The Power of Display

It is understated to say how effective a properly created and located display can increase your sales.  From the days of staging residential and commercial landscapes for sale in Texas to my years creating vignettes of nature in water parks across the country, I have been able to see the results of effective display.

I recently was reminded of this “power” at our retail garden center.  We have a wide, diverse selection of beautiful and flowering plants and trees that are visible throughout the garden center.  When I started to create these “vignettes of nature” incorporating vegetation layering, mixing textures along with colorful blooming plants, and complimenting with our premium mulch product, these vignettes attracted our retail customer’s attention immediately.  You could see their new found excitement as they wandered through the garden center, visiting these newly created display areas.  Over and over again, you could hear them discussing among themselves “creating these styles of landscape” within their properties and that weekend we sold nearly 35% of the plants from within these displays; the same plants and mulch that we have for sale, typically stationed in their dedicated areas about the garden center.

It reiterated how important it is to keep things fresh, not only from our staple of bi-weekly arrivals, but also changing our displays regularly.  It is wonderful to see how customers took notice, for example of the Thuja plicata (Emerald Green Arborvitae) as it was the monochromatic background to a blaze of layered color.  These properly created displays help your clients visualize how a monochromatic, rigid plant such as this Arborvitae can play such an important role in the garden supplying controllable vertical height and texture when it is coupled with bright blooming Coreopsis or wispy Gaura.

Creating these displays has always been a major enjoyment over the years and is even more-so when it directly impacts your sales and bottom line.  Have fun with your displays, and maximize your current traffic patterns to discover that perfect location that draws your customer’s attention.  It is a nice problem to have, re-stocking your display gardens within 24 hours of creating them.