In visual merchandising, a well-designed display helps you unleash your store's potential. It enhances the shopping experience, showcases new products, and reinforces your brand identity. But what happens when you make a mistake? The consequences may not be immediately apparent, but they can and will impact your bottom line. Despite your best intentions, mistakes occur. It's up to you to avoid them as best as possible.
Of course, we’re not letting you do this on your own. It might be your responsibility to implement actions to avoid the mistakes. But how do you know which ones to avoid? That's what you'll find in this article. We'll also help you with a few practical tips if you've made any of these mistakes.
With this in mind, whether you're trying to avoid blunders or looking for ways to recover, this is your go-to guide. Let's get started.
1. Poor product grouping
Visual merchandising is essential for drawing customers' attention and directing their purchasing habits. However, grouping the wrong products on a merchandising display seems like a mistake that’s difficult to make. After all, how hard is it to know from one glance that placing two random products next together isn’t a good idea?
We’re not arguing that point.
However, there are instances where two products appear to relate to each other but don’t. For example, pairing high-end perfume with cheaply-made jewelry might dilute the luxury image you’re attempting to portray.
And that is where this visual merchandising mistake happens. Why? It’s because there is a lack of understanding of how different products relate to each other from a customer’s perspective.
Thus, instead of strategically grouping products based on themes, usage, or customer buying behavior, you arrange products haphazardly or based on product type and brand. That makes it difficult for customers to find complementary products, which impacts their shopping experience.
Here’s how you can fix it.
Observe your customer's buying habits
Understanding shopping behavior is a surefire way to learn more about your customers. You can use your collected sales data from your POS system to learn what products they buy and display these items together.
Consider a theme-based approach
Going a themed route is always a safe bet when setting up a merchandising display. That includes grouping products based on a specific idea, occasion, or purpose. Understanding data about in-store shopping behavior can help you decide what products to place in a themed display.
Invest in retail software
If you want to understand shopping patterns and how to optimize your product assortment, retail software is the way to go.
Specialist software, such as DotActiv, has features and functions that assist you in making the best decisions about where to place your products in-store and how to present them. Everything is data-driven, so you rest assured that suggestions are sound.
Train your staff
Training your staff to understand the principles and importance of effective product grouping is a no-brainer. After all, they are your frontline workers. Training them and providing up-to-date information about your goals means you can ensure they know how to execute your chosen merchandising strategies when needed.
We also recommend you keep your teams updated with new trends and research in merchandising. 
2. Overloading displays
When it comes to visual merchandising, there is a temptation to display as many products as possible. You might think it will attract more customers. However, this can lead to a cluttered and confusing display that overwhelms instead of attracts.
Instead of showing your customers that you have everything they need, it’s better to tone it down.
Embrace the less is more concept
A well-designed visual merchandising display has a point. It highlights specific products to pull you in, engage with said items and add them to your basket.
It doesn't mean you need to reduce your product range. But you need to be thoughtful about what you place on your displays. By embracing the less is more concept in visual merchandising, you prioritize quality over quantity, adding highly relevant items to your displays rather than cluttering them with too many products.
You also improve the visual appeal of your displays, drawing in your customers to approach and engage with the items.
Use your sales data to identify best-selling items
Considering your sales data when building merchandising displays means you're thinking strategically. It means you can identify your best-selling and most popular products. By optimizing your displays for sales, you're also making it easier for your customers to find the products they want.
Analyzing your sales data also allows you to identify trends and customer preferences, enabling you to design displays that match their needs and interests.
To boost your sales further, consider where you place your displays. Placing it in an area with complementary items nearby can increase sales and basket sizes.
Use balance and space
Balance is a vital aspect of any effective product display. Here, we’re talking about a few aspects, such as using height, texture, and depth to create an engaging display.
You only need to consider the effects of an unbalanced display. It may make your store appear disorganized, which can turn customers away.
Space is also vital since it allows for a more focused approach. Instead of every product on your display fighting for attention, you allow each product enough room to stand out.
3. Ignoring visual appeal
A merchandising display does more than merely present your products - it is an enticing invitation that compels customers to engage. It can create an emotional connection with shoppers, inspiring them to buy.
On the other hand, ignoring visual appeal leads to displays that, besides their practicality, fail to capture attention. It’s thus critical to find a balance between function and aesthetics.
Here’s how:
Invest in lighting
The difference between a good visual merchandising display and a great one can be as simple as lighting. Good lighting enhances the appeal of a display and helps you highlight the features of your products.
The color you use also goes a long way to helping you establish the mood.
For example, warm lighting can accentuate the colors and textures of your products, making them more inviting. That could include yellows and reds. Cool colors like blues and greens can highlight the sleekness and sophistication of your products.
