Latest / The Resilient Retail Game Plan - retail insights, retail trends and best practices / Retail Christmas Window Displays: The 3-Colour Rule That Sells

Transcript

Retail Christmas Window Displays: The 3-Colour Rule That Sells · The Resilient Retail Game Plan - retail insights, retail trends and best practices

• 0:00
  This Christmas, don't forget about your hardest-working unpaid employee.
• 0:05
  This Christmas is an opportunity to bring some of that joy back to our high street.
• 0:12
  Keep the concept to a kind of maximum of three key colours.
• 0:19
  Create the inspiration for the customer to buy into a package of products
• 0:25
  rather than individual products.
• 0:28
  And your window is taking orders at 10 o'clock at night.
• 0:32
  Obviously from October onwards it gets very dark.
• 0:36
  And none of it works if nobody can see it.
• 1:27
  Sarah
• 1:27
  Manning has been working in visual merchandising for over 20 years.
• 1:32
  She started her career at Harrods, Selfridges and Harvey Nichols.
• 1:36
  She's run her own visual merchandising consultancy since 2006, and she's
• 1:41
  taught visual merchandising at the University of the Arts London since 2007.
• 1:46
  Sarah was on the show earlier this year talking about shop windows, and
• 1:50
  I wanted her back for the windows that matter the most, your Christmas windows.
• 1:55
  When we spoke, she was in the middle of planning Christmas
• 1:58
  schemes for her own clients.
• 1:59
  So what you're about to hear is what she's actually doing this season.
• 2:04
  I imagine you are probably getting ready to put up your Christmas window
• 2:07
  display in the next couple of weeks, or maybe you've already planned it.
• 2:11
  Maybe you've already started putting it in.
• 2:14
  By the end of this episode, you'll know how to build one Christmas
• 2:18
  look that runs from your window to your shelves, to your website.
• 2:23
  And why three colours is the limit.
• 2:26
  You'll know how to use your window and the area just inside your door
• 2:31
  to sell a gift rather than a product.
• 2:33
  So each customer spends more and you'll know when to put your window
• 2:38
  in, when to refresh it, and how to keep it selling after you've locked up.
• 2:44
  For most independents, the quickest Christmas win isn't
• 2:47
  finding more customers.
• 2:49
  It's each customer spending a little more.
• 2:52
  Sarah's windows are built to do exactly that.
• 2:55
  One of the key things I would say is to get a really strong theme.
• 3:00
  Usually a lot of the concepts I'm currently working on is
• 3:05
  all around three core colours.
• 3:07
  So I think if you can try and kind of keep the concept to a kind of maximum
• 3:12
  of three key colours, and have a strong theme which runs not only in
• 3:18
  the window, but also in store, and also you can channel it online too.
• 3:25
  I think all of that is a key principle to be able to create a really
• 3:30
  impactful, strong, consistent Christmas.
• 3:34
  So, for example, one of the clients I'm currently working with, we're
• 3:38
  working with silver, red, and blue.
• 3:40
  Those elements will be brought through into the colour prop elements we're
• 3:45
  gonna be using, silver hat boxes with red ribbon and blue ribbon, and then we're
• 3:52
  gonna have red, uh, prop elements like sleighs, for example, which will then
• 3:58
  be used, in the windows and then also brought through to the in-store space.
• 4:04
  So we're planning to implement them on the top shelves.
• 4:09
  So for anyone who's listening to this, if you've got those sort of top shelves
• 4:13
  at the area that are unshoppable
• 4:16
  unshoppable
• 4:17
  for your customer, and implement some of the colourways or the POS
• 4:22
  which you're using in the window.
• 4:24
  Bring that through into those areas.
• 4:27
  Also, if you've got in-store showcases possibly bring those into those as well.
• 4:33
  Sometimes I also have customers who will also use those elements
• 4:38
  for kind of online content as well.
• 4:40
  So you've really got that strong consistency happening in store and
• 4:45
  also on your online channels.
• 4:48
  Notice where those three colours actually go on the props, the ribbons, and the top
• 4:54
  shelves, nobody can reach, not necessarily on the stock that matters because most
• 5:00
  independents don't sell a range in, for example, red, blue, and silver.
• 5:05
  So what do you do when your shelves are every colour going?
• 5:09
  I worked for a client yesterday where they have a lot of mixture of colours.
• 5:14
  So this is a food retailer, and we were talking about having more
• 5:18
  of a kind of natural elements in the window and bringing in
• 5:24
  just kind of one pop of colour.
• 5:26
  So it could be that you implement that rather than you having a really
• 5:31
  strong kind of colourway that you feel is gonna overpower all your products.
• 5:36
  We bought a kind of natural coloured hat box.
• 5:40
  So, you know, it kind of could be something quite neutral that
• 5:44
  you bring that colour into.
• 5:46
  We'd picked like a sort of olive green because the olive
• 5:50
  green was in their branding.
