High street shops range in quality from the bargainous to the luxurious – but one thing that is prevalent as you stroll past the never ending window displays, is the great care taken to produce the most aesthetically pleasing arrangement.
These unique displays are clearly composed to capture the attention of the passer-by, and differ between being elaborate to ingeniously simple; imagination is king. Even when just window-shopping, we tend to remember those innovative displays, and it’s this positive impact in people’s minds that shops are looking for.
By improving awareness of the store and the brand, high street shops help to generate buzz about them and their products. And when shopping in a physical store that ensures its customers are presented with imaginative designs, the clientele are made party to a unique shopping experience.
Why Does Your Shop Front Matter?
Retailers have a long tradition of creating alluring displays in their shop windows – a practice that began before the rise of big chain retailers, when shop fronts looked very different from one another. Shop fronts are the brief introduction to a business; what that business specialises in, its brand personality, the importance it attributes to creativity and quality, and the audience it’s trying to target.
This means that many shops invest in eye-catching innovative displays, since their shop front is the first thing customers see. It also helps them establish a presence in the community, and helps customers see what they have to offer. Being aware of the target audience is the best way to ensure that shop fronts will capture their attention and connect more easily with the right consumers.
Window dressingis marketing. An extremely important element of a shop’s marketing for that matter, and it helps customers answer one simple question: why should they enter one shop instead of another?
Maintaining an attractive display helps to make a great first impression. Attractive window dressing can help a store not only continue to please and attract their current customers,but also bring in more, helping to nurture or develop a reputation for creativity and quality.
Rejuvenating high street shops
Although most shops understand the importance of having unique, creative displays, the truth is that not all of them follow these principles. Many shops are in need of improvement when it comes to grabbing passers-by’s attentions, so the focus should be on ensuring an eye-catching, interesting and unique facade that appeals to their target audience.
Through utilising and implementing amazing initial visual impacts, shop fronts will grab people’s attentions and not let go – customers are inclined to judge a shop by the window display, so it’s vital that the business and market strategy are well represented there.
For example, our team at European Springs were ecstatic where we were approached by Liberty in London to supply springs for their window display. As spring manufacturers, our venture in the world of retail just confirmed how versatile and reliable springs and wireforms are – and how they can create beautiful displays.
So proud to have been a part of the recent production of @LibertyLondon's window display! Have you seen it yet? pic.twitter.com/PX6bmdlaZP
— European Springs (@europeansprings) May 18, 2016
In Liberty’s case, there was a need for an aesthetic practicality which meant that the springs were finished in a visually pleasing manner.This was of course done to parallel the luxury retailer’s brand and design, and each spring wascarefully crafted and hung with precision in order to hold and display the products.
Window displays, therefore, benefit from being visually attractive and interesting enough for customers to want to pop inside. Another great example is the retailer Guess, who also understood the magnitude of innovative displays:
How to achieve a beautiful and interesting display
To have maximum visual impact, the design of the shop front needs to be carefully considered. The window display needs to be easily recognisable, even from a distance, so that customers can recognise it without hesitation; and it needs to reinforce the retailer’s brand identity – perhaps through the brand-colours and company logo.
Although businesses are increasingly investing in their online presence, it’s still relevant to invest time and money in a stunning, unique shop front. The void between the physical and e-commerce isn’t as vast as may be originally perceived – both the shelves in a high street store and the thumbnail of a product on a website serve the same purpose; and just as you’re more likely to let cash change hands if the site looks enticing, reliable and professional, the same goes for the physical store.
European Springs are leading experts in the field of spring manufacturing. The European Springs expertsstrive to provide and develop the highest quality springs, wireforms and pressings in the industry, for a range of bespoke uses.
