There are many store interior merchandising display options to consider. A sampling of these are listed below:

·         Island Display at Main Door to Greet Customers

             o   Use for Keep Promotions
             o   Create Promotion Style Trend
             o   Well Lit
             o   Use Platform to Enhance
      ·         Counters / Display Cases

·         Museum Cases

·         Demonstration Cubes / Tables / Crates

·         Perimeter Ledge

·         Shadow Boxes

·         Enclosed Display

·         Fascia

·         Columns

·         Enclosed Displays – Effective Shrink Protection

·         T – Walls – Form Small Closets / Selling Areas along a Wall

Common fixture types from which you can choose include:

·         Mannequins

·         Platforms

·         Costumers, Valets, Drapers

·         Easels

·         Counters

·         Ledges

·         Rounders

·         T-Stands

·         4 – Ways

·         3 – Parts

·         C - Racks

·         Gondola shelving

·         Tables

·         Cubes / Crates

·         Wedding Cake tables

·         Slotted Walls

·         Grid Walls

·         Kiosks

·         Outposts

When employing fixtures considerations that you should be aware of include:

·         Matching the merchandise to the proper type of fixture (e.g. Hard goods are displayed well on aisle shelving called gondola. Hanging apparel looks appropriate on round or T-shaped hanger fixtures)

·         Density – Fixtures should look full, but not over-stuffed

·         Size – Small items look best on smaller scale fixtures

·         Look / Feel in Store - Match the look of your store with your fixtures. A store selling elegant clothing should employ elegant fixtures.

·         Color / Finish – Your fixtures should not be wild colors that clash with your store design colors.

·         Height – Chest-level fixtures are effective.

·         Condition – Fixtures should be well maintained. Old rusty fixtures give a very negative message about a store.

·         ADA Guidelines – Appropriate room needs to be available to accommodate your shoppers. You should be familiar with ADA special guidelines that are applicable to retail environments.

Studies done by retail experts have documented the fact that shoppers, particularly women, will leave an area that is too crowded with merchandise. Additionally, generally accepted ADA guidelines suggest that aisles of at least 36 inches in width should be maintained. Our own studies have shown that when an over- crowded area (narrow aisle) is opened up that sales often increase as more shoppers feel comfortable looking at merchandise and are more likely to buy. Handicapped shoppers requiring wheelchairs, crutches, or walkers (among others) may find tight aisles and other tight store spaces to be very difficult to navigate and need to be avoided. Parents with strollers often cannot get into tight aisles and will seek other merchandise that is more convenient to view.

Sources of Merchandising Fixtures & Equipment that you want to investigate include:

·         A GOOGLE search is your best option when looking for fixture sources

o   Suggested search Keywords

§  Store Fixtures

§  Point of Sale Fixtures

§  Store Merchandising

§  Store Signage

§  Retail Store Equipment

§  Retail Store Fixtures

·         ThomasNet.com

·         Retailers Closing Stores – Buy at Huge Discounts

·         Used Fixture Dealers

Do not forget to ask your vendors for free or low cost fixtures that they may provide and/or a fixture allowance to assist you to buy fixtures to properly display the merchandise.

Point of purchase displays are also important and may be composed of the following:

·         Outdoor / Sidewalk

·         Counter Displays

·         Floor Fixtures near POS

·         Accessories – Dump Bins, Wings, Ect.

·         Vendor Supplied

Clearance goods often warrant a separate area in a retail store, unless you intentionally choose to mix clearance items in with full-price merchandise on your displays. Whenever possible, we suggest a separate clearance area to draw attention to those items and reduce price confusion if mixed in with full-priced merchandise. Examples of clearance item placement include:

·         In-Aisle Among Regular Priced Goods

·         Back Corner

·         Front of Store

If clearance items do not sell out, even at a drastically reduced price, we suggest getting that merchandise out of the store. Look to solutions like Off-price Jobbers, or E-Bay to sell them.

Retail Store Design Concepts

Retail Stores Business

When our consulting practice is contacted by a small retailer regarding “merchandising” assistance we often find that their interpretation of “merchandising” can vary greatly. Some inquiries are focused on assistance with their store design. Some want assistance placing and displaying merchandise in their stores. Some want better looking fixtures. Some want assistance with a retail strategy. All want more sales - and some want all the above.

