How To Create Captivating Retail Store Signage

Retail store signage is your silent seller. Not only does it help customers navigate your store, but it can also be used for sales information, product information, persuasive selling and general information.

Some of the greatest sins in store design are the lack of signage, their lack of character and the confusing message they often express to customers.

Signage is fundamental when you are creating a window display or product display that will entice customers into your store or help them make a step towards a transaction. Good store signage tells customers what or why they are looking at a selection of products.

An effective retail sign needs to capture the customer’s interest enough to read it; just like an eye-catching headline on a Google Ad that gets someone to click on it, or a great headline in a magazine cover that gets someone to buy it.

Here are six ways you can create captivating retail store signage:

Keep it simple.

Be as clear as possible, and to the point. Customers’ attention spans have shortened enormously. If it takes longer than five seconds to read or get the gist of, you won’t get your message across and you run the risk of losing their interest. Simplicity is key.

Make it easy to read.

Choose nice fonts that are clean, modern and easy to read. You should also ensure consistency with the fonts, colours and imagery you choose so the overall look and feel is in line with your brand. Let the customer’s attention first settle on your message, then on whatever it is that you’re selling.

Persuade the customer with a catchy headline or call to action.

All good retail store signage asks customers to do something. Why should the customer buy this product? To have wonderful looking hair? To get their taste buds tingling? Give them a convincing reason to part with their money, and they will do it.

Use the words you or yours.

Words that fail to focus on the customer’s needs can hurt your chances of making a sale. Make it personal and use words like “you” or “yours” to grab customers’ attention. They will buy when they can imagine themselves using your products. A personal sign is a better sign.

Test your sign.

It’s all well and good showing off your dashing new sign on the top of a window display until you notice that it is barely legible when looking through your window, or the font is so small that customers have to squint to make sense of it.

Make the customer laugh (if you can).

Remember that your goal is to grab a casual browser’s attention. Jokes can sometimes work in your favour, but you need to be careful as not everyone will appreciate it. However, if it’s funny enough, they might even take a quick snap and share it with their friends on social media. So, if you fancy your chances as a comedian, incorporate some humour into your store signage where appropriate.

Creating effective retail store signage that ultimately drives sales can often be one of the most challenging aspects of retailing. Using these six tips, you can create signage that works, by engaging your customers and helping them towards your goals.