Page 29 - Lighting Magazine September 2018

‘I don’t need to sell online’ and they have web sites that were designed ve years ago and look like antiques in the internet world. You need to update your web site to look trendy, fresh, and approachable; consumers will look online at your business before they venture out. Your web site is your front window display on the internet.”
Danziger’s recent research project as a mystery shopper among high-end home furnishings stores was eye-opening. “The interaction was downright terrible,” she states. “I had to drag people from behind the counter to interact with me. I had salespeople tell me to go look [at products] on- line! It was mindboggling; they might as well have closed their doors.”
That experience reinforces Danziger’s advice that how customers are greeted and interacted with is “vital.” The amount of time that people spend in your store directly correlates to sales. “More time in your store means more money that is [potentially] being spent,” she shares. The more interaction that customers have, whether touching products or talking with salespeople, the be er for engendering customer loyalty. “You have to be top of mind with people if you’re ever going to get their dollars,” she notes.
Danziger observed another critical change that home furnishings retailers need to make in order to grow their business. “There is way too much product on display. Shine a spotlight on [your] best selections,” she advises. “All the research proves, without a doubt, that too many items on display confuses and overwhelms the customer. Get rid of marginal lines that are gathering dusk,” she states. “Mark them down and move them out. Merchan- dise the best of the best and showcase your points of di erence [versus] the competition.”
Instead of crowded product displays, Danziger suggests curated collections. “Constantly change
your displays; people notice changes in their en- vironment,” she comments. Shi ing things around and drawing a ention to new displays, or imple- menting new ways of showing products, can make “a huge di erence” in your business. “This is really hard to do, but it’s necessary,” she a rms.
Danziger believes lighting is uniquely poised to be successful. “Cocooning has become even more important to consumers, and lighting is so impor- tant for creating the emotional environment of the home. The more you can enhance the emotions, the be er,” she notes. Showrooms that e ectively demonstrate the capability and in uence that lighting can have on a room will have an advantage.
For more ideas from Danziger, check out her book Shops That POP! 7 Steps to Extraordinary Retail Success available from most booksellers. 
“If your store survived the Great Recession, or even if you have opened a store since, you are in the sweet spot of the consumer retail economy for at least the next decade.” — Pam Danziger
SepteMber 2018 | enLIGHTenment Magazine 27