HOW TO COLOUR BLOCK FOR VISUAL MERCHANDISING SUCCESS

Blocking products by colour will boost sales when you place products together that would not usually be placed together and when you give products time in the spotlight that often would not be given such attention.

Colour is at the heart of colour blocking. Everything you do – the products included and adjacencies – is all about colour.

Colour blocking involves taking bold opposites in the colour when and pacing them next to each other.

The key is what you place where – the colours you place next to each other.

Use this colour wheel to determine the colours to place next to each other.

Colours should be placed next to colours that are opposite on the wheel: blue next to orange; yellow next to violet; red next to green … you get it.

Follow the rules of placement from this colour wheel and your colour blocking displays will be far more effective and sales more valuable.

Tips for a successful a colour blocked display in your newsXpress business:

1. Choose a location near the front of the store that passers-by can easily see, ideally the front window.
2. Have a ‘clean’ backdrop so the products are the hero and not the backdrop.
3. Always block in pairs for effect: 2, 4, 6 or 8 as this is considerably more effective than a single colour display.
4. Colour is the choice of products more so than the products themselves.
5. The colours in a wedge of the colour wheel can be placed together.
6. Where colours from two wedges are next to each other they must be from opposite wedges: red / green, blue / orange etc.
7. Keep lines between the colours clean and clear.

While colour blocking in the style suggested in this document is rare in newsagencies since it is not something suppliers traditionally push in newsagents, it is used effectively by newsagency competitors.

A colour blocking display takes time to create. It is not something to rush. It could be that you need to purchase new products to fill out the display.

Colour blocking can also work well top herald in a new season where you focus on two colours that speak to the seasonal timing.

Be sure that any stands and displays on which you place products work appropriately for the colours you have selected.

Keep a colour blocking display up for a limited period of time – we would suggest no more than two weeks.

Use a colour blocking display to launch new product categories for the business.

We have many suppliers that offer products you could easily colour block.

Here is a good homewares example: