When customers walk into a thrift store, they expect the unexpected.
Because thrift store inventory is constantly changing, people never know what treasures they may find. Customers enjoy roaming the store and browsing, but if inventory is cluttered and disorganized, it’s difficult for them to discover their next purchase.
As a thrift store owner, your inventory is your greatest asset — but are you maximizing its potential? The way you organize and display your inventory goes a long way to help customers navigate the store, find items they’re interested in, and keep your inventory turning over quickly.
In this blog, we’ll discuss six thrift store display ideas to help you make the most of your inventory, improve customer experience, and boost sales.
Let’s get started.
1. Window Displays
The exterior of your thrift store is the first thing potential customers see, so make the outside of your store as interesting as possible. Create window displays with popular product types, seasonal displays, and bright colors. Don’t forget signage either — your signage needs to let customers know that your business is a thrift store. Make sure to use a readable font for clarity.
Once you come up with a window display you like, it’s tempting to leave it the same for months — but it’s best practice to change window displays regularly. If you have a seasonal display, update it as seasons change. If items from your window display sell, replace them with new items. An updated window display keeps your customers interested.
If weather permits, you can even set up tables and shelves outside to display your products. This gives passersby a closer look at your products, which generates greater interest.
Related Read: 4 Thrift Store Inventory Software Features To Look For [+ 3 Top Providers]
2. Organized Product Groups
Although customers tend to find items in thrift stores they didn’t know they were looking for, they’re often looking for something from a particular product category. Perhaps they’re shopping for clothes, books, or technology. To help customers find what they need, split these items up and organize them into sections.
To make the shopping experience even easier for customers, create signage that clearly organizes your thrift store into these sections. Place this signage in clear, visible spots throughout the store, so customers immediately find the section they’re looking for. You can create displays around this signage with top-selling items to gain customers’ attention.
Place similar items together to encourage customers to buy multiple items. For example, if you have a section just for clothes, customers can create outfits that go together. Display items like vinyl records and CDs with media players, so customers want to (and can) buy both. This technique is known as cross-selling and helps you increase sales.
3. Seasonal Displays
Selling seasonal items allows you to adapt to what customers are looking for at different times of the year. It also gives variety to your inventory and motivates customers to return as new inventory comes in. Seasonal displays emphasize these cyclical items.
Depending on the type of products you’re selling, there are a variety of options for seasonal displays. You can make a winter clothing display with coats, hats, scarves, and gloves, or a summertime display with shorts, flip-flops, and sunglasses.
You can set up displays with decorations for the Fourth of July, Halloween, or Christmas, too. As each season draws to a close, create a discount on these items, so you sell as much as possible before it’s time for something new.
Related Read: Marketing Strategies for Thrift Stores: 5 Examples for Beginners
4. Top-Seller Displays
A good strategy for boosting sales at your thrift store is to emphasize your top-selling items. Each thrift store is different, and you may have different bestsellers than other stores. Pay attention to which items are being purchased in your store the most.
These tend to be some of the top-selling thrift items:
- Clothing and shoes
- Books
- Electronics
- Home decor
Once you’ve identified your top-selling item categories, you can create displays with these products. You can even label these displays as “top sellers,” which encourages customers to give the display a closer look.
When you know an item is reliably selling, try to get more of it to keep your inventory turning over. When you request donations, emphasize your need for these items. Stocking more of your top-selling items and less of items that sit on the shelves improves the financial health of your business.
5. Color-Coded Sections
Many thrift stores use color coding to organize their store, which is helpful for management and for customers. To create color-coded sections, categorize and tag items with a specific color.
Management can then implement color-based discounting. The red group might be discounted to 50% off, the blue group 25% off, while the green group is at full price. This is helpful if you want to discount clothing, but not electronics, or books, but not shoes.
Apart from managing discounts, you can also use colors to organize your thrift store. You can paint a wall a certain color to represent a certain category of products, and print their tags in the same color. If a customer always looks at clothes when they come in, and the clothes section is designated blue, they always know to check out the blue section.
Related Read: Thrift Store Technology Integration: 4 Best Practices
6. Clearance Section
Some customers are less interested in shopping for specific products and more interested in getting the best deal possible. These customers are looking for the lowest prices, so you can create a clearance section with budget-friendly items. This section can have items that have been sitting on the shelves for a while, perhaps outdated seasonal items.
You want these items to sell quickly, so use clear signage to highlight this clearance section and to advertise the low prices you’re offering. Customers are more likely to make a purchase if they feel they’re getting a deal.
It’s tempting to make a clearance section a “bargain bin,” where you just throw all of the items into a bin or pile. This section is bound to get messy as people search for the best deals, so try to keep this area somewhat organized. You want people to get a quick glance at the products in the section, but also stop items from getting damaged.
Related Read: What’s the Best Thrift Store Business Model? Here’s Your Answer
Implement Thrift Store Display Ideas With ThriftCart
Well-designed, visually-appealing product displays accelerate sales at your thrift store. These displays should make your top-selling products stand out and encourage an easy-to-navigate space. By creating displays for certain product categories, seasonal displays, and a clearance section, you promote a great customer experience and help customers find their favorite items.
As you implement these thrift store display ideas, pay attention to how your customers respond to each one. Perhaps the clearance section is a hit, but seasonal displays are less popular. If a certain display is effective in generating sales, try expanding that display or use a similar strategy for a different display. Over time, you can make a customized display strategy that works for your thrift store.
To keep your inventory organized and turning over, you need a point of sale (POS) system. ThriftCart is a cloud-based POS solution designed specifically for thrift stores. Users can quickly check inventory levels, process sales, and manage e-commerce. You’ll also have full access to data and reports, helping you make better business decisions, including which items to put on display. With a full suite of retail features, you have everything you need to run your store.
To see what ThriftCart does for your thrift store, schedule a demo today!
