How Retail Merchandising Impacts the Customer Experience

mproving the customer experience in the retail sphere is incredibly important for any retail business model, catapulting your business to new heights.

Your customers are the key to your performance, so it's important to get it right. It’s not just about boosting engagement -  it’s about fostering an environment of customer loyalty that keeps shoppers coming back long after the first visit.

But how exactly do you master the art of the retail customer experience?

Two words: Retail merchandising. 

At Dee Set, we've got you covered, as retail merchandising is just one of the cutting-edge solutions we offer to our clients. We can tailor the perfect strategy to your brand, ensuring success for every business that chooses to work with us. 

Ready to revolutionise your store? Let’s talk.

Retail merchandising: Explained

Before you start to integrate retail merchandising into your business, let’s take a look at this powerhouse strategy. In essence, retail merchandising (sometimes known as visual merchandising) is the art of arranging your store, stock and promotions to entrance and captivate potential customers.

Whilst digital sales have risen in popularity in recent years, retail is still king. Recent statistics show that retail figures have actually risen over the last two years, at a new high since August 2021. However, the key to success isn’t just about getting people into your store - it’s ensuring they stay. The best way to do that is to create eye-catching displays and stands. 

What can retail merchandising do for you?

Retail merchandising is all about creating an inviting, well-organised and visually appealing environment that not only attracts but influences consumer purchasing decisions. Drawing in visitors is just one part of the battle. Once they’re inside your store, you need to orchestrate the perfect customer journey, leading them to the products they desire.

By strategically arranging your stands and promotions, you can draw in more customers, turning that traffic into conversions. Understanding the power of effective visual merchandising is the first step towards retail success in the modern business environment.

And guess what? At Dee Set, retail merchandising is our speciality. When you work with us, you’ll amplify your success in no time. 

How can visual merchandising be utilised to improve the customer experience in retail?

Before diving into the world of retail merchandising let’s explore how this advanced form of modern marketing can supercharge your brand. The good news is that there are a wide range of visual merchandising techniques and applications, all customisable to fit your unique needs and goals. 

Retail merchandising is a formidable ally, although it’s more than just arranging products on shelves. Instead, it’s a real art form, allowing you to express your creativity whilst also unlocking more potential for your store’s performance.

Ready to uncover the secrets of retail merchandising? Let’s dive in and take a look at the key ways in which this killer marketing strategy can transform the in-store customer experience.

Mastering your store layout

Retail merchandising is your golden ticket to success, enabling you to create a seamless shopping experience for your customers. Understanding the customer journey is crucial, as it can really make or break a store. 

Simplifying the customer journey is the aim of the game - make your store layout effortless to navigate, and you’ll find your sales increase in no time. With easy to locate items, you can sync your store with shopper behaviour, creating a customer-centric shopping experience.

An effective store layout is like a well signposted road - clear, easy to navigate, and leading your customers to their chosen destination. A poorly designed store can drive customers away, straight into the arms of your competitors.

• You need to ask yourself the following questions: 
• Are your items hard to find or poorly signposted? 
• Are common items regularly out of stock or displayed in the wrong area of your store? 

If so, then your customers will be left feeling confused and disappointed, prompting them to turn to your rivals instead.

In the modern age, speed is of the essence and efficiency is a must. By streamlining the customer journey, visitors will leave with an image of trustworthiness, boosting customer loyalty. You need to identify high-traffic areas, before showcasing your featured products in prime locations within your store.

At Dee Set, our cutting-edge technology and field marketing techniques will take your customer pathway up a notch. We can dissect the customer journey, analyse the flow of foot traffic, deploy clear signage and ensure easy navigation - even during peak hours. 

Want to get your customer journey off on the right foot? Let’s have a chat.

The magic of product placement

Product placement is the secret sauce in any innovative retail merchandising strategy. Your job here is to essentially position your items in a way that entices customers not only into your store, but to the checkout itself. Poor product placement is a recipe for disaster, so we’re here to show you how it's done.

High-demand or seasonal items can take centre stage, drawing shoppers inside your store. The fun doesn’t end there though - once inside, the art of coherence and cross-selling kicks in, ensuring a high conversion rate. In-store displays, FSDUs and carefully curated product groupings can work their magic. Combine this with a range of eye-catching promotional displays, and you should really be onto a winner.

What evidence suggests that retail merchandising increases spend?

Strategic product placement is backed up by scientific studies, showing the importance of pinpointing the ideal spots for specific items within your store. 

Take, for example, a 2009 study on crisps (potato chips for our American friends). It revealed that crisp products placed on the middle shelf of a store drew the highest percentage of purchases. One size doesn’t fit all though, so conducting your own research into each product category is crucial to discovering their prime in-store locations. 

Boosting customer satisfaction is as simple as shining a spotlight on everyday essentials. You can curate a seamless shopping experience by highlighting common household items, ensuring they’re readily available for shoppers. It’s a win-win situation: Not only does this enhance convenience, but your customers will be delighted that the products they use daily are easy to access. 

Once your product placement strategy has been successfully implemented, you can really be the master of your own store.

Shopping zones: Your retail playground

Retail merchandising’s not so secret weapon is the use of shopping zones. By curating distinct shopping zones and departments, you can tailor your store to the specific needs and preferences of your customers.

Picture this: a seasonal zone that transforms with each holiday or season. If the winter season is looming on the horizon, you can turn this area into a Christmas-themed emporium, adding festive flair to celebrate the season. If summer is coming round again, you could decorate your zone with bright, warm colours, promoting seasonal items such as barbecues and swimwear.

Or, you could create an opulent premium zone where high-end products are showcased in luxurious style, with free samples of premium products passed out to visitors. If you want to turn this idea on its head, you could create a ‘budget’ zone near the entrance of your store, using eye-catching offers and promotional displays to draw people in. Once inside, visitors can then progress to other areas of your store.

Each zone can be curated to provide a unique shopping experience for your customers, making your store truly stand out from the crowd.

Combine your shopping zones with eye-catching promotional displays and FSDUs and you’re primed for success.

Our retail merchandising solutions

At Dee Set, we’re experts at what we do, providing a diverse range of services for businesses across the UK. Retail merchandising is one of our most in demand solutions, as it’s a real game-changer for any brand that chooses to work with us.

From concept to completion, we can craft the perfect retail merchandising strategy for you. From eye-catching window displays and FSDUs, all the way through to promotions and sales - our team of merchandisers can tailor your campaign towards the unique skill sets of your business.

Together with your team, we can work to ensure your products command attention, staying in the minds of your customers long after they’ve left your store. We’ll create a tailor-made plan that aligns with your brand guidelines, before providing instant insights through the use of our advanced tech. Actionable reports will be provided once the data has been analysed, allowing you to put your plans into action.

Combine this with our out of this world field marketing solutions, and you’re really onto a winner!

Revamp the customer experience with our advanced retail merchandising techniques

Retail merchandising emerges as the unsung hero of the retail world, turning ordinary stores into magical lands. From eye-catching displays to enhanced shopping zones, we can truly make a difference.

At Dee Set, we’ve truly mastered the art of retail marketing, able to transform your space into the perfect customer-centric experience. As well as our enhanced retail merchandising tactics, we can also help you with a range of other solutions, including field marketing and product fulfilment. 

Ready to get started on the path to success? Get in touch now.