It’s here. Black Friday marks the official kickoff of the holiday season. If you haven’t already kicked into action getting ready for holiday sales, there’s no more time to waste, especially when it comes to retail product promotions and holiday gift-giving. Retail sales can make up a significant part of your holiday revenue – or revenue at any time of the year, for that matter – and you don’t want to miss out on the opportunity to ring up sales.
To capture shoppers' attention, you’ll also want to change displays to both educate and entertain clients. In fact, during the holiday season, you may want to change displays several times with a range of holiday themes. At home, around the fire, a meal around the table, gift-giving, and deck the halls are just some display themes to capture and captivate shoppers.
Here are some other things to keep in mind about your holiday merchandising:
Color counts
Clients are drawn to colors, which also evoke emotion and influence buying decisions. Try grouping items together that have a similar color but are different shapes to create a visual theme.
Make displays prominent
You’ll want more than one display to feature holiday gift-giving items. Your prominent display can be in the front window or reception area, but don’t stop there. Have several other displays throughout your spa or massage practice, including treatment rooms and hallways. Also, offer ready-to-go baskets and wrapped items to make it easy for your clients to pick up a gift for others.
Follow the “rule of 3”
In a display, the eye will focus on the highest point and then move downwards. Therefore, if you place one jar on top of two others, making a pyramid, this display will be more attractive to the eye than three jars of the same product placed in a row or stacked on top of each other.
Use props to grab attention
Use eye-catching props to grab clients’ attention. Props should be colorful, and the more unusual, the better. For example, if you are featuring BIOTONE Berry Buff Sugar Body Polish, include a bowl of raspberries in the display. The prop will allow you to talk about the product's ingredients, most notably raspberry seed powder.
Lighten things up
Good lighting helps to attract customers. It makes products stand out and enhances colors. Consider spotlights to highlight featured products. Backlighting, which can be attractive, may not highlight the face of the product. If you are going to use backlighting, combine it with direct lighting.
Have well-placed signs
You’ll want more than one sign to highlight retail offers—place signs around your spa or massage practice in places that are sure to be seen. Messages should be brief and easy to read. Avoid handwritten signs. Unless you or someone on your team is adept at calligraphy, have the signs professionally designed.
Finally, visual presentation counts in attracting customers, but you can lose a sale without sufficient help. Be sure to have enough staff on hand to help clients with retail purchases. While your signage throughout the store may help direct clients to retail displays, it won’t help boost sales if the staff isn’t available to answer questions.