Presenting

Business 52 August | 2021 TIP: Tag every item in every display so that the price is either visible or easily fi ndable. Nothing will prevent a shopper from buying an item faster than not being able to fi nd its price and having to ask someone. Restock, rearrange and dust merchandise in all your displays at least twice a week. Also, rotate merchandise between displays, if it works, and even relocate smaller displays to diff erent areas in your shop. Hopefully, holiday traffi c in your store will be heavy, and it's amazing how simply moving merchandise from one area to another makes it seem fresh and new to repeat visitors to your store. Doing so will often cause customers to see items for the "fi rst time" and think those items are new since their previous visits. If possible, create a bright, vivid display— possibly featuring some animation or movement of some kind, fl ashing lights or bold graphics— at the rear of the shop or in other "remote" or obscure areas, to draw shoppers to those areas and through the rest of your store. Make sure a visit to your shop is a pleasant and memorable experience for shoppers by appealing to all of the fi ve senses: sight, hearing, touch, smell and even taste. In a fl ower shop, the fi rst four are easy, and if you stock gourmet items, so is the fi fth—by off ering product tastings. Sample a diff erent product every day, and ask your vendors to provide free products for tastings (many will)! If you don't sell gourmet, provide a small assortment of holiday treats for customers to nosh on while they shop (possibly barter with a nearby bakery or gourmet market!). is tip is for after the holiday : Showcase a limited selection of Christmas items year-round. Dedicate a small area in your shop to display some distinctive Christmas merchandise 12 months of the year—possibly holiday collectibles. Collectors of Christmas items shop all year long and especially during summer vacations. Keep the area clean, and be sure to change or rotate the merchandise—or completely revamp the display—frequently, to keep it looking fresh and new. 5 6 7 8 Write down some merchandising ideas for your upcoming holiday season. Write down some merchandising ideas for your upcoming holiday season.

• Cover