Summer 2006
Get Framed By Emily Lambert

Creating Wow! Displays

Frames can be displayed in any area of a gift shop, but for added emphasis and increased sales, retailers and wholesalers agree that frames sell best when grouped in their own eye-catching section. For gift stores that have the room, two displays are better than one!

“We have [frames] on a shelf grouped together and in with our home decor,” says Bernadette Pegorsch, co-owner of Main Street Marketplace in Waupaca, WI. “If customers come in looking for a frame, they can go straight to the frame section—but they also might find a frame mixed in with another line and make an impulse purchase.”

Frames make “more of a statement” when they are grouped together in a similar product assortment, says Kathyrn Richardson, director of national sales and international distribution for Swing Ltd. “Customers do like the ease of shopping for merchandise in one spot [and] tend to purchase more than one item when it’s part of a collection,” she says.

Another merchandising tip: Be sure every frame displays a photo. “Pictures are important,” says Bateman of Beautiful Things. Photos help sell the frames, especially for gift occasions like weddings. If a frame doesn’t arrive from the supplier with a photo included, Bateman suggests retailers insert one of their own.

Sam Shamah, vice-president for Eccolo, suggests displaying multiple sizes in different frames that coordinate, for example one style in a 4″ x 6″, another matching style in a 5″ x 7″, and so on. Retailers should buy three or four pieces of each size of one particular style (the recommended number for a small gift store) but only display one of each style and put the rest into backstock. The goal, he says, is “to make [the display] look like someone’s frame collection would look like in their house. The customer can easily understand that.”