Despite the groans and tweets about hot cross buns and Easter eggs at the supermarket, 2018’s seasonal consumer cycle is already well under way in all sorts of shops and stores around New Zealand. In this Blog post we will share with you 5 seasonal merchandising ideas.

Importance of seasonal merchandising ideas

The sales and spending figures from Christmas 2017 show exactly how important marketing and merchandising is. According to Paymark data spending in December was up 8% on the previous year. The consumers were handing over $5.493 billion during the month. This data is the network which covers more than three quarters of the country’s Eftpos terminals. Some regions saw double digit spending growth of 10.1% over the previous year. Also, the number of transactions throughout New Zealand was up 8.2% on December last year. Some of those regions are Bay of Plenty, Marlborough, Auckland, Northland and Southland. In short, Kiwis are spending more and buying more. Retailers need to be smart about how they can tap into that consumer confidence. We’re all aware of the typical seasonal marketing drives:

• January – New Year Sales and Public holidays
• February – Back-to-school Sales
• February – Valentine’s Day Sales
• March/April – Easter Weekend Sales
• June/July – Winter Merchandise Sales
• October – Halloween Sales
• December – Summer Merchandise Sales
• December – And, of course, Christmas Sales!

But it’s all very well understanding that these events are going to reappear like clockwork each year. It’s another having the right retail displays, merchandise and targets to make the most of the extra consumer demand. And no one enjoys filling the bargain bins with unsold stock at the end of each festival or event. At Mills Display we’ve had 30 years’ experience of sourcing point of sale, display and signage from around the world. Furtheremore we provide a custom-manufacturing site and industry-specific displays. Also, we are working alongside a broad range of Kiwi retailers to make the most of all sales opportunities. Over the years we think we’ve learnt a thing or two about what makes successful seasonal merchandising ideas. So here’s our 5-point guide to ensuring your store is able to roll through each annual cycle profitably.

1) Plan

It’s true of any industry and any campaign: you can’t just wing it. Of course your lead in times will depend on whether you’re directly servicing the consumer. Or sometimes you’re providing goods to be on-sold to retailers but generally if your campaign is for Halloween in October. But then again your planning needs to begin in June with purchases made in time for delivery in September. Planning isn’t just about finding the right on-trend products either. You should research the latest display trends and plan how you intend to show your products in your store. This is one of our seasonal merchandising ideas.

2) Don’t limit yourself to familiar festivals and holidays

New Zealand’s diverse population means that you should consider a wide range of annual festivals on which to base marketing campaigns. Also, should give you a lot of inspiration to create eye-catching retail displays. Matariki (Maori New Year) takes place in late May or early June and is tied in to the appearance of the Pleiades constellation in the night sky. Chinese New Year occurs between January 21 and February 20 each year and is celebrated as the start of the Lunar New Year or Spring Festival. Hindu religious festivals occur throughout the year but the main two are Diwali in October or November and Holi in February or March.

You can also use unfamiliar Hispanic festivals to create unusual marketing displays. Examples are holidays Cinco de Mayo and Dia de los Muertos. Just don’t expect the same mad rush as for Easter and Christmas! And, because New Zealand is sports-mad, don’t forget the beginning of each sporting season too. Super Rugby, trans-Tasman netball, the A-league football, NPC rugby, the cricket season, basketball. Also, occasional international events such as the Olympics and world cups all offer great ideas for seasonal merchandising ideas and marketing campaigns.

3) Display, display, display!

At Mills Display we’re duty bound to focus on creating eye-catching retail displays throughout your stores. These range from entrance to point of sale. But your customers don’t want to try too hard when they enter your store. So how you show off your merchandise has to do all the work for them. The golden rules to seasonal merchandising ideas are to get the message across quickly (ideally via shop-front window displays); create a dedicated space for your seasonal merchandising idea and keep it well stocked throughout the buying period; provide a mix of familiar and innovative products and display techniques; and push the local New Zealand angle as much as possible.

4) Create a community atmosphere

One of the key ingredients to any festival, event or holiday is that it brings people together. And that means that your seasonal merchandising ideas should stretch out of the store and into the wider community. Thankfully, social media makes this simple and by sharing your store’s displays around your customers. You can spread both the idea of what you have in store but also the message behind the seasonal event. As well as social media, tried and trusted campaigns such as holding in-store entertainment or events are also good ways to attract interest. Furthermore they are gathering information on your customers.

5) Keep it moving

Ideally, you should have an annual list of rolling campaigns. That will help you to always attract something different for your customers. And don’t be put off by those who whine on Facebook or write letters to the editor about Christmas decorations going on sale straight after Halloween. Or Valentine’s Day cards being on sale as soon as the New Year sales are over. Retail is a constantly evolving process with new innovations in merchandising, displays and products. And to make the most of these innovations it pays to understand and plan your campaigns to run throughout the year.

