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Drive More Sales With Stack Displays

It’s a tactic all of the big-box retailers use: stack it high and watch it fly. Bulk displays, whether in a pallet in the power aisle, in front of the store or on the floor as an extension of a gondola run, convey a message of value and price. Customers who see a bulk display of product usually assume the product is available at a good price, and that they need to buy it quickly before it’s gone. It’s an easy display to create, but there’s still a bit of art to this type of merchandising. Here are some tips for creating effective stack displays.

Use Color

One of the advantages of stack displays is that they use minimal merchandising, so you get maximum exposure of the product packaging. Since this type of display is usually in a prominent place in the store, choose products with colorful packaging. You want them to capture customers’ attention. Avoid plain cardboard boxes if possible.

Use Seasonal Items

If a product is only going to be available for a limited amount of time, putting it on a stack display can create a sense of urgency to buy and help clear it out. Seasonal items such as bags of topsoil or ice melt are items you want to sell quickly. By merchandising a mass amount, you are sending the message that you have plenty of stock. At the same time, you create an urgency to buy because customers may think they are available only for a limited time.

Keep it Organized

Since stack displays are more prominently displayed in the store, they will be more noticeable to customers if they are disorganized. As customers are pulling items off the stacks throughout the day, or bumping into them as they pass by, products can easily get messy. Be on the lookout for damaged products, too. Remove products with damaged packaging when you find it. Another important part of maintaining the display is to keep it well stocked. When the stock level drops and you are unable to refill it, consider rotating the product to a less prominent location in the store. Low stock levels can hurt your image of having enough product to meet your customers’ needs.

Use Unpackaged Items

Some items you sell are large, bulky and difficult to merchandise. These are good candidates for stack displays. You can set them directly on the floor. They likely will also not have any packaging surrounding them, so you can put the full focus on the product. Lawn mowers, grills, wheelbarrows and trash cans are all good examples of items to merchandise out of the box, assembled and directly on the salesfloor.

About Jesse Carleton

Jesse Carleton has visited independent hardware retailers, conducted original research on the industry and written extensively about the business of hardware retailing. Jesse has written for more than a dozen of NHPA’s contract publishing titles, all related to the hardware retailing industry. He also was instrumental in developing the Basic Training in Hardware Retailing courses now used by thousands of retailers across the country.

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