Our top tips on how to use your new merchandise

Okay, so now that you have your branded merchandising, what do you do with it?

This can make a company or retail owners feel uneasy. Here at Branding Etc, we've grouped together the top 5 tips to help you use your merchandise effectively and efficiently.

1. Remember that color is king.

Color is powerful, and it can make or break your visual displays. A retailer might create an erratic display, but if the colours coordinate well, the display can still be a success.
Consider using opposite or contrasting colours, like red and green or blue and orange. These create interest as well as catching the customers eye. One way to get into the
mindset for this is to consider what your own home is like, for example, you are likely to have a solid grey, brown or cream sofa, the way you create more intrigue is to furnish
the room with a feature colour in which you purchase blankets, cushions or wall art the creates a space that correlates but is interesting and unique. This is the same principle. 
Remember: wherever the eyes go, the feet will follow. 

2. Create a focal point.

What is your fucus, would your consumer see it?
Would the customers focus be attacted to more than one place?
Is it confusing to look at?
Create a hotspot--or focal point. Why? Because hotspots can increase sales by 229 percent.

Examine your display from the customer’s point of view: the top, the floor, both sides. Often the focal point is positioned too high for the
customer to see. Always check your displays to ensure customers can easily view the hotspots and merchandise.
Remember, the hotspot is the product, not a visual element you use to add to the story. For example, if you are selling branded gloves
in an autum display and are using props like leaves and bare branches, make sure that your gloves stand out and aren't lost under a pile of leaves.

3. Tell a story.

What’s in it for customers? Tell them. Use powerful, sales-enabling signage to display the advantages of buying the product.
Present three bullet points that tell customers why they need the product or how their life will become easier because of the product.
Remember, you’re not writing an essay but rather a headline, powerful bullet points,and possibly a price proposition.
By telling a story, you help the customer better understand the product and enable the buying decision.

A display may lack a worded sign or an educational sign. That’s perfectly fine; as long as there’s still a story, the sign can speak for itself.
For example, lifestyle graphics are very popular in telling the story. No words, but the image speaks volumes. 

4. Expose customers to the maximum amount of merchandise.

A well-designed, impactful display exposes the customer to as much merchandise as possible while avoiding a sloppy mess.
The more products customers see, the more they buy.

Consider using a circular shop layout, which many retailers use. It’s powerful because it exposes customers to more merchandise
than traditional aisles. Where your shop does use aisles, place a display in dead center so customers are forced to stop and
look at the products. Have as many displays as possible, and present as much merchandise as possible. But keep displays clean
and sharp, and ensure aisles are spacious and barrier-free to prevent deterring customers from products or venturing further into your shop.

5. Use empty space wisely.

There’s a space in all retail stores that is the most underutilised. It’s the section between the displayed merchandise and the ceiling.
If this space in your store is empty, you need to start using it.

You can use this space for many different things, like signage providing information about products or brands. You could display customer
testimonials with the customer’s name and picture. You could profile a designer or supplier.

You could also display lifestyle graphics that help customers make associations with your products. For example, a furniture store
could display an image of a family cozied up on a couch, emitting those warm, fuzzy feelings that put shoppers in a good mood.