Where in your store could you benefit from a custom store fixture?

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1. How Do I Choose the Best Custom Fixtures for My Store?
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Displaycase-Smart ships nationwide including the following cities – Fort Lauderdale (FL), Rancho Cucamonga (CA), Port Saint Lucie (FL), Ontario (CA), Vancouver (WA), Tempe (AZ), Springfield (MO)

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1. Jewelry Display Cases

Last Updated on Tuesday, 02 March 2010 06:01 Written by Eileen McClelland Friday, 05 February 2010 03:25

INSTORE follows the construction of Gail Jewelers, a new store in Newport Beach, CA.

For Barry Benowitz, who opened a new, 2,800-square-foot Gail Jewelers store in Newport Beach, CA, on Dec. 10, lighting is the big issue and the one he has worked hardest at perfecting over decades in the business.

“If the jewelry doesn’t sparkle, it’s much harder to sell,” he says. Benowitz worked closely with lighting consultant Kent Sheridan to get exactly what he wanted. “In a jewelry store, you have to light the customer and the jewelry in the display cases and the jewelry when the person is wearing it, so that when she is looking at that earring in a mirror, it sparkles.” The jewelry has to look just as good outside of the case as inside.

The solution? Kicker lights — directional illumination in the ceiling. It worked only because GE recently introduced an HID (high intensity discharge) 39-watt bulb with a 4,000-degree Kelvin rating. “Before, there was no light to do that. 3,000 Kelvin was too yellow — inclusions pop out and the stones look dirty. But when you get up to the 4,000-Kelvin range it masks the inclusions.” Ninety-two of those bulbs were installed (four above each case.)Custom fixtures allow the bulbs to tilt to illuminate the customer.

In addition, there are 48 1-watt LED bulbs running the length of each case (12 bulbs per foot).

“The secret to making the jewelry sparkle is multiple-point sources of light,” Benowitz says. “The LEDs create so much sparkle that even a little teeny piece really looks like something.”

Once the strips were built, Benowitz commissioned a local company to engineer brackets to hold the LED strips in place. He also needed to run wires through hollowed-out legs of the cases to power the LED strip.

Is Benowitz happy with the results?

“We couldn’t be more happy until GE makes a 5,500-Kelvin light source (the equivalent of daylight) — maybe in late 2010. The ambient light is great in the space so the HID light really blends in nicely.”

10 LIGHTING TIPS FROM BARRY BENOWITZ

1. Never buy any lighting without trying it out first in the location with jewelry. We installed test lighting in the ceiling before making the final decision.

2. Be involved in lighting decisions. Lighting designers know where to place the lighting for clothing stores and offices — not jewelry store display cases … they just don’t get it.

3. Make a template of your jewelry case layout on the floor and use a laser from the floor up to the ceiling to mark the exact center of every light fixture you’re going to install so they are positioned perfectly above each case.

4. Don’t forget the lighting above a wall mirror.

5. Always insist on seeing the manufacturer’s specs on how the lights hold their color. Most lights start off bright and white and die out quickly over a short time.

6. LED lighting will not work in the ceiling at this time unless your ceiling is no higher than 3.5 feet from the top of the case.

7. Submit the lighting plan to the city via an electrical engineer so you can meet energy-conservation requirements and the code compliances in your town or city.

8. Have all your lighting controlled by a relay system to turn off and on at designated times.

9. Put the case lights and ceiling lights on different circuits so you can keep lights off during dead times of the day.

10. Lighting can be the most expensive part of the store building process, so shop hard for the best deals.

This story is from the February 2010 edition of INSTORE

Displaycase-Smart ships product nationwide including the following cities – Oxnard (CA), Fontana (CA), Yonkers (NY), Augusta (GA), Mobile (AL), Little Rock (AR), Moreno Valley (CA)

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Our new website is easy to navigate and helps you to quickly find the display case you want.  We have an interactive search that looks up types of display cases by key words and shows you photos of the displays not just text.

Displaycase-Smart ships product nationwide including the following cities:  Arlington (TX), Bakersfield (CA), New Orleans (LA), Anaheim (CA), Tampa (FL), Aurora (CO)

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1. Looking for a Display Case?
2. Jewelry Display Cases
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Looking for a display case to highlight your jewelry at retail?  Check out our new website with multiple styles and designs available.  Whether you are looking for retail jewelry display cases, body jewelry floor display cases or jewelry display cases in a variety of sizes and shapes.

We offer jewelry display cases and showcases for watches, body jewelry, cameras, electronic items and giftware.

Displaycase-Smart ships product nationwide including the following cities – Columbus  (OH), Fort Worth, (TX), Charlotte (NC), Detroit (MI), El Paso (TX), Memphis, (TN), Baltimore (MD)

10/23/11

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“Please help me.  I don’t know why I have such a hard time walking past the end caps (spelled ‘endcaps’ in the retail merchandising world).  It’s like they reach out and grab me.  The pattern is the same—I can be “speed walking” down the aisle, headed directly for the checkout counter. Suddenly, I come to a screeching halt and chalk up another victim for the endcap merchandiser.”

Before going on too much further, if you are new to visual merchandising, you may not realize that retailers spend large amounts of time in developing an endcap strategy.  The savvy marketer will know which endcaps see the most store traffic, which products sell best, and which shelves provide the quickest turn of inventory.   Obviously, the more the inventory turns (i.e., the more products sell), the more profitable that endcap is to the store.