• 5:53
  Right.
• 5:53
  So it could be something that you feel is in your branding or that
• 5:57
  you feel would kind of work with the interior of your store.
• 6:01
  Or it could be that you look at, you know, trend sites like
• 6:05
  WG-
• 6:06
  WGSN, who pair with Coloro, or Pantone.
• 6:09
  If you wanna get some inspiration on colour trends.
• 6:14
  So the colour comes from your brand, your shop, or a trend you like,
• 6:19
  not necessarily from your stock.
• 6:21
  Once it stopped someone on the pavement, Sarah has a simple rule for what they
• 6:26
  look at next: work in threes and put the thing you most want to sell in the middle,
• 6:31
  because that's where the eye lands first.
• 6:34
  Grouping things in twos or fours means that your eye actually
• 6:39
  lands on a gap in the middle.
• 6:41
  She uses the same rule online.
• 6:44
  If your homepage shows three products in a row, the middle one is your best spot.
• 6:50
  But stopping people isn't the same as selling to them.
• 6:53
  So I asked Sarah whether a strong colour palette is enough on its own.
• 6:57
  I think all of that is key.
• 6:59
  However, it's also about you showing inspiration for the
• 7:03
  customer for how they're gonna shop.
• 7:04
  Okay.
• 7:05
  So obviously Christmas is mostly about gifting, so have a think about
• 7:09
  how you can partner products up.
• 7:11
  And so this comes into link selling.
• 7:14
  So have a think about how you can create the inspiration for the customer
• 7:19
  to buy into a package of products rather than individual products.
• 7:25
  So a really great one that, um, I worked on a couple of years ago was a pop-up
• 7:31
  concept where we were doing a pop-up called Create Your Own Christmas Hamper.
• 7:38
  So all of this was a great way to encourage customers to actually come
• 7:43
  in and create their own gift, and then obviously showing that in the window.
• 7:48
  So obviously creating sort of bespoke examples of hampers that you could do in
• 7:54
  wicker
• 7:55
  baskets or kind of cardboard hat boxes can be a great way of you combining products
• 8:03
  and increasing that customer's spend.
• 8:07
  And if you can kind of show that in the window as a key example,
• 8:12
  that customer will be able to get inspiration for that shop as well.
• 8:20
  A hamper sells an idea, not a product.
• 8:23
  And at Christmas that works for everyone.
• 8:26
  Your customer is short of time and wants a gift that will make someone feel special
• 8:30
  without having to think too hard about it.
• 8:33
  As the retailer, you get a customer putting two or three things in the
• 8:37
  basket instead of one, and you don't have to buy anything new to do it.
• 8:42
  You're putting together stock
• 8:44
  you already have.
• 8:46
  After Christmas last year, someone who listens to this show
• 8:49
  emailed me about exactly that.
• 8:52
  They'd taken two items
• 8:54
  they already sold, some soap and a scarf, and tied a ribbon round them.
• 8:59
  People picked them up as a gift and they sold. Same stock.
• 9:04
  All that changed was that someone had shown the customer the gift.
• 9:09
  The window gives people the idea. Where they act on it is just inside your door.
• 9:14
  And at Christmas, Sarah puts something unexpected there.
• 9:18
  The area just inside the door is what visual merchandisers call the hotspot.
• 9:23
  Typically a kind of hotspot area should be connected to the
• 9:28
  product that you've just shown the customer kind of in the window.
• 9:31
  Mm-hmm.
• 9:32
  However, if you wanted to for the Christmas period to create this kind
• 9:36
  of, sort of create your own hamper gift,
• 9:39
  mm-hmm.
• 9:39
  you could use the hotspot as more of an inspirational area,
• 9:43
  Right.
• 9:44
  also an area where the customer could then pick up those, um,
• 9:49
  sort of empty like hamper baskets,
• 9:52
  Yes.
• 9:53
  and then you take them round that shopping experience where the customer can then
• 9:58
  handpick their own choice of items.
• 10:02
  I wonder whether that makes the ready-made gift set redundant.
• 10:05
  I think having maybe two or three pre-made options is actually always very helpful.
• 10:12
  However, I was really surprised of their sort of popularity of customers
• 10:19
  really enjoying making their own gifts
• 10:22
  Yes.
• 10:22
  and being able to choose their own products
• 10:25
  Yes.
• 10:25
  for
• 10:26
  their loved ones.
• 10:27
  If you've ever made up gift sets or sold them, you'll know
• 10:30
  the question that always comes.
• 10:31
  "I love this, but could I swap that one for so-and-so?"
• 10:36
  Let customers build their own, and you've answered it before they ask.
• 10:40
  The gift is more personal for them, and the basket is fuller for you.
• 10:44
  Keep two or three ready-made sets for the customer who's in a hurry
• 10:48
  and let the baskets do the rest.
• 10:51
  Then there's timing, and this episode is going out a couple of weeks before Sarah
• 10:55
  puts most of her Christmas windows in, so you've got plenty of time to get prepared.
