Merchandising in your retail store is more than just a fun way to show off your products. It’s an opportunity to boost sales, improve shopping experiences, and make your customers really care about your store and the products you carry. Now more than ever, effective merchandising is so important as everything is competing for our attention. We’ll cover some key elements that will help you merchandise more effectively in 2026 and make your retail business more successful.
Strategic Store Layout
The way your retail store is laid out will affect every aspect of your merchandising strategy. You’ll want to find the right balance between ample space for merchandising, product placement, and foot traffic. A few strategies to consider include creating a decompression zone of around 10 feet of empty space at the entrance of your store that allows customers to take a broad look at your store. Alternatively, you can consider creating a grid structure that subconsciously forces shoppers to walk past everything in your store. This will leave you with space on the ends to set up merchandising displays or endcap displays to show off featured products.
Product Placement in Displays
Displays draw customers’ attention to whatever they highlight, but that doesn’t mean your shoppers will automatically pick up and purchase whatever is on display. You should practice methodical product placement when crafting your displays. Vary your items by height so they don’t blend in, use lighting to make them pop, and use props to set them up in interesting or fun ways.
It’s OK to Have Empty Space
One principle design element is that of white space, or emptiness around a focal point of a design that helps to draw attention to the main elements of the piece. Good merchandising should follow this same principle. Leave gaps of white space around your merchandising displays to help them stand out and reduce clutter. This, in turn, also helps highlight your displays as a special part of your retail store that deserve their own attention.
Sources
https://pos.toasttab.com/blog/on-the-line/how-to-merchandise-a-retail-store
https://goodschecker.com/blog/retail-merchandising-strategies/
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