Use color strategically
The colors you use go a long way to setting the right mood. It also evokes emotional responses and ties into the senses. Have you ever heard of color psychology? It's especially pertinent in retail as it impacts moods and influences decision-making.
When setting up a display, consider what you want to say and what you want your customers to feel.
Will the display be seasonal or fit into a specific theme? In either case, choose colors that match that. But don't go overboard. Too many colors can overwhelm the senses.
Prioritize balance and hierarchy
We don't need to emphasize the importance of balance in displays. However, it's worth reiterating in this context since it plays a role when creating a display that draws your customers in.
A balanced display has a clear focal point that you can use to guide the eye. This focal point should be the most eye-catching part of your display. It’s also with placing it at eye level. From there, the rest of your display can taper away, thereby giving your display layers.
Keep your displays clean and organized
There is much else that'll keep customers away from a display than one that's dirty and disorganized. If customers can see such a display from outside your store, they might not even enter.
Regularly cleaning and restocking your displays ensures they remain inviting.
4. Neglecting display heights and sightlines
Often, when setting up retail displays, you may overlook the importance of varied heights and sight lines. You might assume that shoppers will naturally explore every part of your display. Unfortunately, that's not always the case.
Neglecting display heights and sight lines can result in overlooked products, especially those placed too high or too low, leading to decreased sales and engagement.
One reason is not understanding visual merchandising principles, where heights and sightlines are critical in presenting your products. Fortunately, there is plenty you can do.
Understand customer sightlines
Eye level is often quoted as prime retail estate because shoppers often notice items at this level. When setting up your display, you thus need to consider what shoppers will see first.
Use that to your advantage by placing your best-selling items there. Then, as mentioned above, consider cascading your products around these items, adding depth and a path for their eyes to travel.
Use varied heights
Variety in any aspect of life makes anything more interesting. It's the same for a retail display. It attracts attention and encourages your customers to engage with your products.
When using varied heights, avoid placing items too high or too low. We mentioned eye level and placing other items just below as a tactic. Do that. But make it comfortable for your customers to reach and interact.
The last thing you'd want to do is place an item too high or low, meaning they have to stretch to get it. It might be worth looking at, but will they go out of their way to reach for the item? Maybe not. You experiment with platforms and blocks to elevate items or hang products at different heights to create a dynamic display.
Regularly assess and adjust
The changes you make to your product displays are good. However, you can't expect to make a change once and then it'll perform. Instead, you must assess them regularly and make changes where necessary.
Act as if you were a customer in your store. Take note of what products you can see easily and which you can't see. Then make changes and test it out. After making a change, look at your sales data. Have you seen an uptick in sales for these products?
5. Failure to rotate displays
Visual merchandising is a powerful tool, but you can fall into the trap of complacency, especially when you feel your existing displays are performing as expected. However, this reluctance to change can lead to a problem.
Over time, your once attractive and engaging display can become stale. It's a mistake that costs you sales.
To address this issue, you need to adopt a policy of regularly refreshing and rotating your displays.
Implement a display rotation schedule
Create a schedule to rotate your displays regularly. The frequency depends on your specific circumstances. You might want to change your displays weekly or monthly. The key is to ensure they remain fresh and deliver on the merchandising goals you set for them.
‘Fresh’ could mean a few things: it could mean incorporating new product arrivals, highlighting seasonal items, or rearranging the layout.
Consider the nature of your products. Are they seasonal or trend-driven? Also, think about your customer’s buying habits. Do they shop for new items weekly or monthly? Based on these insights, you can decide on a rotation schedule that aligns with your visual merchandising objectives.
Use seasonal and thematic changes
An effective way to keep your displays fresh is to use seasonal and thematic changes. Use holidays, seasons, and local events as opportunities to revamp and refresh your displays. Not only does that add variety, but it can also resonate with the experiences and expectations of your shoppers.
When considering changes, it's critical to include product launches and store-specific events. Could you use these events to update your displays?
Monitor customer responses
Use your sales data, customer feedback, and any gathered observations to assess the effectiveness of your displays.
If a display is not attracting customer interest or driving sales, it's a sign that it needs to be refreshed or replaced. At the same time, give your displays time. While you might consider updating them weekly, is that too soon to see a result? A month might be better.
It is subjective - if you believe your display has had more than enough time to deliver results and it hasn’t, then change it.
Conclusion
As you strive to improve your retail displays, remember that avoiding common mistakes can make a significant difference. Improve your sales and increase customer engagement with careful product groupings, attention to visual appeal, and regular display rotation.
For more retail tips and best practices, subscribe to our newsletter or chat with a DotActiv expert to see how we can help you implement these changes in-store.
