The turnover of the average retail store in December is about 200% of the previous month's sales. In January, the activity of buyers is slightly reduced, but, nevertheless, retailers collect 30% more revenue than in the autumn months. This year, the numbers will most likely be less impressive, and the New Year’s offer market will be even more competitive. How not to go unnoticed in festive tinsel? Visual merchandising experts know how to attract customers to your store.
Once in Moscow there was an unwritten rule of window dressing - a tree in every window! They say that such an order came from the ex-mayor of the capital. In Europe, hardly anyone gave such instructions, however, and general trends were visible there: all the stores mercilessly replicated the images of Santa. Today, festive display cases are not just Christmas trees, lanterns and plastic grandfathers with cotton beards. These are whole stories, “tasty” told through designer finds. Non-trivial decisions turn an ordinary showcase into a real “looking glass”, which every passer-by dreams of.
In the English language there is even the expression "go window-shopping", which means walks specifically for the purpose of studying shop windows. But this phrase has a deeper marketing meaning: it reflects how the showcase affects the decision of the buyer to buy something in this store. According to American specialist in visual merchandising Linda Kaehen: “Storefronts require considerable effort from store owners, but they must always remember three things:
It is the desire to attract as many buyers as possible to their stores that makes retailers resort to unthinkable ideas. And the main "weapon" for the conquest of the public, of course, are shop windows. They were the first to remind consumers of the approaching Christmas and New Year. They create mood and manage consumer behavior, involving buyers in the general festive atmosphere and provoking impulsive purchases. The classic New Year's showcase genre was the famous Parisian Printemps store, famous throughout the world for its stunning compositions. And this is not surprising. “The New Year holidays is a very important period for us, since the beginning of the 20th century we have attracted the maximum number of customers and earn 20-25% of annual revenue, so our windows are truly fantastic,” says Pierre Pellarey, General Manager of Printemps.
At Start!
When should New Year’s merchandise appear in shop windows? In our country, the festive decoration begin no later than the first half of November. As a rule, street retailers receive instructions from municipal authorities to decorate their facades no later than the 15 number. But in some shopping centers, the design is delayed until December 1. The change of scenery occurs no later than January 15.
But the design is preceded by a long preparation. British visual merchandising expert Kate Winsley says that leading market players are starting to develop and discuss ideas 14 months before installation! Of course, such terms in our country can be respected, except perhaps by large shopping centers. Small retail begins preparations for the holidays not earlier than September. An annual change of exposure is an additional expense item. And many retailers buy decorative items and materials, counting on reuse. But changes in the design concept, even with the old inventory, can not be avoided.
Especially in the street retail: you cannot count on the help of a developer, it is much more difficult for you to attract the attention of buyers and stand out from a number of competitors. If your neighbors are in no hurry with the New Year window dressing, according to experts on merchandising, you should not be equal to them, otherwise miss the opportunity to increase sales in the hot season.
Analyze it!
Regardless of the season, it is worth considering the fact that shoe shops are suitable for product-emotional showcases, that is, the whole composition is built around a seasonal priority product. So design plans should start with a thorough sales analysis. First, you need to study the sales experience of previous seasons: which models at this time “left” the best? Which of them had the maximum margin, and which yielded a small profit? It is important to consider the trends of the season. Compare all the data with which of these models were on display in past seasons and how it “worked” to increase conversion in the store. If you thoroughly study all the indicators, you will get an accurate understanding of the behavioral characteristics of your target audience - what they want to buy and how much.
Trends and Popular Stories
In window dressing, just like in fashion, there are their own trends and seasonal trends. For example, WGSN has been forecasting trends both in fashion and in merchandising over the past 16 years. The company annually examines hundreds of shop windows around the world to identify the main areas of decor, identify the main storylines and set the direction for the next holiday season. So, 2013 year merchandisers worked on five main topics. Other agencies are working in the same direction. In 2013, merchandisers worked on five main topics.
"Vivid 80-e." A return to the 80's fashion was also found in storefront concepts. There were a lot of rich colors and bright decor elements, neon lights and animal prints.
"Disney Tales." Theatrical, fantasy showcases referring us to the plots of old fairy tales is a trend in which leading retailers such as Harrods and Printemps have been working for several years.
Glamor and Grace Kelly. The release of the movie The Great Gatsby provoked a new wave of interest in the aesthetics of the 20's. Following the trend, many retailers presented exquisite and concise festive showcases, not overloaded with details and unnecessary decor.
