Fixtures

Your display space will be one of your most powerful selling tools, so it’s important that you maximise its effectiveness as best you can. Weigh up the amount of display space you have against your projected sales figure for each week, and display your merchandise proportionately. For example, if you have 100 metres of display space, and you plan for sales of $2000 each week, then each metre of display space should average $20 in sales each week.

The positioning of your merchandise will have a big impact on sales. Your best-selling merchandise should be positioned more favorably, and should be given more space than items which are slow-moving.

The level of shelf space will also be an important factor. If you have five shelves in a 1.6 metre display, then research show that the third shelf will have the most amount of sales, followed sequentially by the fourth, third, second, base, and finally the top shelf. Customers usually scan shelves vertically, stopping when they get to the product they want. It is therefore best to stock product lines vertically, as this means that the customer can scan different types of merchandise more quickly.

Colours

Generally speaking, the colour scheme of your shop should compliment the store merchandise and fixtures, without overwhelming them. Strong contrasts and loud colours on the walls and ceilings may get the customers attention, but they are also likely to overpower the merchandise.

Colour can also be used to create a buying mood. Featuring a colour or family of colours which are particularly trendy will help the customer to recognize more fashionable goods. Higher priced items are generally display d with more refined colours, such as black, greys, blues and greens.

Remember that the colour scheme of your shop will have a strong impact on your overall image. Whether you choose to use ‘warm’ colours, ‘cool’ colours, or ‘loud’ colours, this will create a background for you to express the mood and image of your business. Food outlets will typically choose warm colours, such as red, orange or purple – as these have been shown to stimulate the senses.

Cooler colours tend to relax the customer, so shops which sell items that need to be especially trustworthy – such as expensive electronic goods or items in a chemist – might use these.

In terms of overall store décor, soft pastel colours have always been popular, with darker colours added in subtle amounts for contrast. Colours can affect the size of the store – making it look smaller or larger, diffusing undesirable factors. For example, lighter colours can give depth to a small space, while darker colours make a space which is too big look smaller.

Lighting

Used effectively, lighting can attract the customer and draw attention to the merchandise. The aim of lighting is to encourage the customer to examine the merchandising, and to buy it. It should draw attention to the products on display, and not to itself. It should enhance display space, make merchandise stand out, and bring out your chosen colour scheme. Here are some examples of ways to effectively display lighting:

• Avoid shadows when displaying objects by using large incandescent which shines directly down onto the merchandise.
• Emphasise particular objects by using diffuse lighting with point-type spotlights.
• Add highlights to shiny objects by using concentrated beams of bright incandescent lighting.
• highlight colours, patterns and textures by using low-intensity overhead lighting, coupled with tilted directional lighting.

Creating effective lighting in the store takes some careful consideration, so you may want to take advice from architects, lighting equipment manufacturers and interior designers.

The Retail Sales Monitor January 2009, from the BRC and advisory services firm KPMG, shows values increased by 1.1 per cent when compared to the same month last year.

According to the organisation, this indicates the highest performance levels since sales May 2008, when sales were driven up by sunny weather.

Food sales drove of the increase, displaying a 5.1 per cent rise, while the non-food sector fell by 1.6 per cent.

The report also notes that the month opened well, with sales then declining as clearance offers began to cease.

Figures also show non-food, non-store sales were 19.2 per cent higher this year, although they were down on the 30 per cent rise in December 2008, when consumers used the internet for Christmas purchases.

Stephen Robertson, director general of the BRC, adds: ‘These surprisingly good figures give some room for optimism. Overall sales growth turned positive and is higher than it’s been since last May.’

Last month, the organisation’s research claimed December 2008 was the worst month in the survey, with sales falling by 3.3 per cent on a like-for-like basis.

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SMEs are coping with the crunch

The tour, which is being sponsored by the Arts Council England, will include photographs of independent retailers across the country. The photographs will be displayed in empty shops and town market centres, to display how the spaces could be better used by small businesses.

Maxine Beuret, Keep Trade Local photographer said:

“These small shops offer a personal service because they have an understanding about the product they are selling that big chains just don’t. The shopkeeper can give you the knowledge about the product they are selling, be it a cut of cheese or vintage dress, because such products are almost always locally sourced and hand-picked.

“These photos represent the richness and resources that independent shops bring to town centres and prove that local retailers are vital to our communities.”

The tour, which comes as a part of the FSB’s wider Keep Trade Local campaign, will visit eight regions across the UK, starting Melton Mowbray in Leicester on the 2nd September 2008.

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