Retailers are always looking for ways to boost sales. Whether you are trying to sell cheap sunglasses or the most expensive jewelry money can buy, sales are the life blood of retail. Anything you can do to increase them year-on-year is a good. With that in mind, we would like to recommend an old retail strategy known as visual merchandising.

Visual merchandising is practiced by all the world's major retailers. But it is not a strategy reserved just for corporate retail. It's a strategy that even the smallest retail operations can utilize as well. You can even practice visual merchandising in the online space. It is a pretty easy concept to grasp. And with practice, you can get exceptionally good at it.

What It Is

Visual marketing is a strategy of using a variety of resources to create a visual space that encourages a positive reaction among customers. Without visual merchandising, you are only selling men's and women's wholesale sunglasses marked up to retail price. That doesn't sound very interesting, does it?

The whole point of visual marketing is to create something interesting enough to compel customers to make a decision. In many cases, visual merchandising done right encourages decisions without customers even knowing they are being influenced. Trust us, it works. Visual merchandising is why the first section of the local grocery store is almost always produce.

Creating Displays

Whether you sell online or in a brick-and-mortar store, each customer entering your space is embarking on a journey. In our particular industry, the journey is one of protecting the eyes against UV rays while looking stylish at the same time. Customers should begin the journey with some sort of visual welcome. Hence, the retail display.

Your retail displays should be designed around discovery. They should introduce customers to the many possibilities that lay before them. In a traditional setting, you would set up shelves, racks, signage, etc. In an online setting, a landing page does the trick. So does a homepage that displays inviting lifestyle pics of your latest products.

Continuing the Journey

Once the journey starts, the idea is to continue leading customers through it. You want to give them just enough information to encourage them to take the next step, to look around the next corner. Here are some tips for doing so:

• Keep It Simple – There is a tendency in retail to cram as much as possible into a given space. You are better off keeping it simple. Even with sunglasses and accessories, a cluttered space is uninviting.

• Focus on Story – Each different section, or department, of your store represents an opportunity to tell a story. Focus on that. Use graphics and other strategies to tell a story about kid’s sunglasses. Do the same for women's designer sunglasses.

• Use Your Windows – If you operate a brick-and-mortar store, use your windows to invite traffic. Create visually appealing displays that grab the attention of passersby. In an online setting, your windows are things like social media and guest posting. Use them the same way.

Visual merchandising is about creating an attractive image for customers to see. By giving them something inviting to look at, you are also inviting them to take a closer look at what you have to offer.

It may seem like there isn't much more you can do to push sunglasses and accessories. But you can. We encourage you to do some research. Study up on the finer points of visual merchandising. With a few strategic moves here and there, you will be selling more sunglasses than you ever have before.