Basics on Showing off your Merchandise

A thought:
If you sell top quality garments, you must display them on top quality hangers. Cheap and nasty ones simply will not do.

John Bassili, of Displays Unlimited, says fixtures and fittings are basically about merchandising – how you marshal all elements of your store to maximise sales.


The shopping experience has to have three things for people to buy, he says. They are convenience, enjoyment and value for money – and fixtures and fittings have a role in them all.


Convenience: merchandise has to be accessible otherwise people won’t pick it up – so stores need the right fixtures and fittings. If it’s hard to get products out of displays, or to put them back, people will be too embarrassed to look at your stock. Sometimes there has to be a balance between security and accessibility; for example, an expensive pair of glasses may need to be kept under lock and key. But that’s a barrier in the customer’s way, so they may not bother to try them on and you miss out on a sale.


Enjoyability: if the customer isn’t having a good time when they shop, they won’t buy. That’s important. Sixty per cent of purchases (by number rather than value) are impulse purchases. So, if someone is in a bad mood, you are missing out on 60 per cent of your sales. Fixtures and fittings can help make people feel good in your store.


Value for money: to buy things, customers must perceive them to be value for money. So it’s important your fixtures and fittings help to give the impression of being value for money; for example, by using presentations that make items look expensive.


Source: Retail Magazine, September 2008 issue