Boost Your Sales with These 8 Visual Merchandising Best Practices for Retail Displays

Written by Daisie Team

Published on 19 June 2023 8 min read

1. Create Eye-Catching Window Displays

2. Utilize Effective Color Theory

3. Balance and Symmetry in Your Displays

4. Use Appropriate Lighting

5. Tell a Story with Your Display

6. Highlight Special Discounts and Promotions

8. Rotate and Refresh Your Displays

Visual merchandising is a powerful tool for retailers looking to boost their sales and create a memorable shopping experience. In this blog, we will explore eight visual merchandising best practices for creating compelling retail displays that will help you attract customers, increase sales, and stand out from the competition.

1. Create Eye-Catching Window Displays

Window displays are the first impression customers get of your store, so it's essential to make them count. Here are some tips for creating eye-catching window displays:

Focus on a single theme: Choose a theme that resonates with your target audience and showcases your products effectively. For example, a winter-themed display might feature cozy sweaters, warm blankets, and hot cocoa mugs.
Highlight your best-selling products: Showcase products that have proven to be popular among your customers. This will not only attract attention but also encourage shoppers to step inside your store.
Use bold colors and unique props: Stand out from nearby competitors by using striking colors and attention-grabbing props that align with your brand's identity.
Keep it simple: Avoid overcrowding your window display, as this can make it difficult for customers to focus on individual products. Instead, aim for a clean and uncluttered look.

By incorporating these visual merchandising best practices for creating compelling retail displays, your window displays will captivate customers and entice them to explore your store further.

2. Utilize Effective Color Theory

Color is a powerful element in visual merchandising, as it can evoke emotions and influence purchasing decisions. To create compelling retail displays, it's essential to understand and apply color theory effectively. Here are some tips to help you make the most of color in your displays:

Understand color psychology: Different colors can have various effects on people's emotions and behavior. For example, red often conveys excitement and urgency, while blue can evoke feelings of trust and calmness. Choose colors that align with the emotions you want to evoke in your customers.
Use contrasting colors: Contrasting colors can help your products stand out and draw attention to your display. For instance, you might use complementary colors like blue and orange, or a monochromatic color scheme with different shades of the same hue.
Consider your target audience: Different colors may appeal to different customer segments. For example, bright, bold colors might attract younger shoppers, while more subdued tones could be more appealing to an older demographic.
Stay consistent with your branding: Use colors that reflect your brand's identity and create a cohesive visual experience throughout your store.

By applying these visual merchandising best practices for creating compelling retail displays, you can use color effectively to enhance your displays, attract customers, and boost sales.

3. Balance and Symmetry in Your Displays

A well-balanced and symmetrical display is visually appealing and can help you create a more organized and comfortable shopping experience for your customers. Here are a few tips to achieve balance and symmetry in your retail displays:

Use the rule of thirds: Divide your display into thirds, both horizontally and vertically, and place the most important products or focal points at the intersections of these lines. This can create a more visually interesting and balanced display.
Arrange products by size: Start with the largest items in the center and gradually decrease the size of the products as you move outwards. This creates a sense of balance and harmony in your display.
Play with symmetry and asymmetry: While symmetrical displays can be calming and organized, asymmetrical displays can add visual interest and energy. You can experiment with both types of arrangements to find the best balance for your products and target audience.
Balance colors and textures: Distribute contrasting colors and textures evenly throughout the display to create a balanced and visually appealing look.

By incorporating balance and symmetry into your visual merchandising best practices for creating compelling retail displays, you can make your products more attractive and engaging, leading to increased sales and customer satisfaction.

4. Use Appropriate Lighting

Lighting plays a significant role in creating an inviting and attractive retail environment. By using appropriate lighting techniques, you can enhance your products, set the mood, and draw attention to your displays. Here are some tips for using lighting effectively in your visual merchandising best practices for creating compelling retail displays:

Highlight focal points: Use spotlights or directional lighting to draw attention to key products or areas in your display. This can help guide customers' eyes and create a sense of focus.
Layer your lighting: Combine ambient, task, and accent lighting to create depth and interest in your displays. Ambient lighting provides overall illumination, task lighting helps customers see and interact with products, and accent lighting highlights specific items or areas.
Choose the right color temperature: Different color temperatures can create different moods and affect how your products look. Warm lighting can create a cozy and inviting atmosphere, while cool lighting can make a space feel clean and modern. Consider the mood you want to create and the colors of your products when selecting lighting.
Experiment with light and shadow: Use lighting to create interesting contrasts and shadows within your display. This can add depth and visual interest, making your products even more eye-catching.

By using appropriate lighting techniques, you can enhance the overall look and feel of your retail space, making it more visually appealing and engaging for customers. This, in turn, can boost sales and improve the shopping experience.