There are at least two philosophies related to the strategies of the endcap.  The first is to present the newest and hottest products.  The idea is that a customer will be attracted to the endcap display to learn about a new product/book/or whatever. For example, I walked into a bookstore this morning and the first thing that caught my eye was a display of the newest, and best-selling books. (I was quick to recognize a conundrum: Are those books best-selling because they are on an endcap or are they on an endcap because they are best-selling?)  After the customer is through browsing through the endcap, they will hopefully pick up other items they want as well.

The second endcap philosophy is to use them for seasonal merchandise.  The seasonal merchandise display takes advantage of common shopping trends related to times of the year.  In November, place the Thanksgiving related items; in December, place winter or Christmas or Hanukkah items, etc. The odds of a person looking for seasonal items is extremely high, so the chances for a sale are extremely high as well.

Lesson to Learn—Endcaps can serve a dual purpose—they can attract customers into your store with the hottest and newest items and they can feature items with a high probability for sale. It also provides a great opportunity to test various strategies and determine which products generate the greatest profit margin.

10/03/2011

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1. How Do I Choose the Best Custom Fixtures for My Store?
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I feel your pain—we both know that effective visual merchandising sells more products in your stores.  But, what can you do if your merchandising budget is limited?   Here are 3 creative suggestions you should try the next time your budget has been reduced.

1. Think like a consumer.  When someone walks into your store, what are they looking for?  Several years ago, I had a client that owned a bookstore.  Many of his books were arranged by the title and author.  In some instances they used endcaps to display books from a particular publisher.  But when a customer walked into the store, they were looking for help on a particular topic.  By just arranging his product by topic, sales picked up significantly.

Application: Find out how your customers look for product when they walk through your store.

1. Rearrange.  Have you ever noticed how different your living room looks when you rearrange the furniture?  They same is true for your store.  You can freshen up the look (Visual) of your store simply by rearranging the fixtures (Merchandising).  Customers walk in and can immediately sense that something is different—and exciting!  Perhaps you have just enough money to purchase one new display case for your store.  You can make the new display case a focal point for the store. Or, the new display case becomes a micro-site, showing the newest products or featuring a theme.  This will draw customers’ attention and make even the existing products look new.

Application:  If everything in your store looks the same as when you were last there, customers will think they have seen everything there is to see.  A rearrangement draws attention to different items—offering the opportunity for additional sales.

1. New signage.  Merchandising experts spend a lot of time on the store signage—and for good reason.  In-store signs fill a double role. First, they direct the flow of customers by announcing various categories, sales and destinations (e.g., checkout, restrooms, etc.).  Secondly, signs fulfill and important function by helping brand your store.  A store’s brand is based on every touch-point that a customer has with the store. That includes the store’s location, its cleanliness, the way the staff treat the customer and much more—including the signage.  The signs must reflect the ambiance of the store in everything from the materials used in the sign itself to the use of font size and typography. New colors can and signs can change the entire look and feel of the store.  But, be sure the new signs fit in with your overall branding—and don’t forget to change the showcase signs when you change the other signage.

Application:  We are a visual culture. Let your new signage attract you to the store and easily direct your buying experience.

9/27/2011

Tags: Visual Merchandising, display cases, fixtures, signage, store layout,

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Last year I visited Gulf Shores, AL and after an excellent supper overlooking the gulf, I walked into a gift shop that was nearby.

As soon as I stepped into the shop, I knew what to expect.  Displays of items placed throughout the shop—popping up whenever there was a vacant square foot of floor space.  Each display had dozens (or hundreds?) of regional items screaming out to be purchased.  The only thing I wanted from the store was—to leave.

The best companies have discovered that the process of buying and selling isn’t about filling your store with fixtures that feature lots of product.  In fact, as Walmart learned, it isn’t as much about high prices vs. low prices—it is about the customer experience.  When choosing a fixture, determine if it enhances or detracts from the customer experience. For example, if you are selling the fine fabric from an Alpaca, it cries out to be touched.  Choose fixtures that allow your customer to touch and feel this material.  The customers’ ability to use their sense of touch enhances their shopping experience.

But wait, there is a negative point to be made regarding touch—and that relates to the practice of many fixtures placed too close together. In my example of the gift shop, there were so many displays that every time I turned around, I was bumping into some.  I certainly did not like that aspect of touch!  In fact, Shari Waters’ 8^th way to turn off customers is to have aisles that are too crowded.  This can ruin a shopping experience—even if the customer is interested in the product.

So, when the shopping experience is pleasant, customers tend to spend more in the store to make the experience last longer.  It is a well documented fact that the longer a person stays in a store, the more likely they are to make a purchase.

Lesson to Learn—The first step in choosing a custom fixture or display is to determine how well it enhances the customer’s experience in shopping.  Pay special attention that the display you choose does the best job of merchandizing your products.

9/15/2011

Tags: fixtures, store fixtures, customer experience, display, retail selling

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There is a reason the Big Dogs spend a lot of money on in-store marketing – it works!  One tactic is to create a new look for the store, the display cases or signs.  Most smaller businesses do not have the money to create a whole new look for a store with all new display cases, showcases or lighting and furniture.  However you can spend some time creating a new and/or focused look by rearranging display cases and store fixtures, or even adding one or two cases to increase the volume of product that can be displayed prominently.  You can make lighting changes and rearrange the merchandise in glass displays.  Make your customers feel at ease in the store as well as piquing their interest.

Related posts:

1. 3 Ways to Improve your Visual Merchandising
2. Store Design To Enhance Showcase Displays
3. How Do I Choose the Best Custom Fixtures for My Store?