Five-Minute Makeover: Merchandising Improvements Made Easy

Merchandising, at its most basic level, includes anything you do at your store to display and promote merchandise to your shoppers. That’s a pretty broad definition. But there are quite a few strategies to achieve success, making merchandising a full-time job. There are also a slew of quick and easy solutions, ways to give a display a whole new look in less than five minutes.

Here, you’ll see some examples of those simple yet effective merchandising solutions. And, there’s more to come. This year, the editors of Hardware Retailing are teaming up with retailer Will Barnhart, retail district manager of Wilco, an Oregon-based chain with 15 retail locations. Barnhart has spent years studying and gathering merchandising examples from in and out of the industry and has put together a merchandising training program for his employees.

With help from Barnhart, we’re using that information to put together a series of stories about some of the most popular and common merchandising solutions. These stories will address merchandising basics and offer suggestions to turn every employee into a merchandising master. Read on for quick, easy and practical advice, and stay tuned for additional ideas later this year.

Keep Shelves Filled Out and Fully Stocked

Not only do fully stocked shelves look more attractive than shelves with lots of empty space, but they make customers feel more confident that you’ll have whatever it is they’re looking for. “Our old phrase is, ‘we aren’t selling pegboard, so why show all that pegboard?’” Barnhart says. “Make sure your inventory is on the shelf, not all sitting in the back room.”

Label Displays Clearly

It’s important to make sure your shelves are clearly marked. If customers can’t find a price or other necessary information about a product, don’t assume they’ll look for one of your employees and ask for additional information. Instead, they may simply decide not to purchase that item. However, with all information readily available, the customer can more quickly and easily make a decision of whether or not to buy. “If a customer is walking by the paper towels and can’t see the price, they may not stop,” Barnhart says. “With the signage, it really jumps out that the product is 99 cents, and there is no confusion.”

Maximize Space

This before and after, which Barnhart uses in his company’s training manuals, is an example of how quickly you can make a difference in the appearance in your store and better utilize valuable salesfloor space. “I walked into the store one day and saw that display,” Barnhart says. “In just a few minutes, I’d changed it around. In the first picture, there are four rows of product with a lot of product showing, but there’s plenty of pegboard showing, too. In the second, there are eight shelves that are packed full.

“It’s exactly the same number of boxes,but customers think the fully packed display is more attractive,” he says. “It makes it look like you have a lot more product.”

Promote Creative or Seasonal Themes

Endcaps are easily noticed, thanks to their prominent positions at the ends of each aisle. And endcaps that are well-stocked, clearly labeled or decorated will catch a customer’s eye and make them stop and take another look at the products you’re displaying there. It doesn’t take long for a customer to pass right by an interesting endcap, so make sure you do it right. “With endcaps, you have three seconds to get the customer’s attention,” Barnhart says. “They either stroll by or they stop and shop.”

Looking for a new and different way to bring your endcaps to life? Try a seasonally decorated endcap, such as this one covered in burlap (above, right). And don’t be afraid to try something that’s a little outside the box.

The Four Fs:

Don’t forget the four Fs of merchandising:

• Filling: Shelves, endcaps and other displays should be fully stocked with product.
• Fronting: All products should be moved to the front of the shelves.
• Facing: All products should be forward-facing, so that labels are turned to the front and easy to read.
• Frequent: Your employees should make these adjustments throughout the day, as they walk down an aisle, to the front of the store or to a display to help a customer. “Employees will say they don’t have enough time to improve displays, but it doesn’t take long,” Barnhart says. “It’s something they should constantly be doing. Even if they’re heading up to the desk to take a phone call, they should be fronting shelves or turning products so the labels face the front whenever they pass something that needs adjusting.”

Install Step-by-Step Displays

Customers can find just about any type of information they need online. However, their computers, tablets or smartphones don’t replace face-to-face interaction at a store. How-to displays are a great way for your employees to interact with customers about a project as they point out each of the steps. “It’s nice for the customer to be able to stand there in the store and figure out exactly how to do a project and what materials they’ll need,” Barnhart says. “It’s an additional service you offer. It does take some space, but it’s helpful.”

Seeing is Believing

Remind your customers of what they’re doing with the products they buy. “This display has a whole different feel when you see a chainsaw stuck in the log,” Barnhart says. “You see a chipper, a shredder, a log splitter—it’s a working display. “Customers can picture themselves using the product, and that just puts the thought of buying that much more in their minds,” he says.