Italiano
EnglishPeople are more and more in a hurry, they have no time to lose, and that makes the game even harder. This is where window display comes in.
What is a shop window for?
It may seem a trivial idea, but I want to be precise in explaining what a shop window is and exactly what it is for.
It is the most important marketing tool a shop has at hand: it can turn a passer-by into a customer.
It is responsible not only for the first impression: it visually reflects what you want to communicate, the promise of the shop or the brand, and it speaks the same language as the target it is aimed at.
It has one limit: it has only 7 seconds to say everything!
Those 7 seconds are the average time a passer-by spends looking at a shop window.
That is where attention is won or lost.
These figures alone are enough reason to invest in the most powerful tool a shop has, but I assure you there is more.
“Displaying products” is not everything
Thinking about how little time there is might suggest that it is better to display as many products as possible, show the whole range and use all the space, in the belief that this widens the target.
Well, it does exactly the opposite!
Some time ago it was enough to put products in the window. In my last article I mentioned butchers and haberdashers because they are a great example of how people thought that showing their (wide) range clearly and waiting for customers was the best way to use the window.
Today the bar is much higher. With so much competition, the window display has to work on emotional levers: in those 7 seconds, love at first sight has to strike between the window and the passer-by.
Making the difference with a shop window
The power of a display that works is to turn the passer-by first into an observer and then into a customer.
Let’s see what a window that works does.
IT GETS NOTICED
There are endless elements you can use to catch attention: from colour to movement, from styling to lighting. Whether you choose a scenic or a functional window, it has to make an impact; it has to make passers-by turn their heads.
IT ATTRACTS
Catching the passer-by’s attention is essential so that they give you a little more than those meagre 7 seconds.
IT AROUSES CURIOSITY
Knowing your target means speaking the same language as your potential customers; it is in that language that you spark their curiosity.
IT SPARKS DESIRE
Today a shop window has to create a desire, an almost irresistible need to own the object on display. This cannot be done with a window full of products; otherwise the only desire will be to run away.
IT MAKES PEOPLE ACT
As I said, the potential of a shop window is very high: turning a passer-by into a customer. That is no small thing!
In short…
Every shop has a very powerful tool that can make the difference: its window. Investing in this tool is a fundamental step towards the success of the shop itself.