Eyecare Business November by Erinn Morgan

Trend #1 The Big Picture – The store is a tool of communication. And, a successful retail environment must be holistically designed, from the front door to the sales floor to its on line presence. This includes the sign above your door, the welcome mat below, the surface treatments on the walls and floors the stationary that you use, and the nature of your sales associates.

Trend #2 The Product at Work – Across the board, stores are using a plethora of mannequins. Can they also work in optical? Even if employing mannequins in your eyewear displays is not for you, thought-out-lifestyle presentations can still show how the product is intended to be used.

Trend #3 Think Locally – Being locale-specific and connecting with the community is important, too. And who does it better than Anthropologie? One of my favorite presentations done by this retailer was in its San Francisco store on Market Street. The company replicated the Golden Gate Bridge, constructed of boxes of Rice-A-Roni. You can’t get more San Francisco than that.

Trend #4 Get Interactive – New digital and video shelf talkers, and other types of interactive displays, are finding their way into stores across the country. Pick up the merchandise and the shelf talker communicates what the product is – an how it should be used.