"Graphic arts". Along with the development of new technologies, the design is shifting priorities towards simplicity and naturalness. Available materials - paper and cardboard - become the main elements of the decor: both simple flat paintings and voluminous futuristic compositions are created from them.
"Jungle". This is a real exotic with its deliberate overload typical of it: an abundance of gold and shades of green with bright intersperses of red and blue elements. Many floral elements - huge paper flowers and floral and plant ornaments. A difficult trend in which it is not easy to work without proper experience.
Of course, such trends are not a guide to action, but only material for reflection. To compete with monsters with millions of budgets for merchandising is quite difficult. Moreover, in small companies in the context of the ongoing crisis, marketing budgets are reduced in the first place. But the most important rule that needs to be considered when developing a concept is “call to action”. Your festive showcase should not only be beautiful, its main task is to lure the consumer into the store. In addition, it should be made taking into account the target audience of the store. “How often can one meet New Year's shop windows that do not attract, but, on the contrary, repel a potential buyer. Cheerful dancing Santas or some disco tinsel decorates a store that sells goods designed for an adult wealthy audience! This is unacceptable, ”comments Marina Polkovnikova.
7 Rules for Effective Storefronts
Color. Helps to convey the mood and emotions of the holiday. In the design of New Year's showcases, as a rule, resort to traditional colors, strongly associated with this time of year - snowy white, coniferous green, shimmering gold.
Balance. It is very important to achieve a balance in the arrangement of goods and design elements, in which case the components of the composition are equal in terms of optical perception. There are two main types of composition, asymmetric (informal) and symmetric (formal) balance.
Focus. The showcase should have a focal point where the gaze instinctively stops when looking at the showcase from the street. In large display cases, sometimes one focal point is not enough and then you have to create several. However, their number should not exceed 3-4.
American Specialist in Visual Merchandising Linda Kaehen: “Best of all, when the focal point is directly below the line of eye level and slightly offset from the center. Then the gaze can be directed across the window to other products. You should always inspect the window display from the street to determine where the main focus should be. The flow of passers-by also affects how people look at the shop window. If most pedestrians approach the shop window on the left, then the composition should be turned to the left. When making shopping windows, it is unreasonable to place the main products near the side walls, leaving a lot of empty space in the window ... ”
Lighting. As a rule, lighting focuses the attention of the buyer on the focus of the composition. The rate of lighting of shop windows on ordinary days is about 1500 lux, but during the holiday season you can exceed this threshold by equipping the shop window with metal halide searchlights and garlands.
Layout An unshakable rule applies here - "Better less, but better." Do not try to put on display all the best goods. Piling up items is much worse than elegant simplicity. There are several classic layout options:
- in the form of a pyramid (triangle): the idea is that racks and goods form a pyramid together. This is a proven way of arranging products so that the eyes first focus on one main point and then move to other surrounding focal points. The pyramid also captures the eye on the highlighted main product.
- repeating layout: this is a way of placing goods during the design of a shop window when items are grouped by similar “blocks”. “It makes window dressing easier,” comments Linda Kachen. - True, in this case, the buyer can easily lose the focal point inside the window. The center post will not be the focal point if it does not stand out enough to attract attention. For example, one of the mannequins can be made more vivid and catchy in order to attract the eye of the buyer in the window. ” To create a powerful composition, an American specialist recommends the use of many identical products.
Distance. When making windows, it is necessary to consider the distance to the pedestrian. “If there is any distance between the pedestrian and the display case, for example, a landscaping strip with a width of more than 2 m, then it is necessary to artistically fill the entire space of the display case,” advises Armen Kanayan, head of design and design department of Union-Standard Consulting. “If passers-by find themselves close to the window, then special attention should be paid to the middle of the lower part - psychologists say that this area is paid about 10 times more attention than the rest ...” As you can see, effective and efficient windows are created by experienced professionals who take into account everything design rules that have been created over the years.
The size of the objects. Here you need to consider the location of the store. If it is located on a busy street, it is important for you to draw attention to the store not only for pedestrians, but also for drivers. In this case, it is important to place a large object in the display case. A look from afar highlights, first of all, large inscriptions and objects.
After completing the design, do not forget to photograph the window display. In the next season, these photographic materials will form the basis of the analysis of sales during the holiday period and will help to analyze and work through the mistakes made so as not to make them again and again.
