How It’s Done: Merchandising

The road to sales starts in the parking lot. What customers see, once they come into your showroom, can make the difference in making a sale or not.

Do the times – Covid, supply chain challenges, political upheaval, economic uncertainty – justify changing things up in merchandising?

Several experienced retailers gave us their take on merchandising these days.

At Weir’s Furniture, marketing director Amy Folmar says that she hasn’t made any changes in merchandising.  

“It’s important but it’s not more important now,” Folmar says. “We try to move things around and freshen our sales floor each week. It gives our customers inspiration on what may look good together and it highlights different items they may have missed on previous visits.”

Jack Wills III, president of Jack Wills Outdoor Living, said that he tries to imagine how the furniture will look, outside of the store.

“We always try to make groupings look complete like they would at somebody’s house,” says Wills.

He said that merchandising is more important now than it ever has been before.

“Absolutely, it is what separates you from your competition, large or small,” Wills explains. “It shows the customer that you are the experts in outdoor living.”

When asked whether he has any tips for those who are having trouble with merchandising, Wills says that merchants should look at what people are seeing in the marketplace.

“I would say look at color palettes and trends, and then accessorize in those colors with pillows and rugs, etc.” he says.

Lee Recchia, president of American Casual Living, said that he isn’t doing anything materially different in merchandising than most specialty retailers in the industry, as did O’Malia’s Living’s Scott Horvath.

“Merchandising has always been important,” Recchia says. “It is critical in our estimation to offer and demonstrate products, designs, and configurations that satisfy customers’ desire for the optimum enjoyment of their outdoor areas.”

Horvath adds, “We have always felt that merchandising is key and I would recommend specialty retailers to showcase products in a stylized fashion.”

Any tips for those who are having trouble with merchandising?

“Identify what speaks to your customer,” Recchia says. “It’s the ultimate barometer.”