How to Wow Passers-by with your Display
How do you wow passers-by with your window displays?
Start by telling a strong story – and use your storefront and displays as your narrative.
This was the central message from a recent webinar sponsored by POS software firm Vend. Melissa Gonzalez of pop-up architects the Lion’esque Group had some ideas about how to build up a strong story – even on a shoestring budget. Here are some takeaways:
Start with a strong theme: Smart luggage brand Raden used one simple story line – a year of travel – to tell its story. Its store displayed 365 suspended suitcases to signify a year’s worth of possible sunrises and sunsets. The luggage seems to ‘float’, a way of reminding buyers that they have inbuilt weight sensors. A video in the shop window shows a model boxing with a suitcase – to underline its durability.
At Puerto Rico bookstore The Bookmark Boutique, a poem on the external-facing window exhorted passers-by to ‘Bookmark Your Next Adventure’. Inside, the owners carried the theme throughout the store with a low-cost ‘zip-line’ of books to emphasise the adventure of reading.
Incorporate opportunities to learn: Raden uses video content to demonstrate the luggage brand’s MoFi charging capacity and other features. Bookmark’s ‘Browse Bar’ gives consumers suggestions based on their reading interests, and a digital catalogue lists thousands of titles that can be ordered from Penguin Random House’s catalogue.
Involve and engage Raden brought customers into the story with a livestream Instagram account that allows customers to insert themselves into a sunrise or sunset.
The Bookmark Boutique’s ‘Book Cover Selfie Station’ encourages browsers to take interactive selfies that can be incorporated into their favourite books. As a bonus, this spreads user-generated content and sharing across social media channels, while the marketing team could learn from data this generated. It also has a Coloring Book Section for adults, guest writer events and video monitors featuring interviews with authors.
These ‘captivating moments’ help retailers build trust and long-term relationships (returners). You create ‘organic’ brand ambassadors and sustain loyalty.
Collaborate with creatives: Mattress maker Leesa’s ‘Dream Gallery’ themed store is also a means of sharing its social impact goals with customers. It partnered with ArtLifting, a charity for homeless people, to turn its showroom into an exhibition space. Instead of stocking inventory, it encouraged customers to lie back on mattresses while artists from the charity depicted images and stories on a ‘dream wall’.
The aim is ‘total immersion’, according to this Shopify interview with co-founder David Wolfe: “when you walk into the dream store, you’re surrounded by opportunities to interact with our brand. The mattress is obvious, but we also have videos playing, customer reviews on the walls, interactive kiosks, blankets, coffee, and, of course, the artwork.”
Carry your brand thinking through to fittings Think about your pricing and link your fittings to that – if you’re selling high-end products, it doesn’t make sense to display them in cheap settings. Likewise, use colours and technology appropriate to your brand.
Keep it fresh: Update your window every two weeks or monthly. But also be as specific as possible in that context. For example, don’t just display summer things in summer, but think about your customers. Are they surfers in the summer, or hikers?
On a budget? Pick ‘highs and lows’ – have a few statement pieces that stand out. If you invest in one or two key areas, they’ll elevate the rest.
Play to the senses: Sight, smell, taste, and sound – all can help you tell your story. Gonzalez talks about a florist who used different coloured roses to signify different occasions, giving it a year round ‘story’.
Think omni-channel: Make the most of a small space. Shoes, says Gonzalez by way of example, take up a lot of space. So pick colours and sizes to represent your range and tell your story. If you have an e-commerce platform, you don’t have to showcase everything. Listen to the data and bring in technology to compensate for lack of inventory.
Double up: Save money by pairing up with a non-competing retailer to share the space. For example, clothing with furniture brand that aligns, or showcasing local creatives. Create an event calendar with partners if you’re open for a longer time.
Don’t scrimp on staff. Your employees will tell your story. They need to understand the company’s value, know its history, not to mention its products. One of the reasons physical stores are sustainable is the service they offer. Don’t let yourself down here.
Photo by kind permission from Planarama