Zoning and decorating
The owners of InternationalVisual merchandising company Linda Murray and Phil Hill are sure that there are several simple techniques for window dressing in fashion retail that are applicable to any store.
Conditionally divide the showcase into 3 zones - background (back), mid ground (central part) and foreground (outer surface, that is, glass).
Backdrop - This is directly the wall of the shop window. If the showcase and the store’s space are not separated by a solid wall, it can be created using lightweight portable panels or directly using the New Year’s decor - hanging elements. To create a New Year's showcase, the backdrop is very important, as it is the background for your composition. You can repaint a standard wall or paste over a film with a selected pattern.
central part - This is the most important space that must be used to promote your products. Here you will place mannequins or mobile structures on which the goods will be presented.
Showcase Foreground - It is directly glass, which can be used to create depth and perspective of the entire showcase. To do this, use various stickers. It is very important that such decor supports the whole composition as a whole and only enhances the effect of the artistic image on customers.
To make your idea a success, remember the following rules for creating a store window:
You should also not disregard the following points:
Caught in social networks
Bloomingdale's showcases last year had huge gift bags with different designs. When a man came close to the window, the bags slowly opened and the drawing that was outside “came to life”: Santa Claus started dancing with a deer, children led a round dance, etc. And Bloomingdale's showcase was truly interactive. If you come very close to it and look at a special sensor, then you were photographed by a special camera and your photo was posted on the corporate page of the department store on Facebook.
Ideas for inspiration
This month, within the framework of the International Exhibition of Decorative and Technical Lighting, Electrical Engineering and Building Automation Interlight Moscow powered by Light + Building, the competition "New Year's Storefront Street for the best New Year-style showcase design project. It is already known that 18 finalists were selected from the 8 entries submitted to the competition. Designers presented design sketches not only for fashion, but also for food retail. We will know very soon which competent jury recognizes the project as the best (look for a report on the pages of our publication), but for now we will be inspired by the best ideas of the past New Year seasons.
Fancy Christmas trees. Of course, the tree is the most readable New Year attribute. Direct association with the New Year holidays. And although there are no obligations to use it in window dressing today, you can beat this New Year symbol in a very original way. For example, hang toy shoes on a conical frame. Or, as Tommy Hilfiger did in one of the seasons, to decorate the windows and the shop with "Christmas trees" assembled from empty plastic bottles. Often, it is enough to fold a pyramid from cubes and shelves and place the “toys” product on it to observe the New Year theme and create an original composition.
Gigantomania. A giant tube of lipstick, a huge clutch or slipper - this design will be visible from afar, and most importantly - it will definitely set the emphasis. Charlotte Olimpia's shoe designer’s shop was displaying a giant sneaker like a sled sliding down an ice slide. And in the window of the YSL there is a huge golden clutch, powdered with snow.
Kinetics. Increasingly, window-dressers use moving objects in their work. Such mechanical elements, according to experts, are very appropriate for the New Year decoration. Moreover, it is not necessary to equal Harrods in the windows of which the trains “move” and the wheels of the huge clockwork spin, sometimes it’s enough to find one simple and easily implemented idea. For example, place a wind turbine in the window that will create the illusion of movement: effectively inflate the skirt on a mannequin, or chase artificial snow.
Commodity composition. Even at Christmas you can see in the shop windows of John Lewis store only the goods presented on its shelves - cutlery, household utensils ... But its festive shop windows are recognized as the most original from year to year! Why? Designers create whole compositions from goods: they collect deer figures from brushes and fairy birds from knives. No extra spending! At the last GDS exhibition, designers made huge flowers out of multi-colored shoes - it looked really beautiful!
New year marketing
So, the change of scenery in the retail occurs in mid-November, the main season of discounts falls at the end of December - beginning of January. Many shopping centers oblige tenants to keep the New Year window dressing until January 14. Thus, the retailer faces the challenge of making the storefront not only festive, but also commercially viable, announcing the size of the discount. Experts recommend making adjustments to the window display, dividing it in half: leave part of the exhibition with New Year's merchandise, and give the second for pos-materials that inform about discounts. The experts consider the best option to be the initial implementation in the design of elements that will help you place pos-materials at the right time without violating the general idea of a festive design.
Experts believe that discounts are not the only way to increase sales in the New Year period. Additional promotions, contests, unique offers - all this works not only on the average check, but also on the store’s image.
