Retail Merchandising Trends to Watch in 2020. It can be easy to think that e-commerce is a monolith and a force that brick-and-mortar retailers are reckoning with. While there’s truth to the exponential growth of online shopping, there are still plenty of ways to gain a competitive edge over those big digital brands — starting with optimized merchandising. Making the most of merchandising means understanding the trends that shape the way customers shop and what they’re looking for when they travel your aisles.
Take a look at some of the trends that are shaping the way retailers approach merchandising, marketing, and more.
Sustainability is a big deal across the board these days, and customers want to know that the stores they’re visiting and the items they’re buying are truly as eco-friendly as claimed. Use merchandising displays and strategies that help support the sustainability initiatives of the vendors who trust you to help boost their bottom line.
While many shoppers head online for a quick purchase, brick-and-mortar stores have a distinct advantage that e-Commerce shops don’t: Customers can use all of their senses when they walk in your door. Leverage that distinction by creating merchandising displays that give shoppers an all-senses experience that keeps them coming back.
Brand collaborations have contributed to this growing trend, with pop-up style curated collections showing up in bigger stores. It’s a great way for brands (especially new ones) to present themselves to a captive audience who’s already in a spending mood. It’s also a smart idea for stores that are still undecided on working with a potential vendor.
It’s no longer enough for your merchandising displays to hold product. Customers are increasingly looking to be engaged and educated while shopping, and signage on merchandising is a great way to do that. Add creative new ways to use the product, its origin story, or even suggestions for complementary products in your store.
Even if you’re not selling online with an e-Commerce channel, there are several ways to bridge the divide between digital and brick-and-mortar — many customers are looking for experiences in both arenas. Create merchandising displays that shoppers will love to share on social media, giving your store an even broader audience.
Sometimes making a sale takes a bit more prompting and prodding than good merchandise and a stellar product. Sometimes shoppers need a nudge to “pick up” a product or “try it now.” These calls to action are, of course, a great tool in digital marketing, but they’re also trending as popular and effective in the visual merchandising world. Include these CTAs in your signage.
Shoppers have seemingly endless options for any one product, but that doesn’t mean you should include them all in your merchandising plan. Because e-Commerce stores are generally easy to navigate, recent insight shows that shoppers are increasingly looking for minimalism in-store. Reducing the number of options and having a smaller, more curated collection helps customers make buying decisions easier and without as much stress.
finger pressing virtual media type of buttons.
The d-word (data!) is everywhere in retail, so why shouldn’t you use it to your advantage when developing your merchandising strategy? It’s likely you’re already using software that will give you the data you need to optimize product placement, and you’ll see even more tech tools and innovation you can use in the coming months to help you do that.
Retail trends move at the speed of light, that’s no secret. What’s working now may not work in 2020, even though some trends (see above!) are here to stay. By creating portable merchandising displays, your products can ebb and flow with those trends and best follow shopping habits for ultimate product optimization.
Regardless of the retail trends that come and go, capitalizing on them won’t do much good if you don’t invest in high-quality merchandising displays. With PFI we help you win more sales through innovation and excellence in the delivery of custom branded merchandising systems. We help drive our customer’s brand preferences and ultimately, sales. From concept through distribution our capabilities are not limited by medium, retail channel, customer size or delivery requirements.
We are committed to transforming great ideas into even greater examples of the finest quality merchandising equipment while maximizing the visual impact of our customers’ products. Let’s talk about transforming your store, and starting the new year out ahead of the trend curve!