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?
