MERCHANDISING SIGNAGE we think about having in the retail arena. Signs with price are one of the more common informational signs, since it is hard to make a purchase if you don't know the price. One study we conducted in four retail garden centers in Michigan allowed us to recruit study participants from their customer list. We had the participants wear eye-tracking glasses. Results showed that two-thirds of the study participants looked at a price sign (the other 33% never looked at a sign with a price) - so price isn't the only piece of information consumers need to make a purchase decision. Compare that to 88% of those study participants who looked at an information sign (without price). In a separate study, we demonstrated that higher prices were seen faster on a sign on the left side of the display, compared to the right side. The take-home message for this finding is to put higher prices lower and to the right of the sign and lower and right of the display. " The Winkelroute " is the main avenue through which the retailers want to direct customers to go in order to see the entire store. At Schmitz, the route was marked both on the floor and with arrow-shaped signs. When a sign has a price in a large font size (that can be read from 25 or more feet away from the plants), you give the potential customer a reason to not come closer if they think the price is too high, or they don't see the value in that plant from that distance. Don't lead with the price for higher-margin, higher-priced items; lead with plant benefits. (See Part 1 of this series in the January issue or at lgrmag.com/ revampmerchandising for more on eyetracking studies and plant purchases.) Image Congruency and Plant Purchases Should you show people or plants on the signs in the garden center? The answer is both. In my visits to garden centers, I've noticed that signs depict plants in the mature stage. It makes sense that we want people to understand the potential of that plant and its future value. For annuals or perennials, images of flowers in bloom are most often included on signs. LGRMAG.COM | 19http://www.lgrmag.com/ http://www.LGRMAG.COM