By Margie Proctor
Hillphoenix Marketing & Design Specialist

Here’s a merchandising secret that’s kept far too well: Putting doors on refrigerated cases will enhance your displays. Skeptical, are you? Well, keep reading to discover just how compelling closed-case merchandising can be.

Create a food gallery. The visual stimuli on store shelves can be overwhelming to consumers. All those shapes and colors can create sensory overload — especially when a shopper is strolling past vast stretches of open refrigerated cases. But add doors to those cases, and you define the field of vision. Shoppers see one area at a time and look where you guide them. It’s the approach a curator takes in an art gallery. Line up Picasso canvases right next to each other, and the art becomes noise. Frame the paintings, and they harmonize. Glass doors accomplish the same thing.

Change the shopper’s perspective. Traditional supermarket displays pull the shopper from side to side. But closed cases alter that horizontal point of view. Merchandise similar items up and down behind a single door to create vertical sectors that change the scene — and refresh the shopping experience.

Tell a story behind every door. The frame of a closed case offers an unparalleled way to create a compelling, compact story — understood at a glance. What’s the narrative behind a door where shelves are filled with bands of colorful cut produce? Health and convenience. What does a shopper see when richly veined rib-eyes are displayed alongside baskets of gourmet cheese and recipes for blue cheese-topped steak? Indulgence.

Control the shopper’s eye. Lead the shopper right where you want her to look. Every door creates an opportunity to narrow the shopper’s field of vision and direct it to the focal point of your choosing. Remember, the same props and accessories you use in open cases work behind doors, too. Think of the possibilities, especially when introducing new products. Now, that’s powerful merchandising.

Do you have great merchandising secrets you’re keeping behind closed doors? Share your ideas (and photos) with us on Twitter using @HPxMerchandiser. Plus, learn more about the Clarity line and download a brochure at hillphoenix.com.