As we come into August, the retail world is actively launching their back-to-school styles and fall fashions. However, just because the fashion has moved towards fall, doesn’t mean Mother Nature is on the same page. In most cases, this leaves stores full of fresh new merchandise that doesn’t sell because shoppers aren’t ready or needing…
Category: Retail Design
POV: Plastic Bag Law vs Retail Reality
Here in Canada, our Federal Liberal Government has made it illegal to buy, sell and import “single use” plastic bags. You know the ones we have used for decades, the ones that allow you to easily carry your purchase out of the store? In today’s Canada if you are going to go shopping (whether that…
Merchandising for Your Customer
Customizing your store for the people shopping One of the biggest lessons I learned as a Visual Merchandiser in the fashion retail world was that merchandising (design) is very subjective. One person could walk the store and hate this or that. Then a different person can walk the store and love those very things. Sometimes,…
Retail Merchandizing – Grab Their Attention
A few years ago there was a lot of talk around the sustainability of brick and motor stores in retail – will online shopping take over? How will brick and motor stores compete? Will physical stores become obsolete? And then COVID-19 hit forcing most retailers around the world to close their storefront doors for months….
Lifestyle Branding: The New Marketing Tool You Need to Know
It was about 5 years ago when I sat in front of 3 executives during an interview for a Visual Manager job with a higher-end shoe company when they asked me, “How would you sell our shoes?” My response – “I’d focus on your story…People are more likely to buy something that has a story behind it….
Visual Merchandising – It’s All About Location
Location, Location, Location. Usually when you hear this it’s in reference to, well, location. A piece of property, a city, a neighborhood. It’s typically when talking about a residential home or a business’ physical location. In the world of visual merchandising, location is the placement of product within a store. And just like in real estate, there are…
How to Design a Pop-Up Shop
Over the last few years, online shopping has given traditional retailers a run for their money; changing the way we shop as consumers. Where you once had to find and then go to a store to get what you needed, now it is available at your fingertips and dropped at your doorstep. The online market place…
Retail Design: Visual Merchandising 101
When I started my post-graduate career (after graduating from Interior Design) I started as a Visual Manager for H&M. This might seem like a weird entry level job choice for an interior design graduate but, in reality, there are a lot of similarities between Interior Design and Visual Merchandising. You’re just applying them in a different…
Retail Design Planning: Guiding Customer’s Through Your Store
When looking at interior design in retail, its more than just paint, mannequins and merchandise. Understanding how your customer uses the space, what your customers’ needs are and then planning the design around these is the difference between a retailer that’s making money and one that doesn’t. In order to optimize your selling potential, you…