Ways To Improve Your Window and Sales Displays

Window displays are one of the best ways to attract passers-by and convert them into paying customers.

With visitor counting sensors you can gather hard data to determine the types of window displays that are most effective for your unique storefront.

Counting sensor uses a series of sensors technology to count and analyse a store’s visitors. With two sensors, one outside the store and one at the entrance, you can measure how many people walk by the store and see your window display and gather data on actual visitors.

 This entrance rate in combination with the data sales information from your POS system can provide an estimated conversion rate (the number of paying customers out of the total who enter) and an average guest value.

All of these numbers can contribute confirming the most effective window displays to increased sales. The initial goal of a window display is to increase the  number of passersby who enter the store. The primary goal is to convert these entrants in to paying, repeat customers.

As you’ll read later, converting entrants into customers is not always easy. Poor sales may account for a simple lack of visitors, or possibly a high percentage of entrants not making a purchase. Your window display testing coupled with visitor counting sensors will help you diagnose this poor sales problem for attracting more entrants to gain sales!

Here are a 3 simple tests that would help you improve your entrance rates by providing valuable demographic sensor data.

Different Sales or Promotions

Keeping the display window the same, you change only the wording or details of a sale or promotion. For instance, the first window version says “Buy One Get One Free (of equal or lesser value). Second version says “50% Off Select Items.

If  first window results in a higher customer entrance rate and higher subsequent purchases, this can help establish an effective ongoing promotion strategy.

Different Products, Brands or Product Categories

Is customers that are walking by your boutique more interested in perfymes or electronics?

Are passers-by in front of your shop more interested in product A or product B?

Perhaps those passing your store are more in the market for new bedding than new electronics.

By experimenting with these 3 variables and analysing the traffic count and conversion rate results, it’s possible to get a better understanding of the typical customer’s interests and preferences. This knowledge can give your window display strategy as in-store promotions and visual merchandising strategy.

General Design

bright pops of color? Again traffic counts and conversion rates will tell the store. This type of information can be a part of a larger, more consistent branding effort across the store interior and décor, advertisements, and other branded materials.

Let’s look at different ways your window display testing data can be used to increase your entrance rate.

Following the Changing Trends

It is useful to repeat the window display test periodically. Seasonal industries like fashion are especially interested in updating their displays to best suit their customer base’s ever-changing tastes.

Shop Window Creativity

Sometimes an avant-garde style window display can be more effective than straight forward or conventional product presentation. It could be wise to consider a unique display design that serves almost as an installation of public art.

Getting the Sale

In some cases, a window display can bring in more people without converting these potential customers into sales. The display has done its job. Are the prices too high? Is the product out of stock? Are there too few sales associated on the floor? These are crucial issues which are often present when a lack of sales is attributed to a simple lack of customers instead of a low conversion rate given the actual number of visitors to the store.

Adding in Drive-By Potential

A shop or sales window can attract just those walking past your store. It can also reach those driving by, particularly when a storefront is within view of a street or parking lot.

Many consumers park in front of the store they plan to enter. If their attention is caught by a well-designed and targeted window display, they may be likely to make an extra stop.

Customized Location Advertising

For those businesses with more than one location, it’s all too easy to use one location in which experience is assumed to be the same across all of the locations. However, even two businesses in the same small town can see completely different demographics in their passers-by.

Benchmarking

Businesses with multiple locations can greatly benefit from calculating and benchmarking their entrance and conversion rates. Stores that have average sales may actually have an entrance rate face below the average of all location. In this case, a store is operating below its full potential, even though it looks to be on par based on sales alone. By testing the window display methodology you can get help in increase the entrance rate to approach the benchmark.

New Store or Shop Locations

By Installing a sensor near a potential new entrance you can estimate total passers-by and this project sales using the entrance rates, conversion rates, and average value per transaction determined from window display tests. By using the amount of information in a week or two with your counter, you can apply your store performance averages such as conversion rate and average transaction value to estimate sales and make an informed decision on the location you are considering for a new store.

Conclusion

Today by counting and analysing the number of people who pass by a storefront as well as those who choose to enter is key to identifying which marketing strategies work—and which don’t.

Repeated display changes and test scan help narrow down the most effective combination of window display properties with happy customers leaving with their new purchases.

All of which, of course, means more profit for your bottom line.