What can we learn about organizing from retail displays?

Let me share with you how I speculate retail store displays are organized. AKA visual merchandising.

I see 3 strategies:

1. Clutter-maze As A Strategy (CAAS.) No one can find anything. Forget about browsing, it's too much work.
   
   
2. Middle ground. Tidy but you can't see everything at a glance.
   
   
3. Less is more. Displayed specifically for you are 6-9ish, rather than 40-50, products.
   

Cost is sort of the differentiator between clutter maze, middle ground, and LIM.

Read on. You'll see what I mean.

Clutter-maze As A Strategy (CAAS)

I say that cost is sort of a differentiator because of The Bay.

The Bay calls itself a luxury department store.

Hudson's Bay has proven that following some organizational principles and ignore others can give you clutter.

Women's winter coats are organized by brand, style and color, following "put similar things together."

But, there so many coats squished in here. It's overwhelming. And the brand-style-color organization that's here doesn't help shoppers.

The isle is a mishmash of coats and dresses.

If The Bay wants a bargain basement look, leave everything as it is.

To look like a luxury department store you need some serious decluttering:

• Less coats per rack. Things need breathing room.
  
  
• More room between racks for people in the coat section.
  
  
• Remove racks from the isle so people can easily walk through.
  
  
• Don't put things together that don't belong together, as has been done with coats & dresses in the isle.

Middle ground: tidy but you can't see everything at a glance

Middle ground splits into simple and not-so-simple display.

Both have too many items for you to see everything that's there in a glance.

And both are not clutter. 

Simple middle ground displays

The way items are placed gives a clutter or not-clutter message.

Clutter piles send the message- throw more stuff over here.

For both Sketchers and Browns, shoes have been placed rather than thrown, as happens in clutter piles.

Also, you can't find anything in clutter.

If Brown's or Sketchers have what you're looking for, you'll find it. On your own or with a salesperson's help.

I'm guessing, but I suspect, buyers find shoes through traditional ads, social, and other out of store branding.

That puts less dependence on displays to sell products.

A simple, just enough room organization does the job.

Not-so-simple middle ground display

To be true to to it's brand, Lush needs a packed display.

It could be a clutter disaster.

Instead Lush has mastered guided buyer browsing.

It's done through a two-layered strategy.

First, the stores have a food buffet theme, so it feels natural to be presented with a large volume of colorful products.

A foodie feast, if you like.

Cheese on cutting boards and a dessert table, for example.

Second, is the physical structure of the displays.

This is where the browsing brilliance comes in.

The wall is broken down into shelves of similar products. Easy to absorb.

The desert table is made of groups of exactly the same product. Even easier to absorb.

Probably no one browses the whole wall or whole dessert table.

Instead you browse one shelf or group at a time.

Like a real food buffet, once you find what you like, fill your plate and stop browsing. To your table you go.

In the Lush store, you browse until you find what you like, then you buy it.

Less is more: 6ish to 9 products per display

The Burberry and Versace walls are sparse, filling empty space with expensive vibes.

To keep the expensive factor, sparseness must be adhered to.  

How do you sell the full product line with such sparse displays?

First, you're looking at more products than you think.

The Burberry wall has 9 slots and 10 products.

The top row, middle slot, has 2 smaller purses.

Versace's wall has 6 slots and 12 products.

Second, the displayed products tell you about those that aren't displayed.

Storytelling, if you like.

Burberry's two small purses show that purses come in different sizes, without showing every purse in every size.

Versace's shows it's range by picking for display extreme ends of the fashion spectrum.

Popping pink and traditional black colors => and many colors between these two.

Flats, heels, and those crazy clunkers => something for every statement that shoes can make.  

Don't forget about purses.

Because who buys shoes and not matching purses?