How to Display Mannequins Well in Retail

The way your store looks and the feel it gives off is essential in retail stores, now more than ever with the influence of online retail sites. Who is going to decide to browse a store in person if they can do so from the comfort of their home? If the physical retail store is inviting, interesting and provokes an emotion that the online site cannot, there is something to gain from going into the store. Display mannequins are a huge part of the  visual merchandising aspect of a store.

In this article, you will learn how visual merchandising works, how to best draw in customers from foot traffic going by your store and how to style a mannequin.

Create the Perfect Window Display in your Store

No matter how small or how large your store is, creating a great window display is the strongest tool at your disposal to drawing in crowds and increasing profits. A window display is the first peak inside your individual style, your brand’s unique style and the trends you currently carry.

Consider your window display as an art project or a creative outlet. Gather all of your favorite materials, tools and artwork that you feel reflect you and your merchandise.

Next, start by selecting a theme and brainstorming materials and items surrounding that theme. Sketch a display that is in line with that theme — or maybe multiple options! Consider the season and then narrow in on a theme that is based on that season.

For example, instead of “Christmas season,” consider “White Christmas” or “Nutcracker Ball.”

Instead of “spring,” consider “new blooms.” Instead of “Fourth of July,” consider a fireworks theme or “Trendy Uncle Sam” as your theme.

Keep your display as interesting and BOLD as possible without being overwhelming. Stay simple whenever you can, highlighting lighting and a focal point for your display that will be directly in line with the eye-level of foot traffic.

The final best piece of advice for creating a great window display may seem obvious but cannot be overlooked — view your display from absolutely every angle. Customers may be viewing your store from multiple sides of the streets or from below as they tie their shoes; there’s no telling when your display with catch someone’s gaze, so make sure every single angle is eye-catching.

What is Visual Merchandising?

There are many aspects to consider when asked, what is visual merchandising? In short, it creates buzz, makes a customer feel welcome and draws in excited customers from the street, eager to see what your store has for them.

It is equally important to stand out, being unique in your visual merchandising choices and to make the customer feel comfortable and find exactly what they were looking for in your products.

Displaying items as they are meant to be used is another easy visual merchandising trick. Rather than simply having pieces out for sale, display them in a way that they will be used. For example, a bed set up in a completed bedroom display will give the customer the best idea of what it will look like in the home.

Visual merchandising is a way of displaying products in a suggested way that puts the products in the customer’s hands and homes.

Essential Visual Merchandising Lessons

Here are some simple lessons about visual merchandising you can apply in your store. You can make your display mannequins absolutely perfect!

• Start with the storefront, drawing customers in organically from the street (see above, creating a window display).
• Consider what makes you unique and highlight that in a way that isn’t overbearing.
• Use lighting to highlight your best-selling, most-loved products or to draw eyes away from aspects of the store that you may want to hide.
• Consider balance: pair heavier, darker pieces with smaller, more delicate items on display.
• Keep things simple; too much will distract the customer from your pieces.
• Group like-items so that once a customer finds something they love, they are more likely to realize they need another piece to go along with that new purchase.
• Consider the rule of three - three mannequins, three chairs, three jewelry displays — in setting items throughout the store. The rule of three doesn’t necessarily have a true meaning but rather is recognized to be more pleasing to the human eye.
• Don’t go too far outside your comfort zone. Be BOLD and interesting, but don’t consider something too unusual, or it will feel forced to the customer.

How to Use Visual Merchandising in Your Store

Aside from the above lessons, consider visual merchandising as a way to show personality and brand.

Use items that you already to make your displays seem genuine, or you can use your store as a way to display works of art that you love. Personality and individualism will continue to draw in repeat customers. Retail shoppers love to feel transported within a store to a place that both feels like a piece of their own identity and a fantasy location that they wish was their own.

Visual merchandising is the single most important way to create your brand’s identity.

Styling a Mannequin Head with Visual Merchandising Techniques

Visual merchandising techniques can also be used to style a mannequin head inside or at the storefront of your store.

• Consider color -  Draw the viewer in immediately with bright or pleasing colors that are on-brand with your store.
• Use the correct amount of accessories – Don’t overdo it and don’t leave too much empty space on your mannequin head either.
• Display mannequin heads as the focal point of displays – Either display mannequin heads on platforms or at eye-level inside the store so they are not awkwardly in the background of the display.

Using mannequins for great visual merchandising is essential to continually improving the success of your retail store. Creating displays and styling display mannequins that are both exciting and comforting to customers, as well as trendy and easy to translate throughout multiple seasons, will enable you to sell to your target customers with ease.

Using mannequins for great visual merchandising is essential to continually improving the success of your retail store.

Creating displays and styling display mannequins that are both exciting and comforting to customers, as well as trendy and easy to translate throughout multiple seasons, will enable you to sell to your target customers with ease.