5. Tell a Story with Your Display

Creating a narrative with your display is a powerful way to connect with your customers and make your products more memorable. By telling a story through your visual merchandising, you can evoke emotions and create a sense of context that helps customers imagine how the products can fit into their lives. Here are some tips for incorporating storytelling into your visual merchandising best practices for creating compelling retail displays:

Choose a theme: Start by selecting a theme that relates to your products or brand. This could be anything from a seasonal event, like a holiday or a sale, to a lifestyle concept, like fitness or travel. A clear theme will help guide your display design and make it easier to create a cohesive story.
Use props and visuals: Props and visuals can help bring your story to life and make it more engaging for customers. For example, if your theme is a beach vacation, you could use sand, beach chairs, and umbrellas to create a realistic setting that showcases your products.
Create a sense of movement: Arrange your products and props in a way that suggests motion or progression, like a journey or a timeline. This can help guide customers through your display and encourage them to explore it more fully.
Include a call-to-action: Encourage customers to interact with your display by incorporating a call-to-action, such as trying on a product or asking a sales associate for more information. This can help create a more immersive experience and make your story even more memorable.

Telling a story with your display is an effective way to engage your customers and make your products stand out. By using these tips, you can create compelling retail displays that not only look great but also connect with your audience on a deeper level.

6. Highlight Special Discounts and Promotions

Customers love a good deal, and highlighting special discounts and promotions in your retail displays can be a surefire way to grab their attention and boost sales. To make the most of these offers, consider the following visual merchandising best practices for creating compelling retail displays:

Make it visible: Ensure that your promotional signage is easy to spot and read. Place it in high-traffic areas or near the entrance of your store to catch the eyes of passersby.
Use bold colors and fonts: To make your promotions stand out, use bold colors and fonts that contrast with the rest of your display. This will help draw attention to the deal and make it more enticing for customers.
Keep it simple: When it comes to showcasing special offers, less is often more. Keep your promotional messaging clear and concise so that customers can quickly understand the deal and how to take advantage of it.
Create a sense of urgency: Encourage customers to act quickly by emphasizing that the promotion is for a limited time only. This can create a sense of urgency that motivates shoppers to make a purchase before the offer expires.
Showcase the savings: Help customers visualize the value of the promotion by displaying the original price alongside the discounted price, or by using graphics that illustrate the percentage off or the amount saved.

By following these visual merchandising best practices for highlighting special discounts and promotions, you can create retail displays that not only attract customers but also encourage them to take advantage of your great deals, ultimately boosting your sales.

One of the easiest ways to help customers find what they're looking for and encourage them to buy more is by grouping related products together in your retail displays. This approach, known as cross-merchandising, can lead to increased sales and a more enjoyable shopping experience for your customers. Here are some visual merchandising best practices for creating compelling retail displays with grouped products:

Think like a customer: When grouping products, consider how your customers would use them together. For example, if you're displaying kitchen gadgets, you might pair a cutting board with a set of knives, or a coffee maker with coffee mugs.
Create themed displays: Use themes to inspire your product groupings, such as seasonal items, gift ideas, or specific color schemes. This can make shopping more engaging and help customers find related items they may have otherwise overlooked.
Use signage to guide shoppers: Clearly label product groupings with signs that describe the theme or purpose of the display. This will help customers understand the connection between the items and make it easier for them to find what they need.
Offer bundled deals: Encourage customers to purchase multiple related items by offering a special price or discount when they buy the entire set. This can provide an added incentive for shoppers to buy more than one product at a time.

By applying these visual merchandising best practices for grouping related products together in your retail displays, you can create a more organized and appealing shopping environment that encourages customers to explore and buy more items, ultimately increasing your sales.

8. Rotate and Refresh Your Displays

Keeping your retail environment fresh and engaging is key to maintaining customer interest and driving sales. Regularly rotating and updating your retail displays is an important part of visual merchandising best practices for creating compelling retail displays. Here are some tips for effectively rotating and refreshing your displays:

Establish a schedule: Set a regular schedule for updating your displays, such as every few weeks or monthly. This ensures that your store always has something new and interesting for customers to discover.
Monitor sales data: Pay attention to what items are selling well and which ones are not. Use this information to make informed decisions about which products to feature in your displays and when to swap them out for something new.
Utilize holidays and events: Take advantage of seasonal events and holidays to inspire your display updates. This will keep your store in sync with the changing interests and needs of your customers throughout the year.
Change up the layout: In addition to updating the products in your displays, consider rearranging the layout of your store from time to time. This can create a sense of discovery for repeat customers and make your store feel fresh and exciting.
Involve your team: Encourage your staff to contribute ideas for new displays and give them the opportunity to help create them. This can foster a sense of ownership and pride in the store, leading to a more positive work environment and better customer service.

By consistently rotating and refreshing your retail displays, you'll be able to keep your store environment interesting and engaging for your customers, making it more likely that they'll return and recommend your store to others. Implementing these visual merchandising best practices for creating compelling retail displays will help boost your sales and keep your business thriving.

If you enjoyed this blog post and want to dive deeper into the world of visual development for fantasy settings, be sure to check out Kit Buss's workshop, 'Visual Development for Fantasy World-Building'. This workshop will teach you the essential skills and techniques needed to create visually stunning and immersive fantasy worlds for your stories and projects.