Modern Retailing's Top 3 Merchandising Trends

A LOOK OUTSIDE THE OPTICAL INDUSTRY REVEALS CUTTING-EDGE TACTICS THAT CAN BE BROUGHT INTO THE DISPENSARY

Around the world, retailing is big business. An untold amount of money is invested in researching the best ways to reach shoppers and secure sales. Optical retailers can benefit from the latest strategies in merchandising, P.O.P., and marketing by employing them in the dispensary.

The first step to success, however, is to truly understand your customer (including who they are and how they shop) and your product mix. "Retailers need to have an understanding of how deep they are into their own brands," says Doreen Burdalski, chair of the fashion department and an assistant professor of merchandising at Albright College in Reading, Pa. "It helps to pinpoint what brands are key and what items are key within those brands."

The next step is to utilize the following strategies, if they are applicable to your dispensary and product assortment:

Breaking Down Creatively within Brands

While many ECPs merchandise their products by brand, retailing experts recommend breaking down product categories creatively within collections. "Consumers shop by brand, so if someone likes a certain brand they will gravitate towards that brand's eyewear," says Burdalski. You can keep this customer's attention by breaking these frames down even further by gender, material, or even face shape. "That kind of point-of-sale information is something customers love," she adds, saying that products could even feature a color-coded tag for delineation. "For example, in the jeans department today, petite jeans may have a red tag and average-length jeans have a yellow tag."

The BCBGMAXAZRIA bold rectangular Polaris (top) and flat metal Torrence with reptile pattern temple design

Enabling Discovery

Research shows that customers love a shopping adventure. Accenting your products with a hint of marketing and P.O.P. materials will entice them to discover your frame assortment. Using too much signage or P.O.P. can reduce the adventure quotient significantly. Designate someone at your optical business to filter through all the P.O.P. offered to you and decide what to use. Since there is some standard sizing for items like brand posters and signage, you can also set up your own sign holders and poster frames so you can use P.O.P. but maintain your own image as a retailer.

Creating an Editorial Space

Catch your customer's attention and create shopping excitement by pulling together a revolving showcase for frame trends. "These little editorial spaces can show what the newness is by season," says Burdalski. "It could be a color statement, a fabrication statement, or even shape or size. The customer may not end up purchasing that trend, but you are giving them direction on newness in the store and setting yourself up as an expert and a source for fashion." This type of display could be done on a countertop, display unit, or shelf.