As a retailer, you know that it won't do your customers – or you – any good if merchandise is not neat and organized. You need to display merchandise attractively and enticingly so that customers will buy, and it should also be easy for them to find what they need.
Stay organized with the proper shelving and fixtures
- Gondola shelving islands, wall units, and end caps
These mainstay retail shelving units hold just about any kind of merchandise, but they are especially useful for heavier items. Available in a variety of heights, styles and colors, you can choose the exact shelving you need.
Gondola shelving can also be used to display any flat merchandise such as bags of pet food, or you can buy hooks, baskets, and slatwalls to display oddly shaped or small items that need special display options so that they stay neatly in place and won't get lost.
Gondola shelving options include the standalone double-sided island, with shelves on either side, the one-sided wall unit, and the end cap, which is a smaller "extension" of the gondola unit, used for special displays or to extend an island. Islands can be joined together to create a gondola shelving unit "runs."
- Slatwalls
Slatwalls are similar to gondola shelving but they are more mobile, sleeker, and lighter weight than gondola units.
Some slatwall accessories include:
Floating shelves
You can install floating shelves anywhere on the slatwall panel, usually with no need to use brackets. Just slide them into the desired slot. Change the shelves' configuration just by moving them -- no need to break down and set up again as with gondola shelving.
Shelf brackets
Although floating shelves don't need brackets, you can choose shelf brackets for those times when you want to use glass or wood shelving to display high-end merchandise like jewelry or fine clothing.
Slatwall hooks
Slatwall hooks can be used to showcase clothing by hanging it. You can buy slatwall hooks in a variety of different colors and weights, including heavy duty metal or lighter weight nylon. These fit in the slatwall panels' grooves just as the shelving does.
Use plastic hooks to display small packages of merchandise, ties, belts, and anything else that is lightweight; you should use heavy-duty hooks for heavier duty housewares, hardware, etc.
Baskets, bins, waterfalls, and faceouts
Slatwalls can display merchandise in a variety of ways, such as with waterfalls or faceouts, which allow you to hang lightweight merchandise like jewelry or clothing for display. You can also use baskets and bins to display differently sized, lighter weight merchandise like candy, over-the-counter medications, or travel-sized personal hygiene items.
- Tabletop display fixtures
Use tabletop display fixtures throughout your store to showcase high-volume, sale, "hot" items or holiday items. Place these at the entrance to your store, at the entrances of requisite departments, and at the ends of aisles, to entice customers to buy and to keep them moving through your store.
- Wire baskets and racks
The checkout lane is the perfect "impulse buy" location. Place countertop wire baskets and freestanding racks in the checkout lanes and then stock them with small quick grab merchandise like magazines, over-the-counter medication, candy, and gum, and travel-sized personal hygiene items.
It is a snap to keep merchandise neat and tidy in your store with the right retail shelving and fixtures. Using the appropriate shelving and fixtures for the different types of merchandise you sell will make it easier for your customers to find what they want – and for you to stay organized, too.
