Selling lessons on display from Piccadilly's Fortnum and Mason and Oxford Street's UseSelfridges

Here is another post on selling displays. The professional window displays from London's top stores are a good source of instruction

 Use the Three Dimensions

Displays do not have to be only height and width to think about. Think about using not only the height and width of the window but also the depth. In other words, make your displays three dimensional. 

Even if you are just displaying flat posters, they do not have to be square on to the window pane.. Staggering the displays or putting them at an angle will make your display more interesting.

If you have the room, why not add some depth to your own window display?

What's your angle ?

Displays do not have to be set in a straight line. Consider making your window more interesting by setting display props and products at an angle. 
High items are best angled down whilst low items are best angled up. This makes them much easier to see from the customer’s point of view. You could also consider angling items towards the left or right. If most people seem to be approaching from a particular direction, this may be particularly relevant.

Keep it transparent

Clear use of House branding
 in Selfridges, Oxford Street Christmas window 2013

Gone are the 'old skool' conventions to have  backings to  window dsiplays and hide the view into the store. 

Today the appearance of the shop should be inviting in order to encourage customers to enter.

 Keep your window display, therefore, as transparent as possible.

There are many display systems available to help with display solutions, the primary being the use of very fine wires suspended from the ceiling and secured to the floor. 

When designing your window display bear in mind the view into the shop. Keep your fittings as minimal as possible. The impact of your window display will be far greater and customers will get an idea of what further treats may be ‘in store’ for them when they enter the premises.

Use of a turn table give the illusion of rolling
the snowball in this snow scene in Fortnum's window

Think about upkeep and maintenance of your display

How  easy will it be to change?

As mentioned in a  previous post, it is critical to change your window display on a regular basis. Think in advance just how easy it will be to change your display. 

If the change is too much of a hassle your team may not bother and your window will lose impact. 


If you have posters or graphic information to change on a regular basis, this should ideally be possible without the use of any tools. After all, time is money, and it just does not make sense for your staff to be wasting their time with systems that are difficult to change.

Make your window display systems as easy as possible to change and make sure that the displays are changed as often as possible.

 Don't display too high or too low

When designing your display, consider the person who is going to be looking at it. If you want your display to get noticed, then don't force people to get on their hands and knees or stand on tip toes.

This Giant Playdoh pot in one of the Selfridges windows revolved and caught the eye of kids plus the little Christmas figures in the spilt avalanche of Playdoh 

Make it easy to see and take in at a single glance. To get the best results, position your displays at eye-level. Remember, children and women are usually shorter than men, so you may want to position the displays lower if either of these are important to you.

 Enhance your corporate image

A window display is not a separate thing. It is part of your whole corporate image. When designing, you should therefore consider any corporate colours, styles or logos you may wish to include. Consider using an expert designer or your display equipment supplier to help you portray the right image.

Get your message across

Including a message of some type with your display according to certain research will increase its effectiveness by 53% .

What is the message you want to get across? 

 Are you after new customers? 
Do you want people to take some action e.g. purchase a new product or service?

 Make your display stand out from the crowd

Do whatever it takes to really be seen. It is essential that your message stands out from the crowd. Be creative, use movement, use lighting - get noticed.

Take a look at what others are doing - and not just from those in the same sector as you. 

The best ideas will come from the most unexpected places.

Traditional Christmas scene from a Fortnum's window this year

Use large graphics!

Your display is an important advertising space. If you want to be seen by people on the other side of the road or those driving by, make your graphics as big as possible.

 Creative use of colour

Colour can account for 60% of the initial impression. 

Make sure that you use the correct colours. Certain colours will help you stand out from the crowd. 

Get your name remembered

This could be one of the objectives of your window display. Is your name clearly visible to people looking in the window? If you want to get your name remembered, make sure it can be clearly seen along with your logo. Stop and think about how you can feature your name or logo in the display.

Traditional Carol Singer Scene at Fortnum's 2013

Use incentives to draw the people in

One of the main goals of your window display has to be to get more people to enter your store.

Voucher Point at Hammersmith Broadway December 2013

One way that you could achieve this could be to provide information about a special offer which is only available today.

 By making the offer time limited you will encourage people to take the decision to enter there and then. 

Related Links

Display Selling tips from Peter Jones shop windows