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Shop windows that sell
The most-seen advertising a retailer owns, changed least often, and usually treated as storage with a view.
Key points
- A window is seen by everyone who passes, every day, at no cost.
- Change it every two to four weeks or it stops being seen.
- One idea per window; a display showing everything shows nothing.
The shop window is the single largest advertising asset most retailers own, and it is frequently the least managed.
The arithmetic
A shop on a moderately busy street is passed by several thousand people a week. Over a year that exceeds the reach of any campaign a small retailer could afford.
The cost is the display material and the staff time. Nothing else.
Retailers spend £600 on a local advertisement seen once by a fraction of the town, then leave the same window display up for four months.
One idea per window
The instinct is to show the range. The result is a wall of product that communicates nothing and stops nobody.
A window works when it has a single subject: one product, one theme, one story. The passer-by grasps it in the two seconds available.
The mechanics
| Element | Rule |
|---|---|
| Height of focus | eye level, roughly 1.5 metres |
| Depth | three planes: front, middle, back |
| Lighting | directional onto product, not flat |
| Price | visible from outside, readable |
| Text | under seven words |
| Clutter | remove one third of what you planned |
Lighting is the most under-invested element. A display lit by the shop's general ceiling lights looks flat; two directional spots change it entirely, and they run at negligible cost.
Evening lighting matters more than daytime, because in winter the window is a lit display against a dark street for most of the trading hours and beyond them.
The change rhythm
Regular passers-by stop seeing an unchanged display after roughly ten days. Change every two to four weeks.
That does not require a full rebuild each time. Moving the focal product, changing the colour of the backdrop, or altering the lighting is enough to re-register.
Plan the year: twelve to twenty-four changes, tied to seasons, local events and stock arrivals, with the theme decided in advance so it is not improvised on a Monday morning.
The threshold zone
The first two metres inside the door determine whether someone who slowed down actually enters and stays.
Common errors: a display immediately inside that forces a decision, a member of staff positioned to approach instantly, and a cluttered entrance that gives no clear direction.
Leave the threshold open and let people acclimatise before anything is asked of them.
Vacant windows and closed periods
A window is working overnight and on closed days. Lit displays and information about opening hours convert passers-by outside trading hours.
For a business closed on Sundays in a town where people walk on Sundays, that is a substantial share of the total exposure.
Frequently asked questions
How often should a window change?
Every two to four weeks. Regular passers-by stop registering an unchanged display after about ten days.
Should prices be shown?
Yes. Windows without prices deter more people than high prices do, because the viewer assumes expensive.
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