By Megan Moyer, corporate marketing manager, as appeared in Inside Beauty for Drug Store News
Cosmetics and beauty departments can be some of the most visually vibrant and engaging areas of a store. Bright, colorful, stocked with sleek and unique packages — they contain a wealth of products that please the senses.
There’s a lot of preparation and planning to get these aesthetically appealing sections set so they draw in shoppers, provide a satisfying shopping experience, and encourage purchase. Beauty brands provide the vision, but ultimately it comes down to the efforts of the merchandisers or installers that set the department to make that vision come to life.
Planograms are a tried-and-true merchandising tool, but often additional collateral is a worthwhile investment to help the merchandising team easily recreate what is on the page. This additional collateral can include short demonstration videos, detailed guides/manuals, or animated renders.
Courtney Hahn, account manager, visual merchandising, for Revolution Beauty Group Plc, a British-based company available in over 60 countries worldwide, spoke to the measures she has taken to improve the success of their department resets across the retailers they work with. Hahn has provided detailed guides to retailers with their planograms for Revolution Beauty products, however, she wasn’t finding them to be the end-all answer. “In my previous life in sales, I had used animated renders to pitch products to buyers. It was a great way to show how we had been thoughtful about all of the pieces and parts required in the implementation process,” she said. Hahn thought it would be a great tool for their fixture resets in Ulta Beauty stores in particular, where they have 12ʹ x 50″ sections that are more complex. In addition to their 60-page installation guides, they provide a three-minute animated render — a top-level video showcasing the order of operations for the install, Hahn shared.
Not all resets require animated renders. At retailers where Revolution Beauty occupies 6 feet or less, installation teams receive the guide with their planograms. “The investment in animated renders can get pricey, so I find them most cost effective for the larger department resets that take installation teams 4 or more hours to complete,” Hahn said.
When considering the use of animated renders, weigh economies of scale. For instance, as described, renders are ideal for large, complex fixture sets to ensure accuracy. But they can also prove beneficial if you have a large number of locations using the same set. If multiple retail locations are using the same 4ʹ section, the investment could be effectively spread across those stores. Look at expenses tied to improper execution, whether it’s hard or soft costs. What are your losses when products aren’t properly featured or if your brand is not well represented? You might find the investment in animated renders justified when it can improve planogram compliance and save money from product or parts being incorrectly discarded because a planogram was misread or misinterpreted.
Hahn wants the company’s renders to continue evolving. In the next versions created, she would like them to be even more detailed to improve ease of use. For instance, some dividers can look similar, yet are not interchangeable, so being able to illustrate those finer nuances will help during installation.
According to Hahn, it’s always important when developing merchandising tools and collateral to consider your audience. There are a variety of learning styles and different tools that can be applied depending on users’ experience and how individuals consume information most effectively. Having options available such as both guides and videos can ensure you meet all needs.
Because it’s an ongoing cost of doing business, looking for ways to streamline fixture resets should always be a priority. Trying new tools and resources can help make resets a success.
HRG works with Revolution Beauty on their planograms, fixture coordination, data management, and animated renders.