Modern pharmacies are more than a quick stop to get cold medicine when you’re not feeling well – at least they should be. Today, customer expectations are higher and they’re looking not just for products, but also an experience.
Need proof? Look at some of the most successful pharmacies and notice that they’ve moved beyond sterile and medicinal to a more boutique like atmosphere – an approach that works really well for smaller locations.
The key to creating a more shoppable environment for your pharmacy is visual merchandising. It’s a strategy that includes a combination of pharmacy fixtures, merchandise and layout. The goal of visual merchandising is to maximize sales, provide an enjoyable experience for customers and improve your pharmacy workflow process.
To get the most retail punch when you’re limited on space, here are five visual merchandising tips that will have a major impact.
Avoid Becoming Stale
There’s a certain level of comfort in being able to go to the pharmacy and know exactly where to find what you need. Still, regular customers can become so accustomed to your pharmacy design that they stop paying attention to all your merchandise.
It’s important to visually mix things up from time to time. Ideas for this include frequently changing out front end and end cap displays or bringing in new pharmacy shelving fixtures to give your location an entirely new – and interesting – atmosphere.
Lifestyle Cross Merchandising
When someone walks into a pharmacy, it usually isn’t with the intent of just browsing. They’re there because they have a need. Since many customers come in and make a straight line to the first item on their shopping list, investing in lifestyle cross merchandising can introduce them to products they didn’t know they wanted or needed.
Lifestyle cross merchandising is about connecting customers with complimentary merchandise. For example, those extra plush tissues and maybe a few boxes of tea work well with a cold medicine display or a display featuring wearable fitness trackers could also include vitamins or athletic foot powder.
Visual Merchandising Blocks
People are attracted to color and patterns. Tapping into this is a great way to bring all the “boring” merchandise on your shelves to life. Sales can even be maximized on mundane merchandise, like toothpaste or deodorant, when it’s visually pleasing to shop. Arrange merchandise vertically in blocks of complimentary colors and sizes to keep customer’s eyes stimulated and moving.
Streamline the Front End
Given the limited space, effectively merchandising front end displays can be a challenge. To get maximum sales performance, streamline front end displays by removing clutter, featuring shelving near the door/POP and focusing on aesthetics with a display of fast moving, impulse items. This isn’t the place to display merchandise that might require the customer to stand around and consider the purchase, instead the impulse should be instant.
Complimentary Décor
You want your pharmacy to be comfortable to shop in, and the right shelving can complement your pharmacy décor and make customers want to stay and browse. Today, pharmacies are moving past industrial looking shelving and choosing elegant wood, metal, and high-quality plastics for their merchandising solutions. Choose high quality shelving as a complimentary backdrop to your merchandise to add instant visual appeal.