The frequently repeated pattern of calling any of these activities “merchandising” has prompted us to offer this website in the hope that it may serve to better define a few of the types of retail activities involved in making a retail store more attractive and productive. If you will permit us, we would like to step forward and offer our basic definitions for the key “merchandising related” activities.

A sampling of our perspective on these terms is described in the pages on this website. Please do note that this website is not meant to cover every aspect of these key retail activities, however, it is our hope that the information that follows will assist the reader to further their knowledge about the retail merchandising process and some of the key related components. Feel free to call us more more information.

Note that our comments and this graphic are focused primarily on the key components of the physical "look and feel" of a store and do not address the many "operational aspects" of running a successful store - such as offering a high level of customer service, having a properly staffed store, and having competitive pricing - all of which are also very important considerations that should not be overlooked.

Retail Strategy – Refers to the overall plan you employ to organize and operate your retail store. Examples of potential components of a retail strategy include the following:
·         Corporate vision
·         Corporate mission
·         Brand strategy

   o   What does your Brand stand for

·         Target customer demographic
·         Advertising approach
·         Financial plan
·         Real estate strategy
·         Seasonal plans
·         How you will create a reality for the customer
      o   Let customer envision how they will use your merchandise

Store Design Characteristics – Deals with the physical characteristics of the store. Examples of many of the physical characteristics of the store you may wish to consider in a store design include:
·         Exterior
      o   Condition
   o   Landscaping
   o   Color
   o   Signage
   o   Walkways
   o   Lighting
·         Entrance type
   o   Angled
   o   Arcade
   o   Straight
      o   Corner
   o   Closed or open back
   o   Island
   o   Raised floor
   o   Ceiling type
   o   Lighting
   o   Depth and height
·         Front of interior
   o   Inside foyer
   o   Initial signage
·         Middle store area
·         Back of store area
·         Floors
·         Aisles
·         Ceilings
·         Walls
·         Color
·         Restrooms / fitting rooms
·         Cash wraps / checkout areas
·         Customer Service desk
·         General layout
·         Traffic flow
·         Fixtures
·         Lighting
·         Backroom (stockrooms)
·         Office area (non-sell areas)

If you, the retailer, feel that you cannot adequately apply the various components mentioned, you may want to consider contacting a retail design firm. These firms typically offer very high quality design assistance. They are easily found via a Google search. The design options they produce are normally very attractive and are capable of making your store look very inviting and shop-able. However, do know that the fees charged for their service are often substantial. It is wise to have thought about specifically what you want, and do not want, before you contact a retail design firm to assist them in understanding what may be needed to please you, and how much you are willing to invest to create and implement a new design. They can typically assist with design suggestions that include all of the components mentioned above.

SUGGESTION: A very basic recommendation that may be invaluable in assisting you to improve your store design is to go visit your top three competitors and see how they have dealt with various design components. Note what you like and what you don't like, then return to your store and think about how you might apply some of the concepts that you observed in your store.


Merchandising Activities – Deal with the placement and display of merchandise for sale. Typically, merchandising activities are more related to the items you are selling. Examples of merchandising activities and related characteristics are as follows:
·         Merchandise categories
·         Amount of merchandise you carry
·         Metrics used to monitor your merchandising activities (e.g. GMROI)
·         Merchandising systems employed to control inventory
·         Sources of merchandise
·         Buying activities
·         Seasonality planning
·         Markdown and clearance strategies
·         Price points

Additional ways to get attention with your merchandising approach include:

·         Color
·         Effective lighting
·         Use of lines & composition
·         Varying the scale of your design components
·         Contrast in your design
·         Repetition of themes
·         Humorous design components
·         Tasteful use of mirrors
·         Nostalgia
·         Using motion in a clever manner
·         Employing the element of surprise
·         Various props

Promotions also play a role in your merchandising process. Examples of promotions tied to specific events / holidays include:

·         Christmas
·         Valentines Day
·         Easter
·         Summer
·         Fall
·         Winter
·         Fathers Day / Mothers Day
·         Back-To-School
·         Fourth of July

Additional information, that may be useful to smaller retailers in particular, concerning these points can be found on the other pages of this website. These pages are listed in the top-right Sidebar of this page.

If you feel that your business could benefit from assistance from our consulting team, please feel free to view our main company website at   www.AtlantaRetailConsulting.com. You may also call our office at  770-754-5008.