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The British Display Society (BDS) says retailers need to concentrate on a memorable and pleasant shopping environment that reflects their brand or store, ensuring that all-important customer experience. To help provide further support, the BDS council answers some retailer questions.


Filling the space? Q


When I look at the way merchandise is presented, I see that there is


an enormous difference in the amount displayed. Would you advise me regarding the advantages or disadvantages of filling our store with as much merchandise as possible?


Unless you are experienced in the ways of structuring a display, the risk attached to filling your store with a large amount of merchandise is that it will end up as a confusing ‘hotch potch’ The casual passer-by will find it tiring to look at, trying to separate one piece of merchandise from another and will, indeed, pass by. It is not wrong to fill a space with


A


Image courtesy of Save the High Street Best Shop Window Popular Vote Winner, Kindle House in South Wales


merchandise but it will need to be either well organised by forming patterns or groups, be strongly colour co-ordinated, or consist of merchandise that is similar in shape. Also, a mass of items can give a knocked- down price look, as people associate large stacks of product with a warehouse environment and this may well be the effect that you wish to achieve for ‘sale’ promotions. There is certainly a good case to be made for varying the amount of merchandise displayed in your window or interior display. If successive presentations always contain the same bulk or area of merchandise within the display space, it may not appear sufficiently different for passers-by to notice that the merchandise has been changed. Examples of this can be seen in some building societies and banks that tend to have neat fixed arrangements of poster frames in their windows. They change the poster quite regularly but, out of the corner of the eye of the regular passer- by, these windows always look familiar and people will be unlikely to notice the amazing new interest rates. If they replaced the frames with a relevant prop or single informative board occasionally, they would create interest and achieve more impact.


20 DIY WEEK 09 AUGUST 2019


Creativity is key Q


You know what you are good at and if your creation requires other skills, get a specialist involved. Should your budget not stretch to this luxury, then change your idea to suit your capabilities. Too many times I see props that would be more at home in the local primary school. No doubt the shop staff are proud of them but they can detract from and cheapen the merchandise that surrounds them. Try to find someone who will give you an honest and constructive opinion, even ask passers-by; after all, these are the people to whom you are trying to appeal. If you are limited by your craft skills then there


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are prop-making studios around but they are usually only economic for large or multiple items. You might try contacting the local art and design college for recommended students who might have the necessary skills and would like to earn a little extra. Another port of call is to prop hire companies that often congregate around the area of TV and film studios. These can be an Aladdin’s cave of unusual props and costs are not too exorbitant if you are prepared to arrange collection and return. They often require insurance and a deposit though whilst they are in your care.


An alternative would be to negotiate an arrangement with another retailer to borrow stock in return for a credit in the window, say, the local farm shop or sports outlet. As a last resort you can buy “off the peg” from display suppliers. The disadvantage here is that you could see the same prop in the window of one of your competitors.


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I think that an eye-catching prop in the window helps to get my shop noticed but I am


not extremely creative and often wonder whether my home-made efforts are up to scratch. Is there anywhere I can obtain props or get them made for me?


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