Rotating merchandise is an excellent means of keeping your store’s jewelry looking fresh and exciting to shoppers. When customers revisit your store and recognize the same merchandise the overall appeal of the shopping experience can become less engaging. Try changing out display cases and using different display props and display fixtures to increase interest in the store’s offerings. How often does your store change out display cases and rotate stock and trade out display props and merchandise fixtures? Consider changing out your display cases twice as often as you change your window displays.

Many stores are now using themed props to add a more festive feel to displays. Consider changing out themed props and not leaving them in the same cases throughout an entire selling season. Besides changing out the props consider using a bit of cloth material to add a different texture and color to spice up an existing display. You may be surprised how just a bit of inexpensive material used in existing displays can have a big impact with shoppers. All white display cases are boring . . . because too many jewelry stores use the same approach. How are customers supposed to remember one store from another? Jewelry stores that do not use visual merchandising to differentiate their offerings are not competing as effectively as they might be. Of course there is a huge array of natural materials that may add to the visual appeal of a jewelry display case. Don’t be afraid of using color. Contrast using color and materials is a visual technique of creating interest and drama in a display of jewelry.

When merchandise is rotated be sure not to group unsellable merchandise together. The disparate visual characteristics coupled with the customers already acknowledged lack of interest makes the merchandise even less appealing. Try to match unsellable and hot moving merchandise in with the same displays by color, materials used, design themes or overall design style. Try to make your aged inventory as sellable as possible.

Another reason to rotate stock in displays is to downsize trays when items are sold. Otherwise shoppers can get the idea that the best items have already been selected. Don’t leave trays with empty slots. Just trade out larger trays for smaller ones and create the right impression regarding selection. Recently I noticed a ring manufacturer’s advertisement that presented a tray of rings and not all of the slots contained merchandise. This is not the sort of merchandise example that helps retailers. When suppliers don’t understand how to best present their merchandise, retailers can be at a real disadvantage. Merchandise displayed in advertisements deserve and require the same excellent merchandising design theory as do retail stores.

There are design theories and principles that apply to the professional merchandise display. If your store doesn’t have anyone with training doing your displays consider the benefits of creating more effective displays. If you have questions about display . . . leave a posting with your question.

JCK