There is no doubt that the outbreak of COVID-19 inflicted a very heavy blow to the brick and mortar retail stores all around the world. Now, when the pandemic enters its third year and it looks like the traditional stores are finally preparing a comeback, retailers find themselves in a completely different world painted with new sensibilities, purchase habits, and design trends.
How do all these things affect indoor displays that have always been some of the strongest brick and mortar marketing tools practically carrying walk-in revenue on their shoulders? Even more important, how you can use these trends to stand out in what looks like a very competitive post-Covid market?
Well, let us try to find that out together.
Make the displays immersive
Essentially, the role of a display is to invite people to come closer and check out what you want to sell. Here, you can take a note or two from digital marketing that has, as of late, been putting a heavy focus on creating immersive and augmented experiences. So, do something inventive and try to tell some sort of story to your customer. Use a unifying theme for each sector of the store, augment with comic book bubbles and let them speak with your customers, and use props to enhance the effect. All these things will invite the people to explore every corner of the store and discover all the Easter eggs and in-jokes.
Use plants to make the setting livelier
Plants can elevate any space regardless of the backdrop you have created. They are also highly in tune with the rise of environmental consciousness we are experiencing on a global level. Therefore, you can’t go wrong by turning your store into a small but lush oasis. What’s important to remember is that plants like lavender and aloe vera are known for their stress-reducing effects which is something you should, by all means, try to achieve throughout your premises. Shopping can be a very stressful and even downright frustrating chore. Allow your customers to get more enjoyment out of it and they will keep coming back.
Leverage the power of cross-marketing
In other words, don’t always insist on splitting the products by their category. Some items are naturally used together so displaying them together will increase the chance of people buying more of them. For instance, quality massage devices are not in the same category as running shoes, but if you put them next to each other the future runners checking through the shelves will think about the sore muscles in the future and consider buying this item as well. Just be sure to keep such marketing spots limited or you are going to create a layout people will have a hard time finding their products through.
Invite visitors to touch and use items
First-hand experience is one of the strongest purchase motivators in existence and at the same time, one of the last great advantages the brick and mortar stores have over their brick and mortar counterparts. So double down on this unique perk you have at disposal and allow your clients to freely interact with the products you sell. If you want to go one step further, you can even create a realistic setting in which they are most likely to use them. A vacuum cleaner has little value if it doesn’t have a huge rug to vacuum. Playing the latest shooter will speak about some PC countless times more than the list of its specs.
Use portable displays to make the store more dynamic
Present-day marketing envelops at a relentless pace. With that in mind, keeping your displays for weeks without any change or regard to these shifting sensibilities will make your store stale and won’t give people enough of an incentive to come back. So, your goal should be to play with the layout and create new displays as frequently as possible. This job will be made considerably easier if you supply your store with portable displays that can be instantly moved around. This portability will also allow your workers to cut the time necessary for maintenance and arrangements and focus on what they do the best.
Offer instructions and free content
This is yet another area where brick and mortar stores can take a couple of cues from online marketing that scored extremely good results by offering the website visitors free instructions, how-to’s, and other forms of free content. These things are not only effective hooks, but they also give the potential clients an idea about the new use-case scenarios they haven’t even thought of in the first place. To push this idea to the fullest extent you can display some sample content next to the item display (e.g., how to use key special features) and offer customers access to free online content after the checkout.
We hope these few suggestions gave you a general idea about the ways you can make your displays more effective and in-tune with the latest trends and increase your revenue as a result. Now when the end of COVID-19 finally seems close, brick and mortar retail stores are expected to experience a resurgence. Use this opportunity to get at the head of the pack while this emerging market still finds its way into the future.
