Holiday Display Inspiration - Part One

Well retail friends...  Its that time again!  

In order to compete with our large corporate counterparts the displays should have or should be going up!  So, better late than never, here are a few Flourish photos to get those creative juices flowing!

Baskets in the Park

Baskets in the Park

Baskets in the Park

Baskets in the Park

All Decked Out

Cloud Nine Pajamas

Cloud Nine Pajamas

Cloud Nine Pajamas

Bellies 12 days of giveaways

Bellies 12 days of giveaways

A very sweet tree at Festival of Trees

A very sweet tree at Festival of Trees

A flourishing tree at Festival of Trees

Lexus giveaway at Kingsway Mall

Lite Zone fundraiser at Kingsway Mall

Wrap & Roll at Kingsway Mall

Wrap & Roll at Kingsway Mall

Ceiling hanging at Kingsway Toyota

Service center at Kingsway Toyota

Phew!  That's a lot of pictures!  Stay tuned for even more...

Want a professional holiday look?  Get in touch with Flourish today: website, facebook, twitter, and Pinterest, too!

Tip of the Week

Yeesh!  We've been out of touch for a little while!  Between the craziness of the holidays and a January wedding, you haven't heard from us much!  Here's a photo from the wedding for fun!

We're back and raring to go now, so here is your tip of the week!

If you don’t have a Valentines display, try pulling together a few things by the till.  If you don’t have Valentines merchandise, be creative to take advantage of the season!

Valentines is a fun holiday during the drags of winter, so be creative and pull together existing merchandise in your store with a simple sign for those who might be looking for a gift or decoration!

This store had no Valentines merchandise on hand, so we build this display!

Have you got questions for Melissa?  Check us out on facebook, twitter, Pinterest, the flourish website, or send Melissa an email.

Tip of the Week

That's right,

Now those of you that follow Flourishing Retailers can see the Flourish Design & Merchandising Tip of the Week as well!

This week's tip:

Remember to breathe and just focus on customer service this week. You'll have plenty of time to regroup and re-merchandise in the new year.

...Or next week... or any other time.  This week (especially Saturday and Sunday) is likely to be the busiest your store will get, so enjoy the chaos, forget about the day to day, and focus on amazing customer service!

Happy Holidays!

Interested in hearing more from Flourish?  Follow us on facebook, twitter, and Pinterest too!

Lollipop Love - Twisted Tissue Lollipops

I thought it would be fun to include some blog posts about creating props, so I've been waiting for a great prop project to blog about!

There's no sense in beating around the bush, so here it is...  The Twisted Paper Lollipops tutorial!






These Lollipops were created for a tree in Festival of Trees Edmonton (for the University Hospital Foundation), but could be used in a window display, candy shop, or for a party!  All you need to do is use your imagination... and get comfortable in front of the TV while you twist the tissue paper for them.

Supplies:

• Tissue Paper in Various colours, plan for approximately 6 pieces for a small lollipop and at least 10 for a large one
• Strong, sharp scissors
• Glue or strong adhesive of your choice
• Paper Plates
• Chopsticks or other sticks
• Cellophane if desired
• Tape
• Ribbon if desired
• Something to protect your workspace

Start by cutting your paper plates into desired size.  It helps to at least cut the lip off the edge, allowing the plate to flatten a bit.

 

Then begin twisting your tissue, one sheet at a time.  Plan which colours you want for each pop and twist according to how many you think you'll need.  It's faster and easier to twist first and glue later.

 

Next, it's time to get ready for glue!  Remember to protect your surface before adhering the tissue!  Twist the pieces together and begin by gluing in the center of your plate.

Rotate and twist around the glued down center, gluing every inch or so.  I used hot glue which adheres quickly, but beware: hot glue burns!  It's actually really tough not to burn yourself when working with hot glue and tissue paper.  I'd love to hear other adhesive suggestions in the comments section below, just not that double sided tape didn't work very well and I don't recommend it.

Keep twisting and rolling your tissue around (twist sections together and adhere with a dot of glue when you need to attach a new piece) until you reach the end.  Once you've filled your paper plate completely, finish it off with a dot of glue and trim the end.

 

Now you're ready for what comes next!  Some might want to leave them like this, others may want to just add cellophane, and I added a stick.  This gave them the traditional lollipop look and created some stability so that I could wire them to the tree.  It all depends on what you're planning for their end use!

 

I attached the chopsticks to the backs simply by breaking them apart and adhering them with electrical tape in white as you see below.

 

Wrapping them in cellphane is easy, just cut a piece large enough, wrap, and twist around the stick.  Then tie a ribbon around it!

 

I used curling ribbon to tie first and trimmed it down so that it would be easy to cover up.  I did this so that I didn't have to worry about making it pretty, I just needed to think about getting it tight.  Pretty comes next.

