SALON TODAY’s Musts Column tends to take a spring cleaning theme each March, but this year, we thought we’d take a moment to review some key rules of retail, according to Peter Millard, author of Reinventing Space: The Clear Logic to Successful Salon Design and Retail Merchandising and the creator of Peter Millard Salon Lighting. In his book, he recommends the following:
Explain, Don’t Display. “Clients want to know what they are looking at and what their choices are,” says Millard. “You want to answer their question, which is: ‘What does this product do?’”
Use Images: “Whenever possible, add a framed photograph of a person that shows the effects of the product you are selling,” says Millard. “If you don’t have one from your manufacturer, find a celebrity or model shot from a magazine or online.”
Don’t Spread Out! “Do not leave noticeable spaces between products. The product should be packed in nearly touching side to side, so it appears abundant, full and successful.”
Mirror, Mirror: “Never use mirrors behind products, ever,” stresses Millard. “They create a hole, and clients don’t know what they are looking at, and they find it disconcerting, if not actually frightening, to see themselves suddenly looking out at themselves from behind the product.”
On the Level: “Eye level is where the money is—50% of sales occur at eye level, and 15% occurs on the shelf above and 15% at the shelf below. That’s 80 percent,” says Millard. “Put your retail winners at eye level.”
Become a Hair Clinic: “Put products that heal hair and solve problems throughout the salon—at workstations, on pedestals in the flow of traffic, in windows, on coffee tables in the waiting room, and on blocks in the retail area,” says Millard.
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