I’ve been out and about this month and I’ve seen some great merchandising touches that will prompt engagement and convert to purchase in even the most reluctant gardeners
The minimum of words with the maximum information
- Who do you have in mind when you design and create merchandising and point of sale materials?
- What part should branding play and how should you balance your own branded materials with those provided by suppliers?
- Are you sure that you’ve eliminated confusing jargon and avoided assumptions about the expertise level in your audience
I’ve been looking in some detail at garden centre merchandising in the past few weeks and I’ve seen some engaging and attractive displays that will inspire even the most reluctant gardeners. But I’ve also seen some well-meaning attempts that look beautiful but frankly are likely to confuse and alienate the very people they were designed to attract.
In outdoor merchandising especially, the dedicated and experienced horticulturists that run plant areas are clearly enthusiastic about their craft, and they want to impart important detail about the plants. So they sometimes fall into the trap of trying to communicate all the key information in one go. I don’t believe that the point of sale is the right place to deliver that level of detail and can result in a big ‘turn off’ for consumers.
Information overload. Who stops to read this? What is a standard fuchsia anyway?
It’s better to aim merchandising and messaging at passing consumers who don’t even know they wanted to buy anything! These simple but extremely effective ‘vignettes’ took some thought and effort to build, but it created a themed focal point in the plant area and most importantly it made me stop and assess the offer because it looked so beautiful.
Creating displays with which your target consumer can really identify is highly motivating for them. Suggesting small changes and additions to their outdoor space that will make a big improvement to the appearance makes it seem achievable with minimum effort and expertise.
This clever display consists of a large printed photo of a pretty front door, and the outdoor merchandising team have then dressed it with seasonal plants and other sundries.
Beautiful plants, attractive merchandising, just a near-miss on the messaging!
- A strong retailer brand could be an important reassurance the customers need, especially when shopping for plants.
- Supplier brands will earn their keep on specialist or technical product displays, especially tools, composts and chemicals
- Too much and mixed branding may confuse the message at the point of sale. Category leaders should be the hero brand with the lion’s share of the point of sale
- The experience and knowledge of staff and their willingness to speak in understandable and approachable language is the best branded point of sale you can deploy.
Compact but inspiring display which required a modicum of effort but created the maximum impact
CREATE A CLEAR VISION OF YOUR TARGET CONSUMER
I’ve heard retailers say that they don’t bother with targeting because they want to appeal to all consumers. I think they risk confusing some and failing to engage any really effectively.
I think we are all guilty of assuming too much knowledge in the consumer, even ‘expert’ gardeners are looking for help and inspiration.
Carefully designing communications to appeal to the less knowledgeable will ensure they are not frightened off by jargon. Even very experienced gardeners are unlikely to be alienated by strong visual merchandising with simple messages. They’ll seek out the additional information they need for themselves.
A really good place to start is in the HTA Garden Spender Profiles at www.the-hta.org.uk or check www.yougov.com/profiles for a great free resource.