Help Your Outlet Store Stand Out with Better Visual Merchandising - GSP

Consumers are in love with off-price retailers. Outlet malls attract value-oriented shoppers of all ages – especially millennials and, also, surprisingly, men. That demographic variety is just one of the reasons why this brick and mortar retail segment continues to be strong, year over year.

But are you making the most of this marketing opportunity for your brand overall?

At the outlets, you’re competing with a great lineup of brands – with perhaps more diversity of high end and stock-up favorites than you’d find at a retail mall. But if you glance at the windows around your outlet mall, you’ll notice they pretty much all look the same, no matter the brand. Having a 00% off sign is not enough to compete. It’s time to create drama and wow the customer more.

Here are some ideas to convert your window shoppers into buyers:

1. This is where America is most likely to come in contact with your brand first. So, don’t save the big brand statements for regular retail. Your outlet can bring brand and demand together. Use your windows to connect to the “mothership” but up the value component.
2. Create displays that mix merchandise in with graphics. Give customers a taste of your brand and your best product.
3. Add lighting and 3D elements to draw customers in closer. The average time a shopper spends viewing a display is one second! These tricks cause a customer to stop and linger longer.
4. Use motion elements to highlight the benefits of your products and show them in action.
5. You can get the effect of 3D by layering your window graphics. This is a cost-effective and high-impact way to add depth and dimension.
6. Consider knocking off the look of the fixtures at your regular retail stores, too.
7. Things move faster in the outlet world. Your fixtures should, too. Why not use more portable fixtures that you can move around and switch up your look quickly.

Research culled from a recent Chain Store Age article tells us that the key to getting a shopper to buy is engagement. 56% of customers that hold a product will purchase it. This should become the overall goal of your displays, starting at the window.

Count on GSP to guide you to retail success

With almost 40 years of industry experience in design services and visual merchandising, GSP is an expert in retail environments of all kinds. We think big picture, from concept to execution, to give you the convenience of a one-stop shop. We also partner our visual merchandising and design skills with the latest technology to provide our customers with flawless execution. It helps us to deliver scalable solutions that work across all your different store formats. And it provides us with the exact data we need to treat each store as if it were your only one. We can tap into your store profiles and create customized in-store marketing solutions, just like the local artisans in your community who obsess over every detail.

Take a look at some of our recent design successes and ideas from our portfolio here.