As the mercury drops, we approach the most festive season of the year, heartwarming and filled with cheer. It's when shoppers enthusiastically throng stores—some even weeks before the holidays begin.
They're looking for what's new on the market. They're looking for inspiration around what will make for awesome gifts for family and friends. And they're looking for deals that'll stretch their gifting dollars a bit further—if they find the right product in the right store—or so they believe!
Retail displays are a big draw for these eager shoppers. Who can resist colorful themed window displays of wintry landscapes and timeless holiday traditions?
Seasonal displays can set a brand apart. They can create a memorable experience year after year. Brand marketers have successfully used seasonal displays to create a holiday tradition for the brand—one that shoppers wait for, eager to see what the brand has in store each year.
These displays go beyond mere decorations and are powerful tools for creating lasting brand experiences during festive times.
Read on for inspiration on weaving visual narratives for your brand this holiday season with The Look Company's visual engagement solutions for easily changeable seasonal displays.
The Art of Seasonal Display Design
Designing immersive seasonal displays is an art. It takes merchandising a step further from mere product placements or window dressings, and into a fascinating creative process that weaves a narrative into the displays to grab the attention of holiday shoppers and resonate with them at a deeply emotive level.
Retailers can use seasonal displays to create lucrative opportunities to get a share of the huge holiday retail business.
The National Retail Federation expects 92% of the U.S. population to celebrate a festival from October through December, resulting in a seasonal shopping spree of a whopping $1.6 trillion.
They expect consumers to spend about $875 on average this year, a 5% increase from last year's $833.
Here are some ideas to make your seasonal displays stand out and get noticed!
Themed Displays: Pick a theme with the potential for a visual narrative. Then, focus on creating immersive elements using imagery and a color palette that resonates with the holiday theme. Use TLC's bold and vivid fabric prints and modular frames to bring it all into a cohesive display and create a festive atmosphere.
Product Placement: Stunning visual imagery is not all. You'll need to pick the right merchandise to feature in your main holiday displays. High-margin, popular holiday gifts, trending gadgets or accessories and quick-selling holiday bundles can work well. Try TLC's end-cap displays and modular display systems placed strategically throughout your shop floor.
Lightboxes for Ambiance: Our custom lightboxes are the ideal way to create a warm and inviting in-store ambiance. Leverage our space-saving slim designs and versatile seamless corner boxes to create innovative displays.
Interactive Elements: Interactive elements within displays are the way to generate customer engagement. For example, allow shoppers to try our cosmetics before buying them. Offer a tasting station for holiday goodies. Or create an immersive experience of a holiday destination using our wall-to-wall fabric graphics or pillar wraps.
Selfie Stations: Create a branded media wall or an Instagrammable display that showcases your brand and gives shoppers an irresistible backdrop to take pictures and share them on their social channels.
The Look Company has a range of innovative visual engagement solutions to create immersive retail displays. So, give your store a festive makeover and watch engagement and sales conversion metrics hit the roof this holiday season!
Seasonal Displays in Retail Environments
Seasonal displays can evoke a range of emotions. They can surprise shoppers with a new and modern take on timeless classic themes. They can delight audiences with new and exciting products that resonate with holiday trends. But apart from triggering emotional responses, seasonal displays bring real business benefits for retailers.
Increased foot traffic
There's no doubt that the primary impact of seasonal displays is an increase in foot traffic because of the increased visibility of the store or brand owing to the display.
An innovative display may draw shoppers who have not visited the store before or are not loyal fans of the brand. Seasonal themes act as a powerful force to attract new customers.
Enhanced sales numbers
Creative displays can go beyond mere aesthetics and translate into tangible business results. Brand marketers over the years have shown a positive impact on sales figures during the holiday season when seasonal displays draw in inquisitive and eager shoppers. But it takes a robust retail merchandising strategy to align seasonal displays with in-store promotions, new product launches, special discounts or holiday discounts.
Customer experience
Perhaps the most long-lasting impact of a sustained year-on-year campaign of holiday displays is that it creates a memorable customer experience. Think of stunning displays that leave a lasting impression, such as a winter wonderland theme that many brands have successfully used or innovative interactive elements, such as a QR code that shoppers can scan on their phones to get product information. Combining creativity and smart strategy can elevate a routine in-store display to a memorable brand experience.
Social love
Awestruck shoppers are sure to share their experience, be it via word-of-mouth, stunning photos of the display on their social media profiles or a video shared with their network. And who knows—your brand may begin a legendary tradition of awe-inspiring displays this holiday season!
Leveraging Seasonal Displays for Brand Storytelling
The holidays are about stories. Stories that warm the heart and touch the soul. Stories about families and relationships, dreams and aspirations, joy and good cheer.
Seasonal retail displays provide brand marketers with the perfect canvas to tell a story of their brand. Marketers can communicate their brand's values through seasonal displays—a commitment to sustainability, a story about hand craftsmanship by hand, or a focus on quality. The displays appeal to shoppers who share the same values or are touched by the commitment of the brand when the narrative resonates with them.
Brands can ride on the wave of positive emotions, nostalgia, and festivity during the holiday season to narrate their brand's story through holiday-themed decor and displays.
For instance, holiday window displays at Saks Fifth Avenue in New York City are legendary. Each year, Saks features elaborate scenes that tell a visual story. New Yorkers and tourists look forward to these displays each year.
Marc Matrick, Saks CEO, says, "At Saks, we are committed to connecting with our customers through unique experiences and impactful partnerships."
Do you have a story to tell this holiday season? Connect with us to translate your vision into winning holiday displays!
Measuring the Success of Seasonal Displays
How do you track the impact of seasonal displays? How do you prove that they translate into real business benefits?
Let's look at a few ways to understand how seasonal displays contribute to meeting real business goals.
Tracking Foot Traffic
A simple way to tell if your seasonal display was successful is to measure if it attracted more traffic to the store. Plan to track the foot traffic when the display is active and compare it to traffic figures before and after.
Of course, you must be careful to assess the impact of other factors, such as a natural increase in foot traffic during the holiday season, any specific advertising or any other offers and discounts available during the period.
Product Purchases
Another KPI (Key Performance Indicator) brand managers can track is conversion rate. It helps them understand if the display translated into actual sales. Did you convince more shoppers to part with their holiday budgets to buy your products? Were your retail displays convincing enough for shoppers to make a purchase?
Customer Engagement
Tracking engagement is not always as straightforward to track as foot traffic or purchases. It is a metric that shows how well the display resonated with the audience.
Use tools such as point-of-sale (POS) data analytics or customer surveys to check for engagement for physical store visits.
Customer surveys capture qualitative feedback, offering valuable insights into the emotional impact of the display and its alignment with brand values.
For online channels, engagement is measured across social media channels using metrics such as video views, new subscribers, shares, likes, and comments. They are a good indicator of brand awareness and visibility achieved through social sharing by customers as well as through the brand's own online marketing efforts.
The Look Company: Dressing up Retail Spaces for the Holiday Season
We're counting down to Christmas! At The Look Company, we're already well on our way to delivering visual engagement solutions for holiday displays for our retail clients, transforming retail spaces into visually stunning holiday landscapes and filling them with festive cheer.
It's time to create excitement in your store with our easily changeable fabric prints and modular display systems.
Connect with us today and watch our experts turn out engaging and memorable seasonal displays for your brand!