Have you ever wondered how much of an impact your garment racks have on your customers? You may have if you were really researching retail merchandising. Merchandising has more of an impact on a customer’s decision whether or not to buy than any other marketing approach or advertising campaign. There are a few reasons for this and you should consider them when merchandising your store. This includes the decisions that you make when buying your displays and store fixtures, like garment racks.
It is every business owner’s dream to be able to influence their customers’ thinking. The fact of the matter is that you can’t make people spend money. However, you may be able to point them in the right direction. To do this, you have to show them what they need to see in order to make them feel like spending their money was their idea. Not that you are trying to trick people, but making them comfortable.
When they enter your store, you are essentially bombarding them with messages and promises of delivery. You want them to get that first impression that they need to decide if your store is right for them. So, you gear your window displays, signage, lighting, music and general atmosphere toward attracting the right customers to your store. The right customers are the ones who will likely spend money in your store.
So, in order to do this, you need to come up with what messages you want to send and what promises you want to make. Your message may be something like this: “This is a store for teenagers and young adults. We are a reasonably priced, but not a bargain basement store. We carry name brand clothing that is fashionable, yet conservative enough to wear to school. We have unique items that you won’t find anywhere else.”
People can pick up on all of these messages simply by glancing at your window display or by peering inside for only a second. Your initial focus needs to be on making this first impression one that you mean to make.
Now that you’ve got the attention of the right customer, you can concentrate on your promises. As they walk into your store, they are mentally testing you to see if you are worthy of their trust and their business. They take note of literally hundreds of details in your store without even really having to try.
Think about whether or not they will enter and see that the quality, condition and cleanliness of your store matches the promise that you are making with your prices and apparel. If you have stained carpet, squeaky uneven garment racks and harsh lighting, then I would expect that you were not promising me any type of high quality clothing.
On the other hand, interesting, high-end details, like vintage style garment racks, interesting art and clean glass on the counter display, would set my mind at ease about the quality of the merchandise in the store. Then I would feel more comfortable buying from you and spending more money in the process.
All of these visual merchandising cues are quickly taken into consideration when a customer shops. Your store fixtures, garment racks and window displays have a huge impact on a customer’s decision to buy. Make sure that you pay attention to all of these details when setting up your retail store or boutique.
About the Author: John Garvey is on the staff of Only Garment Racks, a leading online source of garment racks including clothing racks Find a high quality garment rack or clothing rack at http://www.onlygarmentracks.com.