How do you merchandise with limited space, budget, or resources?

1 Know your goals

Before you start merchandising, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve. What are your sales targets, your customer segments, your brand identity, and your competitive edge? How can you align your merchandising with these goals? For example, if you want to increase impulse purchases, you might want to place some low-cost items near the checkout area. If you want to showcase your quality and craftsmanship, you might want to use natural materials and lighting to highlight your products.

2 Use vertical space

One of the easiest ways to maximize your space is to use vertical space. You can use shelves, racks, hooks, pegboards, or wall-mounted displays to create different levels and dimensions for your products. This can help you display more items, create visual interest, and draw attention to your best sellers or new arrivals. You can also use signage, banners, posters, or decals to communicate your brand message, promotions, or product features on the walls or ceilings.

3 Be creative with props

You don't need to spend a lot of money on fancy props or fixtures to create a stunning merchandising display. You can use everyday objects, recycled materials, or DIY items to add some personality and flair to your products. For example, you can use baskets, crates, jars, or boxes to store and display your products. You can use plants, flowers, books, or candles to create a cozy and inviting atmosphere. You can use fabrics, ribbons, or paper to add some color and texture to your display.

4 Rotate and refresh

One of the most important aspects of merchandising is to keep your display fresh and relevant. You don't want your customers to get bored or lose interest in your products. You should rotate and refresh your display regularly, depending on your inventory, season, trends, or events. You can change the layout, the theme, the colors, or the focal points of your display to create a new look and feel. You can also use cross-merchandising, bundling, or upselling techniques to introduce new products or increase your average order value.

5 Test and measure

Finally, you should always test and measure the effectiveness of your merchandising strategy. You should track and analyze your sales data, customer feedback, foot traffic, dwell time, conversion rate, and other key performance indicators to see what works and what doesn't. You should also experiment with different merchandising elements, such as lighting, signage, pricing, or placement, and see how they affect your sales and customer behavior. You should use the insights from your testing and measuring to optimize and improve your merchandising strategy over time.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?