Basics on Showing off your Merchandise

A thought:
To sell top quality garments, you should display them on top quality hangers. Cheap and nasty simply will not do.

Top design and display artists all say that fixtures and fittings are basically about merchandising – how you marshal all elements of your store to maximise sales.


The shopping experience has to have three things for people to want to buy your cloths. They are convenience, enjoyment and value for money – and fixtures and fittings have a role in displaying all three of these attributes.

Convenience - merchandise has to be accessible otherwise people won’t see and won't pick it up to look at it – so stores need the right fixtures and fittings. If it’s hard to get products out of a displays, or harder to put them back your customer will be too embarrassed to touch your stock.   There has to be a balance between security and accessibility - for example, an expensive pair of gloves may need to be kept under lock and key but staff must then be available to remove this barrier for the customer to try them on so you do not miss out on a sale.

Enjoyment - the shopping experience for the customer is about having a good time when they shop or they won’t buy. That’s important. Sixty per cent of purchases (by number rather than value) are impulse purchases. So, if your customer is unhappy with your presentation, you are missing out on 60 per cent of your sales. Fixtures and fittings really help make people feel good in your store.

Value for money - to buy things, customers must perceive them to be good value for money. So it’s important your fixtures and fittings help to give the impression of being value for money; for example, by using presentations that make items look expensive.