Looking to boost your retail sales?

Visual merchandising is your answer.

When Paul Pendola took over Root Beer Revelry he wanted it to be more than just a soda shop. 

He wanted to create a soda-tasting experience. 

From soda flights to specialty floats, every part of his shop was designed to engage customers and make their visit unforgettable. 

Read on to discover how visual merchandising can transform your retail space and increase your sales in the process. 

1. What is Visual Merchandising?

Have you ever walked into a store and immediately noticed a product that stood out on the shelves, drawing you in for a closer look? Or maybe you’ve been captivated by a thoughtfully designed display that made you stop, explore, and even make an unexpected purchase? That’s the power of visual merchandising—the strategic art of arranging products to create a compelling and enjoyable shopping experience.

At Root Beer Revelry, visual merchandising is an essential part of what makes the store so inviting. Paul carefully curates the layout to engage customers from the moment they step inside. 

The tasting bar is positioned to encourage interaction, allowing visitors to sample and savor root beer flavors. Thoughtfully arranged displays highlight new offerings and unique bottle designs, creating an immersive and memorable experience.

But visual merchandising goes beyond simple product placement. Using fun signs to tell a story about your products, creating interactive elements that allow customers to engage, and ensuring your displays are easy to navigate are all equally important. These small changes will have a big impact on customer spending. 

2. Making Visual Merchandising Effective

If you do visual merchandising right, it can be incredibly effective. At Root Beer Revelry, visual merchandising works because it allows the customer to explore. With endless flavor possibilities, customers can mix and match different sodas, taste soda flights, and even drink seasonal float flavors. Paul’s unique products make his customers feel special, making them more willing to purchase.  

To create your own effective retail merchandising display, you have to tell a story. Instead of placing products haphazardly, arrange them in a way that sparks curiosity. Use different heights and textures to make them visually interesting, or play around with colors to attract your customers’ eyes. 

3. Using Lighting and Design to Influence Buying Decisions

Paul understands the importance of lighting. The warm lighting in Rootbeer Revelry creates a nostalgic setting that makes visitors feel like they’ve stepped back in time. Every design choice reinforces the brand’s identity, from the wooden counters to the old-fashioned soda taps. 

Special tip: Lighting and color psychology are key to doing visual merchandising right. So, decide what colors align with your brand and go from there. Choosing red and orange lighting encourages action, while blue and green lighting are perfect for a more leisurely shopping experience. 

4. Perfecting Product Placement and Impulse Buying

Paul has strategically placed his most innovative root beer flavors—like salted caramel and butterscotch maple rum—front and center. Why? Because customers are more likely to buy a product when it’s within easy reach and visually appealing. 

Research indicates that product placement at eye level significantly influences consumer purchasing decisions. An in-store experiment demonstrated that items on middle shelves experienced higher purchase rates than those on higher or lower shelves. 

Additionally, eye-tracking studies reveal that consumers often exhibit a natural tendency to look towards the right when shopping. Placing high-demand or promotional items to the right of your main aisle can capitalize on this behavior, enhancing product visibility and potentially increasing sales. 

Impulse buying thrives on convenience. The more seamless and engaging it is to shop, the more likely customers are to make spontaneous purchases. 

5. Creating a Customer Flow That Drives Sales

When you walk into Root Beer Revelry, you’ll follow a natural path. Customers are drawn toward tasting stations, invited to browse seasonal products, and led to checkout through careful design. This is a textbook example of visual merchandising guiding customer flow to encourage sales.

For retailers, structuring a logical store layout is crucial. Placing popular items near entrances and thoughtfully designing pathways will subtly guide customers toward your more expensive products. Above all else, keep it clean. Feeling overwhelmed can make customers more likely to walk away instead of browsing.

6. The Role of Seasonal and Thematic Displays

New is always better when it comes to visual merchandising. Paul constantly refreshes his store by introducing specialty floats, limited-edition flavors, and seasonal promotions. “We are launching in the spring a new product, which is a cold foam root beer cream, and it’s essentially a root beer float without the ice cream. So we’re always innovating and coming up with new products,” he explains. 

Have you introduced new products to your store yet? Now’s the perfect time! Highlight upcoming holidays, feature spring essentials, or create special product bundles with a fun theme. Seasonal items create urgency and push customers to make quicker buying decisions. 

Conclusion

Paul has made Root Beer Revelry the ultimate customer destination by using visual merchandising to engage customers. His focus on innovative product storytelling and customer flow has turned his store into a one-of-a-kind experience that drives sales. 

You can do the same. If you want to boost your retail sales, start by thinking about how customers feel when they come in. Does your layout encourage exploration? Are your best-selling products placed in high-traffic areas? Experiment with different product placements, signage, and display arrangements to see what captures their attention. A well-thought-out merchandising strategy can turn casual browsers into loyal customers. 

If you loved learning about Rootbeer Revelry’s story and know a retailer who deserves recognition, Nominate A Retailer to submit your nomination!