Visual Merchandising for Bike Shops: Simple Christmas Displays for Your Store

In the second feature of her new visual merchandising series, Hannah Downs from HD Visual Services talks through ways to put simple Christmas displays together in your bike shop.

It’s important to keep gift buyers in mind at this time of year. They may visit to try and find the perfect gift for the cyclist in their lives. They might not know what they are looking for, so keep it simple and put gift ideas front and centre.

Welcome back everybody! Here’s a quick run down on some simple ways to get your store more festive without it becoming a huge chore! Remember, a lot of your customers may not be from the cycling world so its important to help them navigate and feel like they know how to shop your space – Hannah Downs

Six tips to create simple Christmas displays for your bike shop

1. Boxes are your friend

• Simple and effective, boxes of all shapes and sizes, get them wrapped! A few strategically placed presents around the store can help your space for from bad to good! Choose one or two types of wrapping paper and stick with it; if you want ribbons and tags can add some extra flair! But no sweat if not.

• Use multiple sizes, from a small pedal box all the way up to a junior bike box. It will add intrigue and give your customers confidence that you’re ready to help them through their gift-giving experience.

• Place the boxes on plinths, at the cash desk, pile them in groups, you can add some product around them too.

2. Add Levels

• Customers will naturally look across displays unless we disrupt their attention, you can do this by adding height or interrupting their sight line….all sounds very technical, but it really isn’t…

• Take this example of a wall display – the top shelf has been positioned higher than the signage, which helps move the eye to the product the signage is promoting. If the whole wall was flat, the customer could simply look ‘across’ the product and miss it altogether.

3. Group products together

• Customers at this time of year want the easiest way to navigate the store. Make sure P&A items are all situated in the same place. The customer may not know which brand is which, but they will want the best cycling gift for their budget.

• Grouping all products together will help them navigate this – even if you have multiple brands of lights, for example, make sure they are all situated in one area. Place your best-selling and best value in the sight line. If you can add signage to say why it’s great, amazing, it doesn’t have to be complicated; it could be a small Christmas-style tag that says ‘great value, great lumens’.

4. Don’t be afraid of a chalk pen

• Customers might need some help navigating your space at this time of year. A great way to do this is to help call out some products for gift buyers.

• Small chalk signage and a pen are absolutely your friend; you do NOT need to be an artist.

• Use your own favourite products and give the customer a small insight, ‘great gift for a trail rider’ or ‘Matt’s favourite light’ – gives the customer confidence in their purchase and adds some character and personality to your store. Book shops have been doing it for years, why not share your staff’s knowledge and a story?!

• If you get the chalk pen bug, you can also add some simple illustrations to your Christmas windows. Snowflakes, big white circles – give it a let it snow vibe!

• Don’t want to use a chalk pen? Peg boards work great too, or a small café-style clip board with some paper and a sharpie, just make sure the writing is bold and visible.

5. Christmas Decorations

• The most effective displays look best when stores stick to a theme, as we discussed in article one, you don’t have to spend a fortune.

• Lights! Make sure lights are working and use the lights rule of thumb: however many feet the tree is, multiply by 100, and that will give you the amount of lights to use, i.e. 5ft tree = 500 lights.

• Make sure you have power near the spot you’re placing your tree in; lights should be on a timer.

• Giant pull bows can be bought from tons of online retailers and can add some flair to bikes. Try adding two or three per row; it can make a real difference. Got a kid’s bike being collected? You can add one for the customer.

6. Don’t forget about your Staff!

I know it sounds cliché, but one of the most important elements to any store’s success is the way your team interact with the staff. They don’t HAVE to wear a Christmas jumper or reindeer antlers, but they do have to be able to engage with gift buyers.

Running role plays on how the team can interact with gift buyers, they are ready to size up a kid’s bike, advise on the best gloves or shoe covers. Keep the conversation rolling with the customer, and everything else will fall into place.