Posted in Retail Trends
It may only be the beginning of July, but all retailers know that an important buying season is upon us already—back-to-school season. In no time at all, droves of parents will be carting their kids into stores to pick up school supplies for the school year. While it’s always sad to see summer go, there’s still a childlike excitement associated with going back to school. If you can capture that excitement with your back-to-school displays, you’ll see your merchandise flying off the shelves long before the first bell rings. Here are a few essential back-to-school display tips that will help you make the most out of this season.
Appeal to Both Boys & Girls
Crisp fall air, jeans, snuggly sweaters—fall weather and the fashion that goes with it are synonymous with going back to school. This means that it’s the perfect time to show off the latest autumn wear or school uniforms for both boys and girls. Make sure that you have enough children’s forms and mannequins on hand and outfit them in boys’ and girls’ clothing—that way you can appeal directly to the market that exists during back-to-school season. Group them together to display a variety of looks!
Organization is Key
Organization is crucial for back-to-school displays. It can be easy for parents to get overwhelmed by the wide variety of pencils, pens, folders, notebooks, backpacks, and other school supplies that are available. Keeping it all organized, and not to mention eye-catching, can be challenging.
Slatwall, for example, is incredibly versatile and can create a display that is as organized as it is aesthetically pleasing. We love the display below and how the company used a faux brick wall to mimic the look of an elementary school cubby wall. You can see how they used metal hooks and acrylic shelves to creatively display their back-to-school merchandise while still keeping it organized. You can achieve the same look with InStore Design Display’s brick specialty slatwall!
Utilizing free-standing bins can also keep your items together and make them easy to get to. Basket displays like the Three Basket Wire Display, which features three tiered baskets, all allow you to effectively display the wide variety of back-to-school merchandise you have to offer your customers.
Use Nostalgia to Your Advantage
Nostalgia is an effective marketing tool because it evokes happy memories and a sense of familiarity. Using retro-looking items in your back-to-school displays is one way you can use nostalgia to your advantage. While chalkboard in the classroom is a relic of the past, that doesn’t mean you can’t utilize its rustic schoolroom charm to communicate with your customers. Use it in a window display, outside your store to draw foot traffic in, or keep it next to items you want to showcase.
Pegboard is an unexpected way to harness the power of nostalgia for your displays. Pegboard immediately makes one think of an old small-town hardware store, your dad’s tool bench in the garage, or metal shop in high school. Below, you can see that Best Made Co. understood this perfectly by creating a vintage-looking display for its merchandise using pegboard. Pegboard is easy to mount various hooks, baskets and other accessories to, making it an economical and nostalgic way to showcase your items!
Need more ideas for fixtures for your own back-to-school display? Contact an InStoreDesignDisplay sales associate today! Our experienced team will be happy to direct you to whatever items will make your displays stand out this back-to-school season.