Visual Merchandising 101 for cafe owners.

1. Café and
Coffee Shop
Visual
Merchandising
“… customers eat with
their eyes ”

2. Visual Merchandising
Supports sales
Communicates with Customers
Supports Selling by:
Communicating the latest trends
Assisting the customer in making a buying decision, and
Creating an welcoming environment

3. Visual Merchandising Is:
• More than “making pretty”. It is about making sales.
• Covers EVERYTHING a consumer sees
◦ Café layout
◦ Product [or lack of it]
◦ Staff – uniforms and attitude (which always comes out in behavior)
◦ Point of Sale
◦ To queue or not to queue
◦ Price tickets
◦ Product Highlighters
◦ Offers
◦ Availability of seating – cleanliness of tables, bars…

4. Sensory Merchandising Is:
The presentation of merchandise within a retail
environment that stimulates all five senses –
sight, touch, sound, smell, taste – to encourage
curiosity, wonder, excitement and confidence
for long-term loyalty and increased sales
The key to repeat customers! If your coffee is
inconsistent, your muffins or food stale or aged –
you’ll LOSE customers.
Customers CRAVE consistency. Consistently
GOOD!

5. INITIAL IMPACT OF THE VISUAL
83%Sight
11% Hearing
3.5% Smell
1.5% Touch
1% Taste

6. Great visual merchandising sells
products.
Easy to understand, accessible
displays, attractive, persuasive
point of sale and clear pricing
at every customer decision
point (not just at the POS) will
increase profits.
See It, Like It,
Buy It

7. First Impressions are
formed FAST!
Customers vividly
remember the worstimpression, not the best
impression….
And then they do this

10. The CAFÉ
Rule
Clean – ensure the display
cabinet is spotless and clean at
all times, not just the start of the
day.
Abundant – ensure the
cabinet remains full and
abundant of product
throughout the day.
Fresh – all food must be
fresh daily.
Exciting – create a visually
exciting display through the use
of coloured ingredients &
merchandising techniques

11. Bring the
Customer
Centre
Stage
Adding a local twist (or
three) can make all the
difference to making
the consumer feel that
the café has been
designed thoughtfully
just for them…
It then becomes “their
café”

12. Get the
Customer
Journey Right
Understanding how
customers interact with
you is key. From what
they see when they first
approach through to
how they move
throughout the space.
What they see at any
given point will drive
the decisions they
make.

13. Showcase your baristas’ skills: all
the care and attention that
goes into preparing the perfect
cup. This is key to educating
the customer about specialty
coffee. Every point in the
customer journey should be
focused on spotlighting the
barista and the theatre of
making coffee.
The Café is a
Stage

14. Customers can sometimes feel
paralysed by too much choice,
so using ticketing and graphics
to tell a visual story can help
them navigate the options
more easily.
Say It Like You
Mean It

15. The way to a person’s stomach
is through their eyes.
Customers Eat
With Their Eyes

16. Happy customers tell their
friends who tell their friends
who tell their friends…
They take photos and
share across social media
and they also do this…

18. Customers know exactly what
they want from their individual
coffee moments, and the
environment needs to give it to
them.
Gather Round
The Table

19. Clean and clear and
ready to sell!
A place for everything and
everything in it’s place…

20. Why Customers Need In-Store
Signage
• Alert them as to whether they order at the counter or whether
you provide table-service.
• Identify advertised lines and today’s SPECIAL
• Explain hidden benefits
• Indicate value & price
• Highlight new trends & products
• Explain difference between look-a-likes
• Remind customers to purchase
• Clarify policies
• Help customers find products

21. Managing Counter Displays
See the counter as a profit centre. Sell 2 – 3 items from the
counter only.
Select the right products at the counter.
Train the team to sell counter products.
Do not clutter the counter.
Look past the counter.
Make somebody accountable.
Introduce housekeeping standards at checkout.

22. Got comments?
Let’s talk!
Website: www.thetemplargroup.com.au
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mobile: 0417 532383