Billed as the UK’s biggest and best flooring event of the year, The Flooring Show attracts trade visitors keen to discover the latest marketing trends and product innovations tipped to influence the retail landscape in 2024.

This year was our first as an exhibitor, and this positive move for the business allowed us to discuss ideas and share visions with many key industry decision-makers.

Many of the discussions we had, and our walks through the halls of the convention centre, allowed us to get useful insights into how leading brands – many with our help – were finding new ways to showcase their products, enhance instore presence and catch the eye and imagination of the consumer through an improved retail experience.

It was clear that many were steering towards retail stands that take shoppers on an improved purchasing journey using a seamless design for a great retail experience.

Join us as we reveal our top take aways from this Harrogate showpiece.

How to make your retail display stand out from the crowd

Standing out from the crowd is key in any noisy industry, and the flooring sector is no exception. The importance for branding to stand out from the competition has seen a move towards sleek and chic logos and texts. Script fonts have been shelved, replaced by clean, crisp monochrome motifs that are making their presence felt online and instore.

An example was The Woven Edge’s Rug In A Box concept features black and white branding with thoughtful finishes including contrasting edges that reflect its cool and contemporary image. Simple text pairs perfectly with the varied and vivid patterns and colours of the range, allowing beautiful flooring designs to pop.

We’ve always understood the importance of aesthetics as part of our consultative process. With over 25 years experience in making display stands for some of the biggest names in the industry, we know that retail stands are a shop window. They provide a first impression of the brand and set a lifestyle proposition with visuals that tap into the demands of their target audience – vital for success in a competitive market.

Why integrating technology in retail display is vital for future success.

Some of the busiest stands at The Flooring Show demonstrated how retail displays can offer an enhanced shopping experience. From display stands that promote physical interaction with display boards that are easy to pick up, through to easy access to product specifications with interactive QR codes and digital displays. Todays’ retail stands are embracing technology to gently lead consumers through the buying stages without bombarding them with information that’s hard to retain.

Enhancing the retail experience through education

Clever design can blur physical and digital boundaries to provide an all-round retail experience that guides, rather than challenges the consumer. This approach is imperative for retailers who have a broad customer base to feel confident when interacting with products and display units. Too much input leads to a frustrated and often abandoned experience, whereas an easy-to-use platform that works on quick interactions provides the right results and offers a personalised instore experience.

Adopting adaptable POS solutions in store

While static displays often provide the foundation of a shop’s design, modular displays continue to provide retailers with the ability to update their stores. Lecterns remained a consistent element around the show but often incorporated an element of interactivity with easy access samples or grab and go sales information, such as leaflets or swatch cards.

Making ideas reality in retail display designs

If you found your stand was quiet at your last trade show, ask yourself whether your brand and products are ready for the wider consumer market. It is likely that visitors were finding it hard to see how their customers are going to interact with your proposition. No matter how advanced, cleverly designed or built for the future your product is, if your visual displays are not encouraging them to find out more, they’ll never get the chance to find out. It’s imperative to consider your retail display as an additional sales tool that helps catch the attention in a busy marketplace, whatever the sector, and we, as a leading retail display designer and manufacturer, are here to help.

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