Visual Merchandising Workshop

A visual merchandising workshop held in Minlaton on Tuesday, May 2, inspired 20 participants from 15 different businesses across the Yorke Peninsula Council area.

Sarah Davies from The Merchandiser shared her tips and tricks for presenting brick-and-mortar businesses, inside and out, in eye-catching ways without spending excessive time or money.

“Visual merchandising is about how to bring more people into your shop and hopefully get them to buy something,” she said.

“It is really important that small businesses start to fill their toolkits, they need to create a better shopping experience and continually improve.

“Visual merchandising is not a silver bullet – there is a massive connection between buying stock, merchandising the stock, and marketing the stock.”

Sarah showed methods to make displays look inviting and organised, and how shop layouts can affect buyer behaviour, in addition to numerous other useful tactics for businesses of all types and sizes.

After a lunch prepared by host venue Minlaton Bowling Club representatives, attendees moved on to McMahon’s Shoe Shop for a real-time demonstration.

Sarah turned the shop’s window into a stunning autumn-themed display using inexpensive props that can be reused to suit other occasions using simple tweaks.

The workshop was organised by Muriel Scholz from the Yorke Peninsula Council Economic Development and Business Sustainability team.

Council mayor Darren Braund said it was great to have so many businesses participate.

“Business development workshops are a key part of Council’s Economic Development and Tourism Strategy,” he said.

“We look forward to seeing some inventive and inviting participating businesses

All registering businesses also entered the draw to win a shop makeover, and the winner chosen at random was Baker Bros. Top Shop Gallery, Warooka.