| Cross-Mix
Merchandising is displaying a variety
of seemingly unrelated products together to create a comprehensive visual story. This type
of merchandising communicates breadth of product and educates your customer about
merchandise they may be unaware that you carry. Cross-mixing merchandise within a
Window can increase the
visibility of your store image and promote the look of a certain lifestyle for customers
to buy into. It illustrates the variety of selection or breadth of product you carry.
To cross-mix you can use
larger items within your product lines as props for smaller items. Pottery Barn has
created vignettes that cross merchandise items like adirondack chairs, lanterns, outdoor
dinnerware and throws. They carry the theme into the store by creating smaller versions of
the vignette throughout various departments of their store. Williams Sonoma created a
window display including a large graphic of cherries in bushels behind a selection of
product including a Cuisinart, ceramic pie plate, measuring spoons, pastry board and
checkered towels. Their theme "pie making" was stenciled on the window. Tiffany
created a cross-mix window representing a "fantasy" lifestyle. A small picnic
table, chairs and mosquito net served as prop back-drops for a selection of high-end
dinnerware, crystal, candle holders, pitchers and serving pieces. A wide-brimmed sun hat
was draped over a chair on gravel flooring and a floral arrangement completed the picture.
Cross-mix merchandising
within your store's Interior can increase UPTs (units per transaction). It makes the customer
visualize how they would use an impulse item after the sale is made and helps to confirm
the decision to purchase an item. This can be done by highlighting an impulse product with
demand items. Some retailers create entire anchor areas within their stores by cross
merchandising product by a particular theme. For instance, they might display all of the
product they carry for the bathroom in one area including soaps, scents, bath towels, soap
racks and toothbrushes and all of the product they carry for the home office in another.
The Nature Company recently offered a Shark theme display within their store that included
stuffed, inflatable and animated floating sharks, video tapes, books and even novelty
items, including floating Shark tooth key chains, shark lights and tee shirts.
Tips for Cross-mix
merchandising:
- Retailers today often sell
merchandise by portraying a dream lifestyle for the customers to buy and take home. Sell
your products by selling dreams.
- Remember to keep your
cross-mixed visual merchandising displays clean and to the point. The average customer
views a focal display of merchandise for about one second.
- Be sure to place displays
featuring cross-mixed products in high traffic areas and as focal points within a
department. Don't be afraid to use both demand and impulse items in your display.
« Next Page » |
