Display Ideas in a Tough Market

Times are tough with the current recession in the UK, but there has in fact never been a better time to concentrate your efforts on visual merchandising and marketing.   Despite consumers tightening their belts and there being an overall downturn in customer spend, there are still customers in shops and they are still purchasing! The task is for retailers and brands to capture these people!

It would be easy to plough through the spreadsheet of marketing spend and simply cut visual merchandising and POS budgets to claw back some of the spend, but at the current time is it really the right thing to do?  In a competitive market where it is everyman for themselves, probably not! For as long as you have competitors in your targeted market, you cannot afford to let opportunities of sales pass you by.

The correct promotions, retail displays and brand recognition can capture attention which in turn can result as custom! It would be very foolish to suggest putting ruthless budgets in place and encourage increased spending at such difficult times, but there are ways of delivering successful displays and promotions without breaking the bank!

Firstly, how much can you realistically do yourself?  Using in house teams and existing members of staff can save you a lot on budget.  Without a question of doubt, there are some wonderful third party companies around, offering great design ideas and inspiration, but direct options are also available.  By buying off the shelf and creating your own display, you can save on your budget and still get a great end result.

If you choose to work with a third party company, stay involved!  Most design and bespoke companies are happy to work closely with their customers, you may even be able to arrange sourcing some of the products or doing some of the work yourself.

Choose versatile props! Seasonal displays can feel somewhat limiting, especially when you get a spout of seasonal events in quick succession, like Valentines, Easter & Mothers Day.  Carefully selected props can be incorporated into several different displays, so with a bit of care and clever designing you can re-use your props time and time again.  For example, giant flowers and springtime props are fine for Easter, Mothers Day and summer! By simply adding and taking a few props away on each display, you can create something that looks really different without a complete stock of new props!  Backdrops are also an economical way of quickly changing the appearance or style of a display.

Should you require assistance with any aspect of creating your own display, please do not hesitate to contact us.