Amy N Kaplan

What is merchandising?

Visual merchandising is the practice of using attractive displays, organized shelving, and strategic placement of goods in order to entice customers to make purchases.  Merchandising includes any store display – shelves, windows, specialty displays, cash wrap, etc.  Strong merchandising will improve the customer’s perception of the store, their experience, and, as a result, the store’s reputation.  The store floor should be the most productive and efficient “sales person”

Why is merchandising important?

• Store appearance – good merchandising keeps retail space looking clean and well-stocked.
• Customer service – good merchandising is part of good customer service – clean displays make it easier for customers to browse product, to find specific items, and they will have a better experience as a result.
• Productivity and work performance – clean, organized shelves make it easier to restock and easier to find specific items for customers.
• Engagement – an engaging display will encourage customers to interact with the product. They will have a more enjoyable experience in-store, which can translate to free word-of-mouth advertising, and are more likely to make a purchase that they enjoy, building a loyal customer base.

Basics

• Well-stocked shelves – shelving on the floor should look full. Front face when we have a lot of an item in stock, or when we are low in general. Rearrange shelves to keep them looking stocked, even if they are not. Restock several times per day from the back room.
• Organized – Like-items should be displayed together. First we organize by department (strategy, family/party) and then divide that up further (cooperative games, adult-content party games). It doesn’t make sense to put Dragons and Chickens with Catan, as those customers are usually looking for different types of product, and the store layout should make sense so customers can easily find related items.
• Shoppable – make it easy to see and reach products. Items that are too high up, hidden, or only in the window or on a display are not accessible for customers or the team.
• Clean – shelving and product should be kept dust-free. Look for out-of-place items and trash left behind by customers.
• Shelving should contain items of the same size, ordered left to right in descending size order. Large items should not be merchandised with small items, and smaller items should not be sandwiched between two larger items. Ordering them appropriately will create a clean line and draw the customer’s attention to the items equally.

Displays

• Theme – your display should have a general theme that is easy to identify by both the customer and the team. Keep this theme in mind when restocking to ensure the display is cohesive at all times while it’s up.
  • Ideas: Planes, trains, and automobiles; seasons; holidays; travel; ocean; animals; knights, princesses, and dragons; art and color; mysteries; pop culture.
• Visual interest
  • Use height, color, texture, size, and shape to create interest in the display.
  • Risers, wire stands, bulk stacking, baskets, and other merchandising tools are available.
• Clean – a display that is too overwhelming or messy can make it hard for the eye to absorb. Since the goal of a display is to highlight and sell product, making it easy for the customer to see what is on the display is paramount.
• Range of products – incorporate products from all departments, which will automatically help with visual interest. Books, playing cards, Metal Earth, puzzles, kids, games, classics, etc.
• Engagement – allow customers to pick up/play with demo products. Mixing in demos also helps create visual interest.
• Accessible – product on displays should be easy for customers to reach so they can purchase them.
• Maintenance – Keep displays dust-free and well-stocked as part of your normal daily cleaning/straightening/restocking.
• Update them regularly! Customers who frequent the store should have something new to look at most of the time they visit. Displays should be fully changed every 2-3 weeks.

Register

• Impulse purchases – Keeping small, inexpensive items next to the register entices customers to make impulse purchases as they are checking out. Consider this area when cleaning and restocking, as it is still part of the retail floor.
• Maintaining a work space for the customer – Don’t put too much on the counter. Enough to hide electrical equipment and encourage impulse buys, but customers need work space for their bags, signing receipts, etc. Don’t crowd the customer!

Demos/Game Space

This is still retail space. We use our game space to encourage customers to interact with the product, which encourages purchases.

• Demo library should be routinely cleaned and organized so that customers can easily locate items they are looking for.
• Tables and chairs should be clean to protect our games and to ensure a pleasant gaming environment for customers.
• Floor space should be swept and mopped regularly, especially under tables.
• Trash and recycling are an eye-sore but necessary. Be sure this does not overflow and that smelly items are not left overnight, as this will carry over into the other retail spaces.

New Products

• Highlighting new products will provide regular customers with a fun shopping experience. Game collectors want to know what has just released and having a dedicated area to showcase these items will be sure to make regular customers happy.
• New items can replace older items in displays and eye-level on shelves. This will show that our stock is rotated regularly and that we are always looking for new items for our customers, enhancing the store’s reputation.

Merchandising Low Performers

You will always have stock that does not sell well. Use merchandising techniques to encourage sales.

• Change the location of the item on the shelf. If an item is on the bottom shelf side-faced, put it eye-level and front-faced. Does that improve sales?
• Creating displays of slow-moving product, including demos, signage, and like-items can help move dead merchandise.
• If this does not work, move to clearance. Remember that clearance items are inventory-eaters! We are trying to get rid of these items, and the clearance section should be merchandised attractively with appropriate signage just as well as the rest of the store.

Receiving Merchandise and The Back Room

When receiving inventory, the goal is to put as much inventory on the floor as possible. You may need to remerchandise shelves and displays to fit new product. Please do so without shoe-boxing merchandise or double facing when possible.

• Remember that customers don’t shop in the back room, and you can’t sell what’s not on the floor. By putting as much product on the floor as possible to begin with will reduce the need for restocking and mitigate any sales losses from items being in the back rather than on the floor.
• Flex-Facing – the practice of “saving space” for items that are out of stock
  • When items are out of stock but you know they will be replaced soon, save the space – i.e. leave the hook on the slatwall and face something else instead, even if it’s double faced. It will look cleaner and tighter and is a more efficient use of time.

Questions to Ask Yourself

• What is most appealing in the store? Why?
• What is least appealing? Why?
• Are there any unnecessary distractions in the store that take away from your experience?
• What did it feel like when you walked into the store? What was your emotional response?
• What items look out of place?
• What stands out the most, and why?
• Are there items you don’t see that would fit with the current product offerings?
• How do the displays lend themselves to being engaged with?
• Are there areas of the store that are not clean?
• Does the layout of the cash wrap make it easy for customers to place personal items and complete the sale?
• Does your stock room trickle onto your sales floor?