Enquire Now with Mills Display

For more inspiration about how Mills Display can help your business organise its seasonal campaigns create successful merchandising displays, download a catalogue, email us or talk to one of our salespeople on Live Chat. Follow us on Facebook and Google My Business for our latest products and NZ Retail updates. Also, take a look at our 8 innovative retail merchandise display ideas for you.

No sooner are retailers over the Christmas, New Year and back-to-work-and-school rushes. The whole cycle of annual marketing and merchandising campaigns starts up again. The first major event, Valentine’s Day, has been and gone, meaning the next important date for small business calendars is Easter. Which stretches from Good Friday on March 30 to the Easter Monday public holiday on April 2nd.

Traditionally Easter is a family-orientated holiday which in the Northern Hemisphere heralds the start of Spring. Therefore celebrated as the first holiday of the year connected with outdoors activities and good weather. In New Zealand, Easter still carries all the significant themes of family, Easter eggs and hunts, the Easter bunny, and, of course, the Christian festival. Celebrating the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, on which the holiday is based.

But because New Zealand is heading towards autumn at this time of year (Daylight Saving ends the previous weekend on March 25th). Retailers are able to draw on traditional Northern Hemisphere themes for their merchandising and displays. As well as pointing their customers towards products more suitable to autumn and winter. So to make sure your small retail business has an egg-sellent Easter (sorry for that), here are a few Mills Display tips and ideas to attract customers and transform your store.

1. Be prepared and start early

Your planning for specialised displays and Easter-specific items should be under way already – plenty of stores already have hot cross buns and Easter eggs for sale and the sooner you get them on the shelves the sooner they’ll end up in shoppers’ baskets and trolleys. The same goes for any displays you’re planning – make sure you’ve already got or ordered additional signage, props or display cabinets before your Easter stock arrives.

2. Plan and create a window display

The first impression your business makes is via your shop window so it has to reflect both what you have in stock and the type and style of business you run. Some retailers might choose to run a religious theme over festivals such as Christmas or Easter but the more typical theme – even in the Southern Hemisphere – is centred around spring using themes of Easter eggs, the Easter bunny, egg hunts and flowers.

3. Staging and styling your shop window is an artform but some golden rules include:

• Tell a story rather than simply display your products (eg take elements of an Easter egg hunt and create “hidden” items as part of the display.
• Don’t clutter the display and be clear with you message (if you have an Easter sale, make it very clear)
• Be bold and use bright colours, strong lines and eye-catching props and products to attract customers.

4. Think about customers’ buying patterns before the long weekend

New Zealand trading rules over Easter might mean that your business isn’t able to open through the weekend so it’s important to stock up on items (especially food and drink) which people buy in bulk ahead of Easter Sunday. Long-weekends are also traditionally times when Kiwis do work on their homes and gardens or get away to baches and holiday homes – you might want to theme your Easter weekend displays along those lines too.

5. Devote an area of the store for Easter products

If you are using Easter as the reason for a large merchandising campaign, gather all the related products into one area of the store so customers don’t have to work too hard to make decisions. You might be using Easter to sell chocolate and buns, DIY products or fishing gear, or you might run an end-of-summer Easter sale – but if it is all tied to one campaign, it makes sense to devote a specific part of the store to how you display it.

6. Choose merchandise which points towards family

Overall, Easter is a family holiday typified by presents (mostly chocolate, admittedly) for the children, large get-togethers over meals (possibly the last time to crank up the barbecue before Daylight Saving ends), and journeys to visit relatives or the family bach. When you’re merchandising your store – even the areas not designed just for Easter-related products – consider extra stands or strip clips which push related items for family meals, gifts or travel. High-volume retail periods such as Easter ae great opportunities to cross and up-sell products.

7. Use Easter as a marketing and community opportunity

Easter is the ideal season to run community or family-minded events and to reward customer loyalty. You can promote your displays by bringing in entertainers or arranging themed competitions and by promoting your business through social and local media. And, remember, whenever you are engaging with new or familiar customers, it’s an opportunity to get feedback and information from them – and that data is vital to help drive your business forward.

8. Keep track of your sales data to help prepare for next year

Take photos of your displays and keep notes on how you planned this Easter campaign. You’ll be able to compare this data and sales data both year-on-year and alongside other seasonal marketing and merchandising campaigns to see what works and how your displays and products can be improved.

Enquire Now with Mills Display

If you want Mills Display to help your business get a unique look by sourcing the best retail display products from around the world, message or LiveChat us via the website or call us on 09 634 5962.

Follow us on Facebook and Google My Business for our latest products and NZ Retail updates. Also, take a look at our 8 innovative retail merchandise display ideas for you.