Could your fitting rooms could be hurting your profits?

Recent studies have revealed some interesting facts about the fashion industry and what it means to be a forward-thinking, successful fashion retailer in 2016. This is largely down to the environment you create in your store, and one of the areas you might be neglecting is your fitting room.

Whatever your strategy is with your retail displays, visual merchandising, and overall marketing approach, there’s one major indicator of a problem that you should always have in mind. You need your customers to be engaged by your brand to the point that they actually make a purchase, or in other words, you need conversions. In digital marketing, conversions usually rely on the quality of your website, so in traditional, physical retail environments it stands to reason that the quality of your shop is responsible for converting. The experience that your potential customers have when they enter your store is crucial in determining whether they make the leap and actually buy a product.

If you’re in the fashion industry, your fitting room is a commonly overlooked aspect, but one that can really make a difference. The research by Indyme revealed that two-thirds of consumers try on clothes in shop fitting rooms, but only 7% actually said they enjoyed their experience. Factor in the evidence that says fitting room users go on to buy about three more items than those who don’t try things on first, and it seems odd that this subgroup isn’t catered to very well across the industry.

There is, of course, an additional cost to retailers when people choose not to use their fitting rooms, whether it’s due to bad management, lack of privacy, lack of proper cleaning and maintenance, or any other reason. It’s estimated that retailers globally lose over £400 billion every year due to returns and refunds, many of which could be avoided and converted into real sales if more people used the fitting rooms and felt comfortable with their experience.

By paying a little attention to aspects of your retail store that can significantly boost your customers’ level of enjoyment and engagement, you’re in with a much better chance of getting those all-important conversions. We think this ties in perfectly with visual merchandising and retail display products – everything from your clothes hangers to shop fittings make a difference to the environment you create and it’s always worth investing in the best, especially with Valentino’s Displays to offer everything you need at great prices!