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Looking for retail display ideas which will make your sales floor and shop windows more compelling? One of the smartest things you can do in our modern technological era is to integrate interactive touch screens and apps into your retail display fixtures. Doing this allows customers to see your products in action, explore customization options, get answers to questions, and even check out without ever speaking to a sales agent.

In Part 1, I shared some “do’s” with you to help you discover some best practices for putting together effective interactive retail displays. But the best interactive retail displays also take some important “don’ts” into account. So without further ado, let’s talk about those “don’ts.”

When designing an interactive retail display kiosk, DON’T:

• Assume that an interactive display makes sense. There are some areas of your store where an interactive display may be ideal for providing a useful, entertaining, informative experience that boosts sales. In other store sections, however, an interactive display may just not be intuitive. The same goes for markets. If you have a retail store downtown in a trendy metropolitan district, customers may love interactive displays. But in a small rural town, buyers may not be as tech-savvy and may find the displays to be a turnoff.

• Neglect the physical integration of the interactive components with the rest of the display. No matter how cool a touch screen app is, it is not going to make up for a sloppy retail floor display stand. Choose racks, shelves, and cases which make sense for your products, display them neatly, and mount your technology in such a way that it is pleasing to the eye and easy to use.

• Provide helpful signage and on-screen instructions as needed. Never assume that a display is self-explanatory. Remember that less tech-savvy customers may be utterly clueless when they walk up to an interactive retail display. Use your signage to explain the purpose of the display and how it can help them. Speak directly to the customer, i.e., “Look in the mirror to virtually “try on” any item in our store!”

• Assume that the display is doing its job. One great thing about interactive retail displays is that they can free up your staff members to take care of other tasks—the displays themselves can answer a lot of questions for customers. But that does not mean that you should walk away from your interactive displays and never check back on them or your customers. Drop by and see how customers are faring. Take notes about how your displays are being used. Find out which features are boosting sales and which features buyers do not understand. Revisit your displays and make improvements. Change things up now and again to keep things interesting.

Getting set up with your first interactive retail display is going to be a challenge, but it is one which can pay off in huge ways. Interactive displays are still very novel, so they can promote word-of-mouth and drive traffic through your door. That congestion on your sales floor coupled with the enhanced sales pitch you can deliver through technology can give your bottom line a powerful boost!