 

Next, I trimmed the cellophane at the bottom by giving it small snips and then tearing pieces off.  Last, but not least, tie it with a ribbon!

If I was going to use it somehwere where the stick could be seen, I would have painted the chopsticks white or purchased white dowels, but since the stick would be mostly hidden, a bare chopstick worked!  Boy am I glad I saved them...  Sometimes hoarding pays off I guess, wink wink! 

 

 

Use your imagination for colour combinations and lollipop applications!  Mine were in this tree, but yours could be used anywhere!  Just plan for an hour per lolli...  That's how long it took me, anyway!  If you have any suggestions for adhesives or speeding up the process, I'd love to hear them.  Otherwise, enjoy your new tissue paper lollipops!

 

Do you need ideas for props or displays in your store?  Feel free to contact Melissa of Flourish Design & Merchandising or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest!







Music and Your Store

An awesome collegue cohort, and client of mine recently emailed me this great question and I just had to share it with all of you!

 

Hi Melissa,

I've been wondering about the relationship between music and shopping for a bit and maybe you can help me. I'm trying to research the relationship between BPM (beats per minute) and retail sales. Whenever I go to the malls all I ever hear is high BPM dance and pop music but I find this irritating  I would assume that all these big chain stores are playing this music because it is proven to increase sales. Maybe it's a stimulant? The one research paper I came across online found that stores that played more relaxed music saw customers that lingered longer in stores and therefore were more likely to purchase more...What do you think?

 

The Answer:

 

I, myself, haven’t read a whole lot of research.  In fact, I don’t think there’s a ton out there.  But I do think that the study you read is among the most accurate.

 

If you choose music that your target market or core customer likes the best, they will linger longer.  It’s also important to have music that doesn’t drive you or your staff members nuts!  If you’re on edge, your customers will sense it. 

 

The truth is a happy customer and a customer who is in tune with the environment buys more, so don’t worry about what the malls are doing because your customers don’t shop there all that much.  The reason we see malls choosing the music they do is that they’re generally trying use top 40 type music to appeal to the masses.  There are also loads of stores in the malls that appeal to teens and young adults and that is the music that they like best.

 

If you really want to focus on choosing music that your customers like best; you could try creating a survey monkey survey (or use a similar software or system) and invite them to complete it or complete it with them at the till!  It could be fun and customers get to feel involved.  Also, I’m sure most branding gurus would say that the music you choose needs to fit with your brand.  If your brand isn’t a teeny bopper, high octane, brand... I wouldn’t worry about pushing the high speed music.

 

Last, but not least, we come to holiday music...  I know it's not everyone's favourite, but it’s an absolute must.  That’s where most of the retail studies pertaining to music have been done and it’s proven to drive sales up quite a bit!  Usually, the chain stores start weaving in the odd quiet holiday song about November first, then after Remembrance day, you’ll hear it every 2^nd or 3^rd song (you may have to make custom CD’s or playlists for your store).  As of December first, it should be all Holiday, all the time!  You will get the odd customer that may complain about it, but even they will be more likely to pick up a couple of Christmas gifts (should that be applicable) because it’ll be top of mind.

 

Here are some links to research I've found!

Association for Consumer Reasearch - Using Store Music for Retail Zoning

Michael Morrison, Monash University - The Power of Music and its Influence

Live Science - 7 Holiday Marketing Tricks Retailers Use

 

And here's a little bit on the Shoppers Drug Mart Holiday music "controversy"

Canadian Retailer Puts Christmas Music on Pause

Shoppers Drug Mart Hits Mute on Christmas Music

 

I gladly welcome all of your questions and comments!  Please add your comments!

Light It Up - The best lighting type for your store

Lighting is so important to a store's atmosphere and can make or break the overall look and feel.  Humans feel safer in the light and so gravitate to well lit spaces, but harsh lighting can wreck the look and feel of your product.  So...  Which type of lighting will work best for you?

                            Photo by Flourish Design & Merchandising of KEYLIME                        Photo by Flourish Design & Merchandising of Bellies

Incandescent

 

Pros

·    Inexpensive at the outset with affordable fixtures

·    Easy to use, replacing lightbulbs is a breeze

·    Warm light

Cons

·    High energy cost, these are the least efficient bulbs

·    Getting harder to find and buy, some areas have even banned them

·    High heat, don't touch it while it's on!

·    Potential product damage

·    Low lifespan, they need ot be replaced often (high future cost)

Halogen

 

          Pros

·    Slightly more efficient than incandescent (only about 15% better)

·    Low cost at the outset

Cons

·    Still high energy consumption

·    High heat, again... ouch!

