January 2019 - 14

Merchandising
7
By Jessica DeGraaf
A
s many of you can attest, there's certainly
more to selling than meets the eye. Any
business journal you pick up will tell
you it's all about metrics and mining
information from the data. While metrics are certainly
critical, let's not overlook the power of the senses,
specifically the sense of sight.
We've long been educated that the sense of smell is
highly important, but the majority of the information
that our brain processes (83 percent to be exact,
according to Lawrence D. Rosenblum's " See What I'm
Saying: The Extraordinary Power of Our Five Senses " )
is through the sense of sight. That's right, 83 percent!
If that doesn't give you pause, especially when
considering the visual identity of your garden center,
I'm not sure what will.
The garden center design of 20 to 30 years ago was
large and heavily focused on providing an extensive
amount of product in both the green goods and hard
goods categories. This model resonated well with the
discerning " plant geek " that valued high-quality plant
material, but more importantly, choice and breadth
of product.
While the supercenter model of the 1990s and early
2000s does work, it's become evident that we need to
change this model to more fully engage our current
customer and attract new customers.
Every square inch of your store costs you money
and, more importantly, has the opportunity to
make you money. Ineffective use of space and
underachieving in-store displays must be fixed ASAP!
Let's talk about visual merchandising - the art of
optimizing your store and creating arresting visual
14 | LAWN & GARDEN RETAILER | JANUARY 2019
displays to maximize your revenue. Your visual identity
is your most productive and efficient salesperson and
should not be overlooked.
The field of visual merchandising encompasses
a number of retail design topics - from end caps,
to signage, store layout and more. There are many
great tips you can use to create and execute a stellar
merchandising plan for the coming season. We're
going to focus on two primary elements: displays
and signage.
Displays/End Caps
1. Variety is the Spice of Life
Most of us do an amazing job of creating
displays around key holidays and events, but
it's tantamount that your displays and end caps
change at least monthly. Your customers want
to see different displays and products when they
shop your store.
Remember, the purpose of brick and mortar
is to inspire and engage customers. An easy
way to change the look is to simply move your
displays within the store. I've had a number of
our customers tell us that by simply rotating
the display in the store that often sales of those
specific items increase.
You'll want to be sure your primary, feature
displays at the front of the store change regularly
and focus on fresh, impulse items.
You wouldn't showcase six pack vegetables in
a key power island or display at the front of the
store, but my guess is that you'd feature your
hot new succulents and your Pilea along with
corresponding containers in that space, am I right?
A good rule of thumb is to place this display
about 20 feet inside the store entrance. This can
be centered in the direct line of sight for your
customers, or placed to the right of the entrance
as the vast majority of your customers will walk
into your store and naturally turn right.
3. Become a Master Storyteller
There are two schools of thought on
merchandising, especially in the plant world:
large, monoculture masses, which provide an
instant pop of color, or more theatrical displays
that focus on a theme or color palette versus a
specific plant. Both provide visually arresting
2. Needs Versus Wants
Human nature dictates that we are more
attracted to items we want rather than items we
need. Don't highlight basic items in these spaces;
it's imperative that products promoted in these
endcaps and power islands have the highest
profit margin possible for your business.
These are high impulse items that scream, " You
need me! " These aren't the places for low price,
closeout items that you are trying to sell at
a discount.
Merchandising Plan
for2019
Steps
Displays, end caps and signage are
primary elements for increasing sales
through visual merchandising.
to Craft a
January 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of January 2019
