One term I often hear when speaking with retailers is the ‘right turn rule’. It means that most customers when entering a store typically turn right. This also means that it presents a crucial opportunity for premium display. This could be your most compelling, high-margin or seasonal products. Whatever it is, the ‘right turn rule’ should not be ignored – and I’m sure many of you reading this already know it’s importance.

With instore display in mind, this month focuses on just that, exploring other key points to implement when optimising your retail space. So, grab a coffee, tea or whatever kick starts your morning and read-up on some other ‘rules’ when it comes to display.

Keep it simple

An obvious start. Cluttered showrooms can often lead to customers feeling overwhelmed and could see them walking out faster than Usain Bolt’s 100 metre record – that’s 9.58 seconds if you’re wondering! By giving your products clear breathing space, organised in a specific flow – and natural loop – a customer will feel invited to explore beyond the front door. It’s also worth noting to keep the first 5–15 feet of your entrance clear (if possible). This space helps customers adjust to the new lighting and environment, just before they turn right!

Light the way

With lighting in mind, spotlights are key to highlight products and create an inviting ambiance that makes your sofas, beds, mattresses etc shine. Giving products room to breathe is crucial, but so is lighting it up in the right way to show off key features as well as catch the wandering consumer eye. This also flows well with your general ‘flow’ of the store. As mentioned above, the loop guide navigates customers to explore all products independently, helping them settle in store but engaging for further help.

Story time

The most powerful retail display ideas go beyond just showing items. They tell a story. Group products that are used together, create a scene, or build a theme around a season or a solution to a customer’s problem. Whether that’s a roomset or product-focussed area providing informative information, it can help engage the customer. It’s no secret that the modern-day shopper is much more savvy, eager to ask questions and intrigued to know more about a product. Take advantage of this and enforce your product knowledge, which in turn breeds confidence and potential sales.

Know your numbers

Again, you maybe already aware of what is to follow, but I’ve stumbled upon some other interesting numbers. First up is aisle spacing, which should be at least three feet wide for comfort and accessibility. Then there’s the ‘Rule of Three’, which means to group products in odd numbers to create more visually interesting and appealing displays. Think about height too. Use tall shelving to draw the eye (around 54–60 inches) upward and make the space feel larger. Finally, try to maintain a fresh window display, changing it up every 4–6 weeks, while interior hot spots should do this every 2–3 weeks to keep the store looking fresh and encourage repeat visits.

The temptation effect

Once a customer is confident of making big-ticket purchase, there could be an opportunity to up-sell or cross-sell related products. For example, and again it may seem obvious, but if a customer is buying a mattress, you may want to have a pillow or mattress protection product display close to hand so you can highlight the importance of these product groups. For sofas and other items of furniture, think about furniture care kits and loop this in with the sale. Even at the ‘checkout’ in furnishing stores, why not create an engaging display or bed sheets, scatter cushions, throws or even home fragrances? Whatever the item, use the area as a lower-ticket space to encourage those final on-the-spot purchases.

Clean and tidy

This is another obvious one. Every customer walking into your store will be judging everything from the moment they enter. And one thing that will immediately stick out is how clean and tidy your store is. Don’t set things off on the back foot with loose paper scattered on the floor, or brochures and swatch books in the wrong places – or even bed footers looking ruffled and scuffed. Make sure you walk the floor regularly to iron out any imperfections and take pride in your retail space. If you do, the customer will see this.

The price is right

The final pointer is about attention to detail and looking closer at a product price in store. Clearly priced tags is a big plus for shoppers. There’s no secrets, no mystery behind a price point and no frustration. It may seem a simple rule, but it pays to always be transparent on price from the get-go. We all know about barcoded smaller items, which are easily processed through your till point. But what if you could print adhesive price labels, complete with a scannable barcode, for every item in your inventory, such as sofas, beds, mattresses and other larger items that wouldn’t usually have a barcode, as well as the smaller accessories that you may stock? This is where TicketMargin comes in.

The module allows you to print adhesive labels complete with your store logo, an item description, the price and a scannable barcode, which all links fully integrated into a RetailSystem EPoS. Whether it’s a larger item, such as a sofa or bed, or if it’s a smaller item such as pillows, candles or pictures, TicketMargin will produce a barcoded price label for all of them, while remaining up-to-date on price changes and stock. Customers will love the display of clear price tags and so will the sales team. When a customer walks in, initiating the ‘turn right rule’, having a hero product on display is paramount, but so is clear prices. With TicketMargin, the price is always right.

www.retailsystem.com/uk/features/ticketmargin/