5 Types of Visual Merchandising Displays and How to Use Them

The best visual merchandising displays in retail can encourage things like foot traffic, customer loyalty, and sales. There are several types of visual merchandising window displays that can drive sales and enhance the shopping experience from things like point of purchase displays to mannequin displays to table displays. This article will explore the different types of visual merchandising displays and how they can create an impression for your company.

Type 1: Digital Window Displays

The first most common type of visual merchandising displays are digital windows options that replace traditional signs in storefront windows and help attract foot traffic while also creating a strong impression.

Key Elements: 

Lighting, color schemes, and thematic storytelling.

Best Practices: 

Create eye-catching window displays that align with seasonal trends and promotions, using colors and images that relate to your brand so you can simultaneously increase brand recognition without being overstimulating. 

Type 2: Point of Purchase (POP) Displays

The second type is point-of-purchase displays. These can be the best visual merchandising displays for companies that are looking to highlight specific products or promotions at the time that someone makes a purchase. While making a purchase in a storefront using one of these displays, individuals might receive personalized suggestions for other things they can buy that complement what they already have in their basket or things that are currently on sale right now.

For example:

A retail company offering high-end groceries might have a point of sale purchase display where a customer checking out with a certain type of organic hummus might receive last minute promotions on deals related to naan or lamb skewers to complete the meal. 

They might instead receive a last minute promotion at the point of purchase display for other things that are on sale unrelated to what they are purchasing, like fresh strawberries that are buy one get one free.

Key Elements: 

Placement, product visibility, and promotional messaging.

Best Practices: 

Design POP displays that encourage impulse buying and cross-selling, picking suggestions that are based on things a customer has already purchased. 

Type 3: Freestanding Digital Displays

The third type of visual merchandising displays are freestanding units. These are displays that you can put anywhere throughout the store, and they are free-standing so they can showcase featured products.

For example:

A garden supply store can utilize freestanding digital displays to draw attention to a new product, like a new set of organic, heirloom tomatoes in the garden section, as well as sale items like a combination of 30% off all air conditioning units. These signs could be respectively displayed next to the air conditioning unit or the garden section. 

Key Elements: 

Flexibility in placement, mobility, and product focus.

Best Practices:

Use freestanding displays to create focal points and guide customers through the store, drawing attention to items on sale, or items that are new.

Type 4: Mannequin Displays

Mannequin displays work well for clothing retail stores looking to display fashion retail with outfits and styling ideas. With a digital display, the mannequins cannot only showcase different items, with outfit ideas for seasons, different demographics like children versus adults, but ideas based on what things your store wants to promote.

Key Elements:

Realistic poses, coordinated outfits, and seasonal relevance.

Best Practices:

Use mannequins to inspire customers with ideas that incorporate other products in your store, like clothing, shoes, or accessories, and increase clothing sales.

Type 5: Table Displays

Table displays similarly replace the traditional, stagnant table display by presenting a variety of products, from accessories to apparel.

For example:

A clothing store with a large table containing different boot-cut jeans for the season might have a table display in the middle of the jeans that highlights different combinations of shirts, shoes, and jewelry to go with those bootcut jeans for things like:

• Job interviews
• Date night
• Casual Friday
• Vacation 

The small table display would show accessories and other clothing items that are nearby to the bootcut jean table making it easy for potential buyers to find the pair of jeans they want, decide what type of outfit they want to make with those jeans whether it's a date night or a vacation outfit, and find the respective complimentary items. 

Key Elements: 

Layering, product grouping, and height variation.

Best Practices:

Create appealing table displays that encourage customers to watch the products in detail, with things like animations or videos that are eye-catching.

Choosing the Best Displays

As a retail company it's important to experiment with the key elements behind each of these types of visual merchandising displays. There are best practices but these will vary from one industry to the next. Table displays might work best in a lobby area for an auto repair shop, where the displays can highlight complementary services while people wait for their vehicle to be finished. 

By the same token, some auto repair shops may not have a good lobby area, and as such, this type of table might not be the best visual merchandising display and instead, they might go with a point-of-purchase display.

The same can be said for niche clothing stores, game stores, and other retailers. Consider the present layout of your store and where you can capitalize on focal points, whether you have a large open area when people first come into the store for a freestanding display or whether you have lots of small tables or counters for different products where a table display might be better.

Conclusion

There are several tips for optimizing your visual merchandising displays, whether you are using table displays, freestanding displays, or point-of-purchase displays. As a retailer you should experiment with different types of displays to find what works best for your store and your customers.

There is an ongoing role of visual merchandising in enhancing the customer experience and driving sales. The more you are willing to utilize best practices for things like appealing table displays or freestanding displays to create focal points, the more your company can capitalize on this opportunity. 

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