An attractive fa鏰de will draw more customers into your business. So simple it's common sense, really. But the importance of this basic concept shouldn't be underestimated. Even if good prices and word-of-mouth advertising are both working in your favour a poor shop exterior may end up discouraging potential customers from even stepping foot inside.
An aluminium shop front is an ideal solution to this dilemma, projecting an up-to-date and architecturally-pleasing image to the world. It also gives you the benefit of large glass windows perfect for displaying merchandise to passersby.
Once you've installed your inviting new aluminium shop front there's even more you can do to allure in as many potential customers as possible by applying the principles of visual merchandising. Visual merchandising is the art of presenting your business and products in the most exciting and captivating means possible so as to drive sales. Considering that we formulate eighty percent of our impressions based on what we see, visual merchandising is key to the success of any business.
When visual merchandising is applied appropriately to the exterior of a shop your business will catch people's eye, stimulate their interest and welcome them to come inside. Coupled with thoughtfully designed window displays, the clean and bright appearance of an aluminium shop front certainly achieves this.
Special attention should be paid to window displays because they provide the means for potential customers to learn about your company. They are at least as important as advertising, if not more so, and can account for up to one-quarter of your total sales. Here, careful design is essential given people typically only spend eleven seconds looking at a window display.
Visual merchandising provides some important guidance when it comes to designing window displays. For starters, each display ought to have a theme or tell a story in order to communicate a clear message to the passersby. The message should be clear and simple, so the display shouldn't be overcrowded with items. Ideally, your window displays should be focused around sales promotions, image-building, seasonal changes, new arrivals and high demand items.
Good window displays don't just present your merchandise to the customer-they enhance your company's image. Before going about setting up a display you should define the following: what image the company wishes to project, what kinds of customers you're aiming to attract, what concept the various pieces of merchandise have in common, how the location of the display will influence its design and why this particular merchandise has been chosen for the display. Taking location into account is important because the display should be made to harmonize well with the fa鏰de itself, the street, lighting, colours, people's perceptions and their viewing angle.
A window display ought to respect the fundamental principles of design in order to be as effective as possible. Balance, proportion, rhythm, emphasis, colour, lighting and harmony should be purposefully united to produce maximum drawing power. When it comes to lighting, in particular, the front of your store should be bright and fully illuminated.
Of course, you can't keep the same window display up indefinitely or passersby will lose interest. New displays let people know that you have new merchandise to offer. Depending on your store's location, window displays should be changed as often as every week or every month at the very least. City shops can afford to keep their displays up for longer since the same people pass by less frequently, whereas small town shops need to change theirs more often.
Finally, don't be afraid to use your creativity to set your business apart from the competition. Imitating the look of a more prominent competitor won't give people reasons to visit your store; rather, using your creativity to project a unique image will pique their interest. Unite your originality with the appeal of an aluminium shop front and visual merchandising principles and you'll be on your way to success.
