While parents make the ultimate buying decisions, children do have quite an influence on many purchases. Researchers at the University of Vienna in Austria found that twice as many purchases in supermarkets are triggered by children than their parents are aware of. As retailers, it is important to cater to the parent while also making sure that children are not only addressed, but that they have access to the right products in the right ways.

If your store caters to families or parents, remember that lower shelves are at eye level for inquisitive children eyes and hands.  So make sure that lower items are targeted to children. Also, remember that busy hands could easier grab and break anything on lower shelves. So even if you aren’t directly marketing to children, make sure you protect your merchandise by stocking lower shelves with items that are durable or soft.

If you are going to have merchandise that is targeted to children, keep in mind that children like to touch and move merchandise. We recommend keeping items in baskets, boxes or other enclosures so that children can easily pick up and choose items that are low. Children also are drawn to displays that encourage interaction. Mix bright colors, shapes, sizes and display types and children will be drawn to these areas.

If your store mostly caters to moms, consider having an activity or play corner for children that is easily visible from most areas of the store. That way mom can shop while her children safely play within her sight.

Remember that there is a fine line between offering items to children and pushing them to the point that you upset your customers. Make sure that you have items within reach of the counter that are at lower price point as well. Parents will be more likely to say yes to these items and the parent and child will both be happy.

How do you create child friendly displays in your store?

Have you ever heard the complaint “There just wasn’t a great selection” about a retail store? Sometimes the case isn’t that the store doesn’t have a large selection, but they don’t think they have room to display it all effectively. If you find yourself in the too many products, too little space boat, try some of the space maximizing tips.

Think vertically. Even though customers are naturally going to be drawn to displays that are eye level, you can draw their eyes up with vertically appealing displays. Some recent products we have featured recently that fall into this category include Circular Sky Tiers that attach to round racks and the Standing Hat Tower. These are perfect examples of fixtures that utilize empty space toward your ceiling. Do a quick check with your displays. Start by looking at you display straight on, then make note as to where your eyes go. If they don’t go up then you have just identified a space that you can potentially fill with products.

Fold and stack instead of hanging. As highlighted in a previous blog post, folding and stacking apparel takes up less space than hanging. This is because you don’t have to have a rack or a hanger to display merchandise. However, keep in mind that folding and stacking displays will require more upkeep throughout the day. So, if you don’t think you can spare the extra time, stay with hanging for organizational purposes. We recommend keeping sizes in the same pile instead of putting large sizes on the bottom of smaller sizes. If people can easily find their size they won’t have to go to the bottom of the stack, which means less work for you!

Use your walls. Even if you cannot store products on your walls because of the height, you can still put up non-sales displays to carry out your message to customers. Be creative and start with a clean slate, don’t think about restrictions or space limitations. Don’t be afraid to put ideas out there such as putting your mannequins on a shelf on the top half of your walls.

How do you maximize space in your store? Do you use any non-traditional layouts?