 For many retailers the approaching holidays overpower their store display intentions. The holidays have a tendency to engulf the store, your precious time, and sometimes this causes our concentration to focus on the holidays rather than the season.
There are alternatives when determining the theme you choose to use when decorating your store. Although major retail holidays are the obvious choice, don’t forget to consider the potential of each calendar month. There are various seasonal trends and themes, which you can use to remind your customers of possible purchasing opportunities. By exploring each month, the new associations made will show you and your customers how to better plan for what’s to come.
Past Examples of Monthly Themes
• December Images – customer connections
• Holiday Events – decorating, hostess gifts, new holiday wardrobe
• Boxing Day – sales, bargains, busy cash registers, holiday returns, leftovers
• Snow and Colder Weather – the cocooning trend to stay comfortable and warm at home
• Vacations – thoughts of warm getaways and planning for a winter escape
• January Images – customer connections
• New Year’s Celebrations – parties, home entertaining, food and drink accessories, New Year resolutions
• Holiday Tear Down – final bargains, naked homes ready for new decorating
• Winter Sports – skiing, skating, tobogganing, hockey, curling (all things that can be easily accessorized)
• Gift Show Shopping – looking for new colours, new store layout, new product lines and customized shopping.
By planning ahead you can make the upcoming holiday season an effortless change.
Tips for easy transition
1. Theme your displays to the seasonal connections, such as spring bulbs emerging, spring rain falling, garden related topics and perhaps personal pampering to rejuvenation after a long winter, remember to explore your merchandising connections.
2. Try hanging colourful banners from floor to ceiling in the store to increase impact and help the customers’ eye follow through the store. The proper use of colour can also increase traffic flow and direct attention.
3. Use holiday accents to add pizzazz to displays rather than putting all of your attention and money into large holiday product lines which limit the carry forward options for inventory.
4. When in doubt, remember that less is more. Holiday specific gifts are required to some extent, but keep moderation in mind when shopping. Also try to keep displays simple and concentrated and, most importantly, keep perceived value in your sites at all times. Just because you have lots of stock doesn’t mean all of it needs to be on display.
If 24 bunnies came in, think about how you would like them viewed. You could display all of them so they appear to be over stocked and sure to go on sale or you could display a few of them as a special holiday edition, which might lead people to think they are in limited supply and need to be purchased right away. Your customers’ perception is the most important thing when designing store displays.
Leslie Groves completed the horticultural technician’s diploma program at Niagara College as well as the retail floristry program at Humber College, where she has instructed. She also has a consulting company called interior elements. For more information, visit www.ieretailsuccess.com.
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