Visual Merchandising - stylesmart's newest services include tips and techniques on how to merchandise your store to draw the biggest crowd and please your customers' sense with glam looks and delicious scents.

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When planning your space or making designs to spruce up your retail outlet, be sure to take an inventory of what's working and what needs improvment. This first installation in a series of pieces that will help with visual merchandising focuses on the five (5) senses. As a reminder, we'll present the sense and give you some ideas on how to enhance the appearance or impact that each has on your individual location.

Sight - Is your retail space pleasing to the eye? Is it uncluttered and easy to spot interesting merchandise?

• Use consistent color schemes
• Place fresh flowers around the store
• Place merchandise at eye level
• Use unique architechture or accent pieces that draw the eye

Sound - Do you play music? Is there a comfortable din of conversation?

• Play music that enhances the mood of your shop or studio
• Classical versus Rock - what will your customers appreciate?
• Make the environment alive - keep things humming, even if you're simply talking with your associates about merchandising or if X has called Y to follow up on her handbag order, etc. - No quiet library settings!

Taste - Do you have a local resource for yummy treats for a co-op marketing deal?

• Have some candy available for customers to munch on - make sure to offer hard candy to ward off sticky fingers and smudges on the merchandise

Smell - What's the theme of your outlet? Does the atmosphere and scent of the room match your vision and messaging?

• Burn some scented candles
• Spray air freshener
• Place strategic sachets around the store
• Wear lovely perfume
• Remember the fresh flowers

Touch - Are the cozy or unique items within reach for customers to experience at the beginning of their shopping trip? Wouldn't a cozy angora sweater, cashmere scarf, of fun straw hat be a nice entry item to invite a customer to experience the boutique through touch?

• Showcase soft leathers and knits
• Place comfortable chairs in convenient locations for weary shoppers
• Consider offering samples of hand lotions and other beauty products at the counter.

And there's a final sense that is rarely mentioned call equilibrium - you'll be setting each of your customers in shopping equilibrium and they'll thank you for it!

More importantly, your customers will remember your store when they heard their favorite song playing on the high-fi and smelled that luxurious gardenia hand lotion at the cash wrap!

Let stylesmart know if we can help you with brand, merchandising, and marketing strategy. Call us at 206-956-4489.