On Display: Take Me Away!

I traveled to Texas twice last summer, and was pleasantly surprised to find

some EXCELLENT examples of retail display technique in the AIRPORT!

yes, you read that right...

next to the endless Starbucks line and the bar and the news stand,

there was an airport shop that absolutely nailed using a regional focus as a theme...

Aptly named, amAZing (see what they did there?)
offers up the standard tourist-driven souvenir airport merchandise
in a fresh, fun, engaging and visually exciting new way...

Click 'Read More' for loads of pictures and details on WHY this works!


This store was PACKED
which is why there are people in all of my photos...
I wasn't about to ask them to move!

This photo above shows the front entrance display,
visible from the terminal areas and walkways in the concourse.
Rustic wood tables are grouped here, providing many levels for product presentation.
Wood crates and planks, along with baskets, are used as containers and risers,
bringing more natural texture to the composition.

The plants add more texture, more color,
and replicate the feeling of the desert outdoors.
The signage above puts the punctuation mark on the story they are telling:
'The Desert In Bloom'.

Did you notice how even the FLOOR treatment (shown in the photo above this one)
expresses the focus on the outdoors?

Every choice made tells the story that ONLY this store can tell here:
"Arizona has a lot to offer. We'll help you take part of it home."
I don't know if that thought is part of their mission statement, or brand policy, or ethos...
but it's a very clear sentiment as you walk through their store.

 

One detail from the back side of that front display
is this vintage water cooler... this is the base of the tall tree prop. BRILLIANT!
It's safe, sturdy, and has loads of personality.

Behind this display is another case display holding small products,
then a higher display in the back...

These mannequins in the rear display are set up on platforms,
making them very visible from the front of the store.
You can tell in one glance that this store carries fashion & accessories...
and that's just EXCELLENT marketing!
(as is the repeat of the theme signage from the front display)

Two views of a side wall display area...
The style here is very much in line with a popular decorating style,
combining rustic western history with shabby chic femininity and glamour.
Layers of elements create places to display products,
and details like light from the bare lampshade and brass chandelier
draw the eye of customers who are really into this style...

I tell ya', five other women were snapping photos as I was getting these shots,
and all of them were saying they were going to replicate this look.
It speaks their language - and THAT is what good retail display does. 

It connects your customers to the merchandise and to YOUR store's story.

This is a small display located in a window, 
looking out onto the concourse walkway.
It's simple: just a rustic wood chair, placed up on some stone pedestals.
A cactus on the floor and the use of log tree rounds as risers
bring nature into the picture...
Those products you see are SMALL.
But the way they are brought into focus with these details,
they become a BIG deal.

If you don't make a big deal out of your merchandise,
why should your customers????
~ Debi Ward Kennedy
(if I were on Twitter, I'd tweet that quote!)

People always ask me 'Where do you get your design inspiration?'
It's everywhere! It's at Disneyland and the beach....
and in unexpected places like the Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix!
Inspiration is outside the doors of YOUR store, wherever you are -
so GET OUT THERE and get inspired!

You'll find loads of my creative ideas for incorporating regional style
in my article in the current issue of Gift Shop Magazine.

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