- Pos-materials with tips. Even austerity will not force most Russians to refuse to buy gifts for themselves and their loved ones. Help them make a choice! place flyers with useful tips next to the product. This is an added value that will not cost you a lot of money, but will give the consumer a sense of concern.
- Mix and match. Try a small product, for example, combine accessories into groups and announce the action - “when buying 3's, the fourth as a gift”.
- Announce the competition. In the New Year everyone is waiting for gifts, and even those who themselves decided to save on this expense item! Spend a competition among buyers involving social networks. Thus, you will start a “conversation” with your customers.
- Festive party. Corporate events and New Year's parties in the current environment will be significantly less than usual. But no one has canceled the holiday, which means you have a unique opportunity to become a generator of excellent mood. Invite customers who are truly loyal to the store and regularly shop at your place.
WINTER PALETTE
color trends in merchandising
According to experts from the British merchandising agency SFD, color is the first thing a designer should think about when working on creating a New Year's window because it is inextricably linked with human emotions. White, strongly associated with winter, should not become a serious limiter of creative thought.
Color schemes or a series of color combinations - palettes - will become the basis in developing a sketch of a festive showcase. One of the best sources for inspiration when it comes to creating a palette is nature itself, whose colors naturally attract people's attention. SFD offers its own development of color palettes for the design of winter display cases.
Natural colors in winter - habitually muted tones. Snow falling asleep minimizes visual clutter, creating an almost monotonous canvas. It acts like a white fog, throwing a translucent curtain on all colors, thereby dimming their brightness. The winter palette is formed preferably by cold tones - instead of blue, violet dominates, instead of red - frosty scarlet.
Winter shades should not be uniform. Seasoning the muted colors of the palette with bright accents, you can make a more interesting design.
50 оттенков серого
Remember the metal grill or the hedge covered with snow? In this picture, not one shade of gray - but dozens! The combination of various cold shades makes up a calm color palette, which will serve as an excellent background for any scenery. According to SFD designers, this color scheme can be used to create minimalist designs.
Frosty berry
The image of a red berry covered with a thin layer of brittle ice is a very seasonal picture. Here we are working in contrast: pure white color in perfect harmony with bright red.
Winter evening
The soft purple and soft pink sunset sky combined with the dark silhouettes of mountains and trees give rise to a very calm color palette. Unlike summer, when at sunset the sky appears bright orange, in winter twilight colors the horizon in shades of blue, from blue to gray-purple. This palette is very feminine, and ideal for decorating goods stores for young girls.
Cold sunsets
Tinted with soft pink shades emanating from the setting sun, the winter sky “produces” soft brown colors. This palette consists of soft pastel colors that are suitable for projects requiring a muted background.
Flowers in the snow
Apple blossoms or cherry buds caught off guard by the late spring snow - a picture from the future that could be the inspiration of the present day. In this palette - incredibly gentle tones - from light gray to coral scarlet.
Sparkling snow
In the rays of the dawn sun, snow shimmers with thousands of shades of gold - from delicate almost lemon to deep yellow-sand. A palette that is strongly associated with the holiday.
Snowy road
The winter road, with a series of trees frozen along the roadsides, draws a calm and familiar eye palette - from asphalt gray to transparent blue. These colors are considered very pleasant and not irritating to the eyes. An ideal palette for the simplest and most complex New Year's design.
Hoarfrost and thistle
Fluffy hats of snow on top of fluffy boxes of a frost-resistant plant ... This almost monochrome color palette is perfect for minimalist design. Such color schemes are not rarely the basis of the entire concept of the store and brand of the company.
Tire tracks in the snow
A deep tread track in the snow, a blue horizon and pointed Christmas trees in the future give rise to a color contrast, not pronounced, but rather soft. A winter palette that will help you create a real, fabulous showcase.
MASTER'S BUSINESS IS AFRAID
tips for new year's showcase
Leading Russian merchandisers told the Shoes Report about which New Year's windows are worth imitating, and which ones should be forgotten like a nightmare.
Questions to the experts:
founder and head of VMC Retail agency, expert in visual merchandising and store building; @marinapolkovnikova_official, Vmcreta
owner of visual communications agency VM Guru, market expert in visual merchandising and store design.
@anna_balandina_vmguru, @vm_guru, www.vmguru.ru
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