RANGE REVIEW: CHRISTMAS


Let there be light You need story telling but it must be instantly recognisable. If shoppers don’t understand it straight away, they will be gone. Think about the colours you want to use and you also need symbols to represent your story. The world you create in store should be consistent. You need light – that is very important. Your displays, your window displays, whatever you want to showcase, put a spot on it. So many people don’t do that and it misses the mark. You can use traditional Christmas symbols and reinvent them. For example, a tree shape can be used and created from anything, whether it’s books or household goods.


First impressions


So how do you convey this message outside of your store? You can use lights to great effect and this is something that people can see from a distance. Test where people come from – do they drive past your shop? Where do they approach from? You want to make your store visible. If you place items high up, you can see them from a distance but what about when people are close up? You have to think about long and short distance. You must be consistent – if you have a very purist style outside, then you shouldn’t be using something like velvet curtains inside. Do involve and use your shop window as part of the theme. You can create a great visual presentation even without using product. If you are a well-established store in that city or area and have been there for a long time, people know what you sell. You don’t have to put it in the window. You can tell a story in the shop window and people will love it.


People will make a detour just to see a beautiful shop window and will come back again next year to see what you have done. If you wish to use product,


there are so many ways you can incorporate that but still be creative. Whatever has colour, light and motion will grab people’s attention. People move towards what moves, is bright and well lit. Take everyday items, such as bottles, envelopes, glasses, or plates and use them in large quantities and it will lead to a lot of attention.


Create interest


Guide customers through the merchandising. Ask them to take pictures of the shop as part of a competition. It can appeal to all ages. Don’t give clues about what you want just say ‘take pics from outside and inside’. That way you see what is exciting for the customer, what they want to look at and photograph. It could be things that you didn’t even think about. It also gets them engaging with your display. If you have an area that can allow for a flexible design, you can regularly have displays and keep re-inventing the space. As a trick, make sure you put a fun little detail in it, such as rabbit playing the piano or Santa peeping out from somewhere. It conveys a sense of humour and is something fun and unusual that people will notice. There’s no business or shop model that’s too small to do this. You can always do something and you can keep re-inventing yourself according to the theme, or season or space. You should have a lot of love for detail and think about your audience.


Plan ahead


When buying, think carefully and buy only the things you can display and store later on. When you make


your purchase you have to already be thinking about what you need to display them. Think, ‘if I want to cover a tree with them in store, how many do I need, what do I need to hang them on?’ Something simple like teacups you can display in a variety of ways – you can place them on a table, use things to hang them from the wall, put them on a tree, use their handles to put chains through and suspend them over tables. Get creative. Your display should be crazy to a certain extent but only to create that ‘wow factor’ Mark out clearly on your calendar what you need to buy and when, what handicrafts you need to make ahead of time – all of this to have it ready in time for the season. If you are creating your theme


freely, then mood boards can be very important toolss. To build a mood board, think:  What associations or images come to mind?


 What colours go with that?  What materials will I go for?


For example, if you are going for


a baroque Christmas theme, you would go for deep reds, blacks and golds and then materials would be velvets and luxury fabrics. From there you need to ask yourself:  What display and merchandise furniture do I need?


 What props and accessories do I need?


 What lifestyle people do I want to speak to? Think about their age, personality, etc. You have to tailor your offering to their needs. You need emotion but also fascination. If they say ‘wow’, you have made it. If they tell their family and friends, even better. If you make people want to leave straight away, they will not dwell, they will not make an additional purchase. You have to exude a positive mood that makes them want to linger. The customers’ eyes will only go


where their eyes have gone before. If you want me to walk into your store, then feed my eyes.


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23 FEBRUARY 2018 DIY WEEK 23


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