Catch the Eye

October 26, 2015

Anyone who’s ever watched HGTV has learned the power of staging. The home, at first, seems drab and uninteresting. Then, after a professional home stager has finished, the home is transformed into something chic, luxurious eye-catching.

While it may not be practical or appropriate to call in a home stager to revamp your store, a critical eye and a little creativity can go a long way to re-creating your space for maximum appeal. Borrowing a few tips from home stagers you can immediately make a difference on how your store space will attract and retain customers. 

One of the simplest ways to “restage” your store is to ensure it is immaculate.  The floor should be freshly waxed, carpets cleaned and glass countertops should glisten. Your overhead lights should all be working and be well-positioned for maximum effect. Home stagers often put a dab of vanilla on a warm burner on the stove to make home smell like freshly baked cookies.  How does your store smell?

Often, home stagers will ask the question, “who lives here?”  In your store, you create an environment that appeals to your customers, so it’s up to you to know who your customer is.  Are you selling gifts and trinkets, or are you selling a lifestyle?  Does the image of your store reflect the self-image of your client?

Most stagers will work to avoid the appearance of clutter.  In a store, it’s tempting to fill the shelves to the point of overflowing.  After all, it’s important to make sure you have plenty of items customers can choose from.  On the other hand, if your shelves are sagging under the weight of too many items your customers will never find that one, special item.  Clutter is the retail version of not being able to see the forest because of too many trees.

As with most things, you’re trying to achieve a balance.  In a retail environment you want to achieve a balance between masculine and feminine.  You need a balance between appearing cluttered and understocked but with enough items to keep things interesting – and keep customers in the store.  You want to create an environment where customers will linger and your products can engage. Balance.

Ideally, you want to present a reflection of what your customers just experienced in the museum. Find a special item that fits that bill and showcase it.  Not only can you extend that experience into your store, you can give your customers the opportunity to take the experience home.

Step back and look at the flow of your retail space. Do items or display cases block the doorway? Have you placed products near the front door so compelling that perspective customers have to step inside?  All this work serves a special purpose, you’re not staging your store just to look nice, but rather you’re making it so inviting to enter that customer can’t refuse. Customers like shiny things, so you put the shiny things where they can see them. Kinetic items are always a good choice to put at the front door, do you have a shiny one?  And, you can’t beat toys for getting kids (and their parents) into your store.

It’s been said that buying a new home is one of the top three most stressful things people experience in their lives.  That’s why the role of the stager is to make the potential home feel like a place they could see themselves living in. Try walking into your store with the same critical eye your customers will use as they consider whether or not your store is worth their time and money. Adding a little “curb appeal” will get them into the store.  Once they’re in, try to make them feel at home with a bit a flash and touch of pizzazz.

Steve White is a writer and entrepreneur living and writing in Denver.