Retail Store Supply Info

Stimulate the Emotions of Your Retail Customers by Incorporating Harmonized Colors into your Store’s Visual Merchandising Strategies

How do your customers interact within your retail spaces?  In the retail industry, this is an important question to ask yourself in order to continually improve your store’s visual merchandising strategy. When a customer enters a store, they are quickly influenced by the visual details they gather. One of the most important visual elements customers soak in upon entering a retail store is color. Changing your store’s color scheme can quickly alter a customer’s mood, perception of a store, and increase, as well as decrease, the chance of a sale.Whether  you are opening a new store or looking to improve the displays in your current store, a comprehensive color scheme is crucial to the creation of captivating displays.

Color is a critical element in emotional branding, as colors frequently carry associations of emotions, and can impact a customer’s mood while shopping. By understanding some of these associations, you can tailor your displays to the right audience by simply merchandising with color in mind. Smart retailers consider their customers receptiveness to certain color when taking into consideration all aspects of visual planning, including: advertisements, employee apparel, merchandise displays and store fixtures.

Coordinating merchandise by color can encourage multiple purchases, as the customer can actually see how well the products mix. Grouping together colored merchandise, such as clothing of the same color, can help shoppers easily find the colors they are seeking.  Organizing merchandise in this manner also provides the avenue to showcase colored items that complement each other, combinations the customer may not otherwise have considered.

As shown in the picture above, visual merchandisers go to great lengths to have the right mix of color. When merchandising by color, there are many facets to consider, such as color implications. For example, yellow and red are attention grabbers, while trust and reliability are often associated with the color blue. It is important to have a good grasp of the various emotional implications colors have when arranging your store. Visual merchandising is at its best when there is a dynamic between the aesthetic and analytical components, and this rule should be applied when choosing a color scheme in your retail store.

In conclusion, while retailers’ color strategies will vary due to customer demographics, themes, holidays, seasons, merchandise and other components, the majority of successful retailers take color into account when visual merchandising. Color has the power to attract the eye of potential customers, communicate an immediate association, and stimulate a purchase (or multiple purchases). Color is a powerful motivator, and mixed with the right floor plan, store fixtures, merchandise and theme, a new color scheme can give your retail store a boost in emotional branding.

Keep in mind “You never get a second chance to make a first impression”. The color of a display fixture, merchandise organized in a display, or the color of your store’s walls, may just be the difference in a customer walking away empty handed or with a cart full of merchandise.

Do you have any examples of effective displays that are merchandised with color?  Please comment or send us your photos.

1 Comment »