• 11:00
  Usually, on average, most shop windows change every four to eight weeks.
• 11:06
  Yeah.
• 11:06
  Um,
• 11:07
  Christmas windows.
• 11:08
  Most of the Christmas installations I'm putting in are tending to
• 11:12
  be installed after, um, October.
• 11:15
  So the first week of November,
• 11:17
  Yes.
• 11:17
  um,
• 11:18
  usually those Christmas concepts will be kept in up until Christmas.
• 11:23
  Um, however, what I would advise is maybe at the end of November refreshing it.
• 11:31
  Okay.
• 11:32
  So
• 11:32
  maybe looking, reviewing product in the window and changing product rather than
• 11:39
  having to change that whole scheme,
• 11:41
  Yeah.
• 11:41
  Just change that product.
• 11:43
  So, you know, you've got that element that of newness, which is gonna constantly
• 11:48
  excite and add interest to a customer.
• 11:51
  And then also adding a QR code on the window is a great way.
• 11:56
  So I've been ordering those, in vinyl,
• 11:59
  Mm-hmm.
• 11:59
  which are usually applied to the inside of the glass in the corner.
• 12:04
  Try and apply it in the corner next to your entrance, so you've
• 12:08
  got that sort of natural flow in.
• 12:10
  Mm-hmm.
• 12:10
  If you can then connect that QR code to a page on your e-commerce site
• 12:16
  where customers can then purchase those products that you've just advertised
• 12:20
  in the window, all of that's also a great way to potentially accrue sales
• 12:26
  even when the shop is shut.
• 12:29
  One scheme and one product refresh at the end of the month, you don't need
• 12:34
  three or four different windows, and in the busiest quarter of your year, that's
• 12:37
  time you get back for the shop floor.
• 12:40
  If you take only one thing away from this episode, then make sure you
• 12:44
  put that end of November refresh in your Christmas plan right now.
• 12:48
  The QR code is the part I do straight away as well.
• 12:51
  As soon as you launch your Christmas window, link it to a page with exactly
• 12:55
  what's in your window, not your homepage, and your window is taking
• 12:59
  orders at 10 o'clock at night. At Christmas, your window and your website
• 13:03
  shouldn't be doing separate jobs.
• 13:06
  Christmas is also your chance to be more playful in the
• 13:09
  window than you'd normally be.
• 13:10
  Sarah thinks that this year it matters more than usual.
• 13:14
  You know, a lot of people have a lot of, kind of lack of
• 13:18
  hope, you know, at the moment.
• 13:20
  So I feel like this Christmas is an opportunity to bring some
• 13:24
  of that joy back, you know, particularly to our high street.
• 13:29
  So I feel that when you were to implement a much more stronger, enchanting
• 13:35
  kind of campaign to the window,
• 13:37
  it,
• 13:38
  you know, it's also creating that joy for the customer and, um, you know,
• 13:43
  creating more of a pull to encourage them to come inside and experience that.
• 13:50
  And none of it works if nobody can see it.
• 13:52
  The clocks have gone back and it's dark before most shops close.
• 13:57
  I think also great lighting as well at Christmas, you know, to be able to sort
• 14:02
  of have a look uh, obviously what you're implementing and then coming back outside
• 14:08
  of the window and actually having a look, you know, is everything highlighted.
• 14:13
  Could you maybe create more lighting in the window by adding
• 14:18
  extra spotlights to the track?
• 14:20
  For example,
• 14:22
  you know, obviously from October onwards it gets very dark.
• 14:26
  Could we elevate that space?
• 14:28
  You know, could we use maybe vinyl on the window or sign writing on the
• 14:34
  window to be able to create some of that
• 14:36
  magic?
• 14:37
  The Christmas windows that sell aren't always the prettiest ones on the street.
• 14:43
  They're the ones that show a passerby what to give and make it
• 14:46
  easy to buy through the door or on their phone after you've closed.
• 14:52
  So here's one thing to do this week after you lock up, go and stand outside
• 14:56
  your shop in the dark and look at your window the way someone walking
• 15:00
  past will. Can you see the product?
• 15:03
  Can you tell what you'd buy as a present?
• 15:06
  And if the door's locked, is there any other way to buy
• 15:08
  it?
• 15:09
  Sarah's details and the UK prop suppliers she uses are in the show notes.
• 15:14
  And if you haven't got a Christmas plan to put that refresh date in, my Christmas
• 15:19
  planner is at resilientretailclub.com/christmas.
• 15:23
  If you give your windows a Christmas makeover this year, I'd love to see it.
• 15:28
  Why not come over to Instagram @resilientretailclub
• 15:31
  and tag me in a photo?
• 15:33
  Thanks so much for listening.
• 15:35
  Don't forget to like, follow, or subscribe wherever you listen to your podcasts to be
• 15:39
  the first to know about each new episode.