in the retail display business and check their competence thoroughly. Find retail display design ideas that can possibly used for your own roll-out program. Compare the service of several companies. Don’t hesitate to ask your potential partner about their insights and get their advice. Select a merchandising solution company with a track record, outstanding design talent, industry-specific competence and creative problem solving skills.
Step 5- Work with the experts
Discuss with the experts your needs and explain your goals. Consider the product to be displayed, your ideal customer base and the locations you want to install your retail fixtures. Understand how your retail fixture partner will execute the entire program, including important issues like delivery, fulfillment and installation. Creating a successful retail fixture program for your product is absolutely essential to driving sales. While the process can be complex, following these 5 basic steps will ensure you are on the right track.
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 Hollen 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. Jim Hollen 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.