Keeping your shop front clutter-free is an important part of setting your store’s tone and general vibe. It’s a bit of a balancing act – you want to be able to show off a few of the nicer things you have for sale to tempt people in but you also don’t want to overload them with information. Here’s a few things to keep in mind.
1. Design
When designing a shop front, you should have an idea of how you want to utilise it. Will you put a display in the window, or will you use the window solely for marketing? Or both? Will your signage be a part of it? Sit down with qualified, professional shop fitters like Tu Projects and have them come up with a design that suits your needs. They can build the shop front to any spec but you need to know what you plan to use it for before that can happen.
2. Don’t Crowd
You’ve got all of this great stock and you want people to know you have it. Wouldn’t it be great to show it off in the window? No. That’s what a catalogue is for. Packing your shop front full to bursting with merchandise makes your display seem busy and confusing and it will drive customers away. Just looking at it is stressful. Keep it low-key – pick and choose between two and four things, depending on their size, to go in the window.
3. No Signs
Don’t throw up signs like “No Food or Drink” or “No Prams”. You’re already turning people away – maybe even permanently. Agreed, cleaning up someone’s spilt mango smoothie isn’t much fun but they might still buy something from you and that makes the quick scrub worth it. Ultimatums are not welcoming.
4. Themes are fun
Gussy up your shop front with topical displays. Maybe you just got this season’s apparel in, or maybe Easter or Valentine’s Day are just around the corner? Keeping a rotation of different themes going throughout the year lends you a heap of character. If your extremely creative spring display ideas can be thrown into the mix as well. People will start to drop by just to see what you’ve done with the window this time. Keep it light, and be funny if you can. When it comes to advertising, people remember what made them laugh.
5. Clean often
Your shop front is not unlike a stage. You can create a little theatre with it, and tell a story about your company. And like any theatre it must be kept in good order or the illusion may be broken. Get in there every week or so and clean the area out. Dust everything and change up the display. A dusty or dirty shop front will lower the perceived value of anything you have on show.
Creating a clutter-free shop front is far easier than it sounds. The balancing act is always ongoing, and you won’t always get it right the first time. Always be willing to experiment – if something isn’t working, get it out of the display and try something else. What do you think makes for a good shop front? Sound off in the comments.