Salon Girl 2005

A salon that I worked for arranged all of their lotions into steps 1-5 as follows:
Step 1: for beginners and those tanners with sensitive skin.
Step 2: just a little stronger lotion-good for those tanners with a base tan-but want to be a little darker.
Step 3: Intermediate Tanners-includes some bronzing lotions
Step 4: bronzing lotions
Step 5: Experienced/advanced tanners Lotions with tingle factors.

The owners even had the shelves color coded and labled with the different steps-so it was easy for me to train new employees on the different types of lotions and easy for them to explain what each does to the customers when they are asked about a specific lotion.

I was wondering if anyone else does this with their lotions (have them arranged by different levels or types on the shelves). And, if so do you arrange them like this or do you have a different method? Like tingles on one shelf bronzers on another? This worked really well at the salon I worked at and I was thinking of using this idea when I open my salon. I just want to know if there are other ways to break down lotion types to teach my employees about each one, or if the way my former employers did was a sufficient way.

DWhite6872

we mix ours up all of the time....but I like your owners idea from a training stand point...we have limited our different lotions, so our sales people can learn everything about them and not be overwhelmed as well as the clients.

Salon Girl 2005

DW, Do you mix them up for apperance sake? Meaning, do you change your shelf design constantly to catch a customer's eye? For instance, those regular customers who see your shelves on a daily basis and know your products might think that you have received new products when in reality they are the same lotions just presented differently. A friend of mine does this in her salon-she rotates the products once a week and for some reason it works for her because a lotion that has sat on the shelf for a while suddenly is purchased when it is moved front and center. I guess customers think its new or something, but whatever works-she moves the merchandise. Is this why you mix them up all the time?

DWhite6872

I mix them up for all of the reasons above...I do not want them to think one shelf is for the high end and lowest is for the low...plus changing it up and adding things gives the apperance of new merchandise...I don't know it is right but it has worked for us. I know there are countless books on merchandising and creating the right shelf enviroment for sales...my next vacation sometime....I am going to read them...lol ...but there is a psychology behind shelf arrangement.

Salon Girl 2005

LOL, you're right about the psychology of shelf arrangement. I was a psyc major in college----I know psyc major wants to own a tanning salon-what's wrong with her???? Anyway, even though psyc was interesting, I really don't want to have a job where people tell me day in and day out what's wrong with their lives and ask me what am I going to do to fix it. But that's another topic to be discussed on Psyctalk.com. Anyway back to this thread...............I took a class on the psycology of marketing and ad placement and one day we dicussed how shelf placement can move merchandise (in all retail stores). Apparently products that are placed in the middle of the shelves have the highest percentage of purchase. While, those products placed on the upper shelves (out of customer's viewing range) are the least likely to be sold. Another thing I learned was that products that are in attractive colored containers (or lotion bottles for this thread)tend to sell more as well. For instance, I was told to place containers that are bright in color (pinks, reds, greens, and yellows, etc)at eye level to increase the likelyhood of sale. While,containers that are black and brown should be placed on upper or lower shelves. I guess that's why the Swedish Beauty Intensifier and Black Diamond didn't sell that well-brown and black bottles). But, then again they were organized by steps on the shelves (see
beginning of thread-so there was really no other place to put them. Except above and below eye-level

DWhite6872

Okay, this is interesting...tell us more....Is there a reason to put the highest priced products in the middle...left to right? I love the psychology of retail....so pontifiacte!...

Salon Girl 2005

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[ This Message was edited by: Salon Girl 2005 on 2005-04-10 20:26 ]

Salon Girl 2005

DISREGARD THAT PREVIOUS POST-MY COMPUTER WENT CRAZY AND ERASED HALF OF IT. HERE IS WHAT IT SHOULD HAVE SAID:

Left to right................I am so glad you asked lol. My professor said that since we read from left to right our eyes automatically look to the left first (after the center of course). When a customer walks in they immediately look around and their eyes fall to the center shelves; after looking at those they will then look around at what is on the other shelves (first looking to the left) to see if there is something that they will be interested in. This doesn't mean that something to the right will not be seen, it just means it will typically be seen last in comparison to the center and left shelves. So, to answer your question about higher priced products......I would put them in the center first because that is where the customer is going to look first. When told the price-they of course look at you in shock. "A lotion costs $50+ dollars you've got to be kidding" look. We all know the look. But, I learned that 7 out of 10 times even if a customer adamantly complains about the price being too high they will purchase the lotion. Because they are human and humans believe bigger is better and more expensive is better than cheap. Think about generic vs. name brand-most of the time there is little to no difference in the products, but we assume that for some reason the name brand is better. The same is true for lotions. Although in this case expensive is better (usually will include a tingle or a bronzer-while cheaper most likely will not) An example: Swedish Beauty Dare with a tingle factor of 10 (do they even still make this?-I haven't seen it)and a no-name brand also with a tinlge factor of 10. Both lotions have almost the exact same ingredients, but your customers will more likely buy the Swedish Beauty (even if it is twice the price) because it is a name that they recognize.

DWhite6872

so ..you would put the most expensive in the middle to the left? I know I have seen a ton of books on Retail Marketing and Display advertising...can you remember anything that helped you along? Is there a book our there that you really enjoyed? I always buy a lot of retail books...but they seem so basic and 101...if you wanted to be the "artist' of display or other retail ideas. whats out there?

DWhite6872

I have also heard navy blue was the best? Is there anything to the colors behing the display?