The Anatomy of a Floor Shift: Merchandising for Q4
Hello, hello! I’m inspired for the upcoming seasonal changes and holidays. Therefore, this is a perfect time to talk floor shifts and some of my favorite display ideas.
During my time at Anthropologie, there were a lot of floor shifts. They reflected both seasonal changes and adjustments based on the sell-through of certain concepts. If sell-through lagged, we would first look at the sales reports and then watch the floor traffic. Was it hard to shop? Was a table turned in a certain way, blocking people? Was it too busy, thus creating a confusing shopping experience? Each of these factors mattered.
Learning how to shift a floor and not create chaos was one of the biggest gifts from my time there. Here is a breakdown of a simple and effective floor shift.
Step 1. Create a plan and map it out. Because I am visual, I will draw it out so that I can see exactly what is going where. Often, this is where I can clearly see if a concept or category is missing.
Step 2. Clear one tabletop or surface at a time. The easiest way to do this is to have some type of cart. A busboy cart or a metal metro cart is easy to maneuver through a store and holds a lot of merchandise. If you have room for a metro cart, it will be your best friend for big shifts. If my client has room for two of these carts, I will have the receiving team place all new products on one cart and use the other for offloading and moving merchandise. If you don’t have a cart, a pop-up table works well. Take everything off the table and group similar products together so you have a clear picture of inventory.
Step 3. Clean the space from top to bottom, including the architecture. This is often the only time these surfaces get cleaned, so take your time and really do it right.
Step 4. Place your architecture first. Ideally, change it to completely new pieces to really freshen it up. Architecture is anything from a small coffee table on top to small bookcases and tiered display pieces — anything that will create height and more surfaces for product. These pieces continue the storytelling aspect of your merchandising. Next, add greens, flowers or plants. Now, begin resetting the table. My favorite greenery to add to a fall display are cut oak limbs and corn stalks.
Step 5. Place your biggest pieces. Often, people get hung up on the placement of the small stuff, only to realize they have forgotten the large pieces.
Step 6. Continue building up the table with the balance of the merchandise. Think about binning smaller items so you don’t end up with too many stack-outs. Glass jars are my go-to — they hold everything from small honey jars to carded jewelry.
Step 7. Use risers to create lower-level height. For the fall, my favorite risers are wood slices and wood stumps to add texture.
Step 8. Step back. How is the height? Can you reach everything? Is it easy to shop? Do you have negative space, or is every single inch covered? This is the moment that I often will add some color with floral picks. If you sell them, show some in the display and bin the rest below the table so people can pick up and purchase.
A successful floor shift isn’t just about moving merchandise — it’s about creating a fresh story that invites customers to discover something new. As the leaves begin to turn, let your displays turn heads, too.
