Right now, in this end-of-spring, start-of-summer limbo, is prime time for gardening gurus to get started on planting their flowers and vegetables. Therefore, it's crucial for retail stores that sell gardening supplies to kick up their visual merchandising strategies and cater to the returning seasonal customers. The display strategy for gardening equipment should do more than just make the product appealing; displays should also provide customers with ideas on how to enhance their own gardens and make the most of this fruitful season. Here is a guide to creating displays that will maximize sales and keep your customers coming back:
Draw the customers in
Whether you're running a greenhouse, garden center or retail business, you need to attract the attention of customers and draw them into the store. Gardening equipment is an easy item to make visible from the outside of the store – it can literally be displayed outdoors. Give patrons walking by a taste of what your store has to offer by setting up plants and equipment in an outdoor, tented structure or just outside of you store's front doors. Additionally, if you're selling tools to make your customers' yards a beautiful sight, then your retail store's own location should be well-groomed and landscaped as well.
For an indoor option, the Houston Chronicle suggests that store owners set up a multi-colored tiered display of flowers inside the store that is visible to outside customers. Consider using dark-colored floral fixtures that will hide the mess of soil and water that inevitably comes with maintaining the plants.
Don't forget about the details
For indoor displays, there's plenty of ways to utilize display tables, carts and baskets to create a gardening atmosphere that does more than just highlight the products – it should enhanced the experience. The Ball Horticultural Company suggests including vintage family photos with retail display fixtures to supplement a rustic display style. Using crates and wicker baskets will give off the homey vibe that gardening gurus love. You can also set up cookbooks and recipes by vegetable plant displays to demonstrate to customers the array of benefits that come with a vegetable garden.
Make it feel like home
The customers shopping for gardening equipment are likely to use those items for do-it-yourself projects around the house, so why not create a mock setting in your retail store? Mimicking the look of a backyard will help consumers visual how well your products will sit in their own spaces. The Houston Chronicle suggests setting up a bench surrounded by bird feeders and baths, for example. This dual-purpose display gives patrons a place to sit after a long day of shopping and also entices them to create the same setting at their own homes.
