7 Small Shop Display Ideas to Engage Customers
Small retail shops need to get the most out of their space. There’s not a lot of room for error which means you need to make the most of the space, the displays, and the customer experience. Even if you have a small retail space, you can do many things to elevate your customer’s shopping experience.
People love the feeling of the items they want to buy. Some people like to feel the metal cover of a crockpot to trying on clothes. Others want to run their fingers through a piece of fabric. Or they like to try tasting a sample of food.
Using your retail displays in the best possible way can draw attention to the products you are selling. It also gives shoppers a chance to engage with your product through different sensory methods such as smelling, tasting, or touching.
Display ideas can tell a story and offer them an experience to help solve their problems. Here are seven small shop display ideas to engage customers:
Idea #1: Make it an experience
Even if you have a small retail space, there’s always a way to offer your customers a journey through your store. You want them to enter the store with a sense of purpose; you want them to feel inspired and invigorated by walking through the displays and aisles.
You want them to dream of how a product from your store will look in their home. What kind of experiences do you want to create for your customers? You can add elements like music, aroma, and carefully placed lighting to create the type of experiences that add value to your brand.
Idea #2: Make use of sensory branding
In today’s highly-visual environment, visual aesthetics are not the only way to pull a customer’s attention away from their cell phones and into your store. This is why you need to use sensory branding. Sensory branding is all about using the five senses of sight, smell, touch, taste, and hearing.
It creates an experience that starts from the minute they enter the store to the moment they leave. This includes having product samples around the store for them to try, low ambiance music, and even delicate fragrances to fit the mood.
Idea #3: Use visual storytelling
In retail marketing strategy, retailers also do visual storytelling, such as using mannequins in a window display to tell a story. Try to create these displays that highlight your product’s values for small retail shops.
Even if you do not have a window display area, create a visual experience by using the walls in your retail shop and tell a story of your brand. Use colours, typography, and lighting to get your shoppers emotionally invested in your shop.
Idea #4: Make use of visual aesthetics
How do you present different items in a small store? You can use neutral colours to pop your products in your retail displays. Or go bold with a black or dark grey design to exude a luxury feel. You can also use retail displays of different sizes.
Small products can be arranged at eye level, and more oversized products can be carefully placed closer to the floor so they don’t block customers throughout the store. You can also use display baskets to add textures and contrast.
Idea #5: Maximize your retail space
Changing your store’s layout is an expensive business. Creativity matters in small retail spaces. Use slim retail display shelving units or brackets to create space in small corners.
You can also place multilevel baskets for last-minute items near the cash register. Pegboards are also great for hanging items from hooks- it’s a great way to free up floor space.
Idea #6: Add visuals displays to motivate and inspire
You want your customers to feel inspired by the products or services in your store. Customers want to know how the product or service in your store helps solve their problems. So how do you help them discover that?
Motivational and inspirational displays are one way to go. You want to become a partner in their purchasing journey. To do this, place high-value items at the center of your store. Add other related products so you have a theme going on that you can guide your customer in their purchasing journey.
Another great way to get them to purchase products is by adding testimonials cards that help customers make the best buying decision.
Idea #7: Create a human touch
Customers want the human touch as hi-tech as your store is; with visual storytelling and lights everywhere, having a salesperson check in and ask if they need help takes the experience from ordinary to extraordinary. Educate staff about the products, and teach them how to explain a product’s benefits to the target market.
Give your employees suggestions for upselling opportunities. You can also provide staff with tablets that can aid them in explaining a product or showing a customer’s testimonials, tutorials and reviews.
