If you sell formal or bridal wear, then it’s time to gear up for wedding season. In the coming days and weeks, you’ll begin to see brides, wedding parties and wedding attendees browsing your clothing racks and wall displays in search of what they need. Here are some tips on how to make sure your shop gets plenty of traffic from women heading to the altar.
Keep up on trends
If you want to capture the interest of modern brides, you need to make sure you are up to date on what is hot for weddings in 2013. This can be difficult to track, but it’s never a bad idea to subscribe to a few wedding magazines. Another great place for inspiration is Pinterest, a social media network focused on photographs. Many women “pin” pictures of wedding decorations, dresses, themes and more, which can give you a good idea of what brides will be looking for.
When you come across a motif that seems to be quite popular or one that really gets you excited, bring it to the forefront by showcasing it in your store window. Start off by purchasing mannequins for sale, and use one of them to model a bridal dress that you think will be a hot item this year. Build the rest of the theme around it using display tables, wall displays and other store fixtures.
Cater to groups
Brides often bring their family and friends with them when shopping for their weddings, so you need to be prepared to cater to groups. You can use store signs to advertise discounts for bridal parties that shop at your store. Organize your goods to make them group-friendly – for example, if you have a bunch of dresses that would work well for bridesmaids, separate them by color so they’re easier to sort through as customers browse your clothing racks.
Hire or promote a bridal expert
A wedding is a bride’s “special day,” so you should be sure to treat brides in your store with extra care and attention. One way to do this is to hire a bridal expert who can provide tips for women getting ready to say, “I do.” If you have a store employee who has an excellent eye for wedding design, you can promote him or her to this role. The latter option has the added bonus that your employee will already know the products lining your gondola shelves and display tables.
