Decorating Your Shop: Stand Out with Window Graphics & More

Stores have some big challenges in front of them right now. Even with the lifting of stay-at-home orders, stores can expect customers to have a different shopping experience than they’re used to with social distancing. 

It’s an environment that makes everyone a little – or a lot – nervous. But creating a visually appealing space can reassure customers and generate some much-needed positive feeling. If you can combine this with sharing store policies and procedures? Even better. 

Here are some ways stores can catch their customer’s eyes while making their customer experience better.

Open for business

There’s a lot of confusion around which businesses are essential and which aren’t. That translates into uncertainty about which stores are open and what their hours are. Don’t make your customers play the guessing game: your signage should clearly communicate that you’re open for business.

Design tip: Reflect your business’ brand on these signs. Use your color palettes, fonts, and logo along with friendly graphics to create a reassuring visual experience for your customers. 

Instructional information

There’s a whole new level of information that your customers need to know these days. They need to know what your store policies and procedures are for safely using your business. They need to know what you and your staff are doing to keep everyone healthy. 

While this can be communicated with informational signage at entrances and throughout the store, consider combining it with a more engaging campaign to catch their attention. Wraps on display cases to share cleaning practices. 

Endcap signage to remind customers to wear masks. A wall wrap in the bathroom to encourage good hand washing. Shaking up your signage strategy, as long as it’s done thoughtfully, can make a big impact.

Design tip: For the copy on informational signage, keep your tone human and compassionate. Trade commanding verbiage for invitations to focus on the common good. For example, instead of saying “Wash your hands,” say “Let’s wash our hands and keep our friends healthy.”

Wayfinding

Social distancing practices have changed how we move about spaces. Keeping six feet from one another can be hard, especially since most people can’t accurately gauge distances. Make it easier for your customers to navigate your store with social distancing wayfinding. Here are some options:

• Use signage to direct people down one-way aisles to prevent bottlenecks
• Use floor wraps to mark off distance in high-traffic waiting areas like entrances and checkout lines
• Consider creating a map of your store so customers can get in and out quickly

Design tip: Your customers have just left the safety of their own homes and now they’re in public. It can be a little scary. Use your wayfinding as a way to welcome and thank them for their support.

Service options 

For businesses that have stayed open during COVID-19, or are going to be reopening soon, the scope of services has changed. Nowhere has that been more pronounced than in the food service industry, which has shifted from in-restaurant dining to takeout- and delivery-only almost overnight.

It’s important to share how services work now. After all, leaving home is a much bigger deal now than it used to be. Signage, especially when combined with a thoroughly updated online presence, can help customers know what to do. Signage should be used to share:

• What services or products aren’t available any longer 
• What are the online ordering options?
• Can the product or service be delivered? Curbside pickup? Are there options for contactless exchanges?
• What forms of payment are available?

This signage can be implemented throughout your store and in various formats – end caps, banners, posters, but make sure that it’s prominently displayed at the entrance!

Design tip: Keep design and communication elements consistent across print and digital to create a cohesive brand experience. 

Community support

No list of COVID-19 signage would be complete without mentioning window art. Window art has been a beautiful way for businesses to share messages of hope and community support. 

The artistry of hand-drawn murals has been amazing, but don’t feel you have to hire a muralist to achieve a similar effect. Window clings are endlessly creative, but they’re also very affordable and can be replicated on a smaller scale across various spaces in your business. Don’t overlook this option!

Catching people’s eyes with important information is an important task for all businesses right now. Stores that are open need to make sure that their customers know how to stay safe. With good signage, customers can also feel reassured. 

To learn more about how SHOUT! can help you come up with a signage plan for your store, get in touch. We’d love to talk with you.