Is it possible to do visual merchandising on SALES period?

Is it possible to do visual merchandising on SALES period?

📅27 Febbraio 2018, 14:20
TESTO ITALIANO

Dear Readers, the topic is hot … but the weather is cold! The subject is sensitive … and waiting times are long.

The shops are reinventing themselves, but they’re beautiful anyway. Here some considerations concerning the sales period and their operators.

Is it possible to do visual merchandising on SALES period

Within twenty years knowhow of XT we have always look for spreading in our retail partners that the equivalence SALES->BAZAAR is not exactly correct.

The requirement is translated in: you can do visual merchandising on sales period also! But something is changing and well explained on images of our report. The same thing is for the shop windows: it is still difficult to make the retailers understand that they’re not compelled to communicate the sales by the windows or anyway not on all the windows.

Certainly the shops have to reinvent themselves, the instore communication will adapt to the different dynamics and maintain a good performance of the sales point. First of all a little rapport to be more clear. The first laws concerning the extraordinary sales date back to the Fascist period in which will be launched two types of sales: extraordinary and clearance sales.

Traders could freely chose the period of the year in which make extraordinary sales. According to a 1980 law, the Chambers of Commerce settled in two periods within the year devoted to sales and they could not last more than four weeks.

Advertising could not be misleading and the retailer had to prove, in case of controls, the veracity of the discounts compared with the previous prices.

Is it possible to do visual merchandising on SALES period

In 1998 some interventions on the dates established that the individual regions decide the start of the sales. The sales doesn’t .

But today what the law allows?

Sales are intended as end-of-season sales with reduced prices of clothing and accessories. Generally they took place in two periods of the year: at he beginning of January, after Christmas holidays for winter apparels and early June for summer.

The opportunity to buy clothing, that a few days before could cost twice the price, cause queues in front of the boutiques in the opening days (mainly for most refined brands). In Italy, the first law was no. 80 dated back to 1980 which declared clear info to retailers who wanted to implement promotional sales.

By now, the effective Legislative Decrees are no. 114 of 1998, no. 24 of 2002 and no. 206 of 2005, also called Consumer Code to supervise on subject. Among the most important rules we can find:

  • the obligation to show the price on tag before and after the discount and the percentage discount
  • the clear distinction between sales and not discounted goods
  • the opportunity to replace the defective product under warranty.

Here some advice to avoid frauds. The sales must undergo to some rules, e.g. the original retail price of each product on sale must always be showed clearly, near the discount percentage and the reduced price.

In addition, the goods on sale must be kept in separate areas from those not on sale, in order to be well distinguished. And the Financial Police has precise recommendations for sales periods to avoid frauds.

As for some years happens, the 2018 winter sales have had different dates depending on different regions: first Basilicata Region followed by Valle d’Aosta Region, while for the remaining Regions, the first day was Friday, January 5th; with the exception of Sicily Region waiting for January 6th.

The end of sales, however are very different from regions: Trentino-Alto-Adige Region will stop on February 16th, while in Campania Region on April 2nd for example. Anyway, there is the possibility to make purchases at reduced prices until the end of February or early March. Unavoidable that the sales activity has also extended to those who prefer online shopping to traditional shopping. To define a summary of the 2018 sales we give you some numbers.

The valuation was that about 280 thousand commercial activities, including fashion and textile stores, will immediately carry on discounts of 30-40%. Top interest also among customers: one of two Italians (47%) has already decided to take the opportunity for a purchase, to consider in investing on average 150€ per person. This is what emerges from winter sales survey managed by Confesercenti in collaboration with SWG on a sample of 600 retailers and 1,500 consumers. In addition to 47% of Italians who have already decide to take advantage from sales, there is also a 41% of people who will consider the savings before deciding whether to buy or not.

The increase of interest on sales is confirmed by spending purposes: those who have already decided to buy, consider an average budget of 150€ per person, while 86% imagine to spend the same money or more than last year.

As every year the hope is that sales period can give oxygen to a sector, in general for retailers, which is suffering, as underlined by many closures recorded during the year; according to the Confesercenti Observatory, the companies involved into textile, clothing, leather and footwear sectors, in 2017 decreased compared to 2016 by 1,9%, that is 2,406 companies.

Is it possible to do visual merchandising on SALES period

Among the regions, the strongest decrease is recorded in Piedmont Region (-1.1%) Trentino A.A. Region (-3.4%), Umbria Region (-4.2%) and Valle d’Aosta Region (-6.9%). Lower rates in Lazio Region (-1.1%) and Campania Region (-0,9%). Among the provinces, the bottom of the league goes to Terni, where the decrease of fashion stores reaches -8.5%; to follow with the province of Aosta (-6.9%), Pavia (-5,5%) and Padua (-4.9%).

To see what happened on the territory, we visited some shops in the central areas of Milan and Bologna or the outlet of Barberino.

The Barberino outlet is located in a beautiful natural panorama with new commercial activities. From outdoor we noticed different window display solutions, such as scenic set or empty windows.

As underlined from the pictures, each area of the store can be customized from the windows to the anti-theft sensors, from flooring to gondolas. We have also interviewed some consumers who declared mostly to be very satisfied with the offer without find of any gaps in terms of product.

Fare visual merchandising nel periodo dei saldi

Strolling through Milan and Bologna, an attentive consumer could not find the difference between impact and communication. By now, the outlet stores no longer stand out from those of traditional city centers or shopping centers.
The use of window stickers, signs, and the dressing of the shop windows is almost the same and this is to confirm our philosophy that visual merchandising can be also carried out in the sales periods.

Paolo Zanardi  XT Retail srl
by AN shopfitting magazine no.143 ©


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