Change it up: the art of display

March 29, 2018 Cynthia Pizzini-Martin

Are you wondering why your inventory is not moving as fast as you like? Do you need suggestions on how to improve your sell through? Now is the perfect time of year to revamp your displays in order to bring your inventory back to life.

The displaying of eyewear collections is one of the most important and, very often, the most overlooked part of optical retailing. With this in mind, here are a few methods I’ve used over the years to make current frame selections more attractive to customers.

Shift and move

The easiest way to make your displays look fresh from season to season is to shuffle your entire assortment. Have you always displayed that collection in the same corner? Change it up! Your repeat customers will get the feeling that you have a new assortment without you having to spend any money at all. This process is easy and will change the mood and look of your store instantly.

Organise by colour, dark and light

Most frames are available in a variety of colors. It will make your display look much more organised if you group the collection by style and then by colour. All frames of the same model should be displayed together. This makes it much easier for the customer and the salesperson to easily identify which colours are offered in that particular model.

A good tip is to display your merchandise, your frames, from dark to light or light to dark. This is visually appealing to the eye and keeps your display looking clean and organised.

Separate optical from sun

Some optical retailers choose to display optical frames and sunglasses together by designer. The best way to accomplish a cohesive display would be to make sure you place all the optical frames on one shelf and display sunglass offerings on a different shelf. If you are using frame boards, display the optical frames (according to model and then colour) on one row and the sunglasses on a different row.

Change up window displays

Your shop front shows potential shoppers what you are all about. What you display should make people want to come inside for a closer look, to automatically warm to you and your practice. Try something different that is eye catching and interesting. Create a display that showcases the trend for the season. For example, for early 2018 you could showcase eyewear with mirrored lenses in a variety of colours. The pop of colour in the lenses will attract the eye and the frames can convey what the popular style is at the moment (aviator, round shapes, etc.). Remember a great display is only great the first time the customer sees it. It’s not so great when they see it again and again, for months at a time. Changing your window display frequently and make sure your windows are always kept clean and orderly. Window displays are the first impression you make to the public.

Go shopping

Is there a collection that no longer sells like it used to? What are you waiting for? Phase it out and replace it with a fresh new brand that you’ve never tried before. Now is the time to bring in that collection that your customers keep asking for. Make plans to visit a good optical fair for new collection and display inspiration.

Prop it up

Using fun props to display frames brings character to any collection. Anything can be used to display your eyewear. Try stacking a few books and then placing a few frames on top. You can also invest in a few custom display stands that will really showcase those special pieces from your special collections.

Showcase those add-ons

Make fun displays to showcase those eyewear holders and lens cleaning kits that are usually overlooked. Create a display on your sales counter to remind your staff and the customer that these extras are available. Promoting and selling these extras will add precious dollars to your bottom line.

Keep it clean

Nothing is worse than trying on a pair of glasses with dirty and/or scratched demo lenses. Take a walk around your shop and do a check for scratched or damaged demo lenses. If any of the lenses are in really bad shape, consider making the investment and replacing with new scratch free plano lenses.

Have fun with these suggestions. Look at it as a way to team build and have your staff come together to complete the task. It will get everyone’s creativity flowing. The sales staff will be re-energized about the items they sell everyday and the extra effort will translate into revenue in no time.

*Cynthia Pizzini-Martin is a retired luxury eyewear executive residing in South East Asia, who enjoys writing about all things optical and helping small businesses become bigger business with one on one consulting. For more, visit www.cpmretailconsulting.com