·    Potential product Dmage

·    Low lifespan, needs frequent replacement (high future cost)

·    Bulbs are difficult to replace as you can't touch them directly

Compact Fluorescent

 

Pros

·    Middle price point

·    Saves energy, more efficient than the previous two by quite a bit

·    Easy to use

·    Last longer, less frequent replacement

·    Fits into incandescent fixtures

Cons

·    Takes time to warm up, don't be late in the morning or your customers won't be able to see for a while!

·    Cool, unflattering light or pinkish light

·    Pricier than Incandescent and still need to be changed fairly regularly (in comparison to following options)

·    Unattractive appearance as some (including me) don't like the spiral

·    Not available in spot lights and non-dimmable

·    Unstable/flickering light

·    Contains some mercury

Ceramic Metal-Halide

 

Pros

·    High energy savings

·    Great colour quality

·    Fits halogen fixtures (if you were using halogen before, there's no need to replace the fixtures)

·    Long lifespan, low maintenance (low future cost)

·    Different sizes and shapes, including spot lights

Cons

·    Expensive at the outset (cost will be recouped over time)

LED

 

Pros

·    Highest energy savings

·    Can be purchased in dimmable options

·    Available in a variety of colour temperatures, including warm

·    Available in a variety of types, including spot lights

·    Attractive fixtures are available

·    Long lifespan, low maintenance (low future cost)

·    Lower operating temperatures, extremely low likelyhood of damage to your product from light or heat!

Cons

·    Expensive at the outset (cost will be recouped over time)

While most of the headings above link to wikipedia.org, I didn't use it as an info source, I promise!  (It is the easiest most consistent to link readers to for more inormation though.)

Here is a list of sources if you're looking for more information:

• The Philips Website
• 1000 Bulbs
• National Geographic|Green Living

If you have any more questions about lighting or retail design feel free to leave a comment, visit the Flourish Design & Merchandising Website, or send us an email.

Creating a Sense of Urgency

This week's tip of the week was about reminding your customers of important dates approaching in a relevant display.  This creates a sense of urgency and gets customers in a frame of mind where they will begin to consider everything that they'll need for that approaching date.

For example, a simple sign that reads "Mother's Day is May 13th" on a display of ideal Mother's Day gifts will get the customer thinking "What do I need for then?" and "What can I pick up here?"  It not only gets them looking through the gifts for the perfect one for Mom, but also has them consider other items that may be in-store that would apply!

Do ensure that the sign is professional, simple, easy to read, and attractive and that it is contained in a sign holder or a pretty frame (whichever is consistent with your usual signage).  Some might prefer to give customers a gentle reminder that a holiday is approaching by having the merchandise tell them, such as the photo below.  Just make sure everyone working at the store knows the date for inquiring customers!

Remember, by doing this you're not only increasing sales, but also doing a service to your customers!  Sometimes we need a reminder to not leave things until the last minute.  And... in the case of our example date, Moms probably appreciate it, too!


Questions or comments?  Contact Melissa Walker of Flourish Design & Merchandising today!

Seasonal Merchandise

This week’s Flourish Tip was all about looking to large chain retailers to find out when to display seasonal merchandise.

Think of every holiday or end of season as a big expiry date looming over the merchandise.  After that date passes, the merchandise is no longer profitable to you.  You either need to sell it at a large discount or pay someone to pack it up and then have it take up storage space which you are also paying for!  Not to mention, it eats up inventory dollars for that holiday or season during the next go-around!

With that being said, earlier is often better when it comes to seasonal merchandise and your profits.  Obviously, this is within reason, as you don’t want to have Christmas merchandise in your store in July or Valentines merchandise hanging around in December, but you want to make sure that you’re giving your merchandise ample opportunity to sell before it’s “expiry date”.  

This is where large chains come in handy!  They have the research and experience behind them and it’s worth checking them out for a cue as to when to put out yours!  Visit a nearby mall for stores with similar offerings to your store and make notes about when merchandise is going out!

Here are some guidelines that will help you in the next few months.  If you have fall merchandise, it should be out for customers to view starting in August.  Even when the weather appears nice, people are thinking ahead to upcoming seasons and many want the newest and latest buys!  Christmas related merchandise should go out by November 1st.  If you are a retailer that doesn’t sell much Halloween related product, then once Canadian Thanksgiving is over, it’s your time to get Christmas in place!  Yes, many customers will comment that it’s early, remind them that it’s only a couple of months away!  And many will balance those customers out and start purchasing gotta-have-it items right away.

If you’re still not sure when to get things out, hire an expert!  And remember; adjust your ordering according to when merchandise needs to be in-store after your reconnaissance mission to the mall.  You’ll be happy you did!

Happy Selling! Need help creating amazing seasonal displays? Call or email us today!