ARTYSMITH2: BIKEWAYS

I just love to see shops on the high street attracting attention. I’ve written about this often enough on these blog pages but this week I thought I would focus on the bike. The popularity of cycling may be on the up but bikes seem to be the go to prop for many of our retailers, cropping up on a regular basis in shop windows or on the pavement outside.

It’s yet another simple way for retailers to stand out from the crowd and attract customers. Apart from being a great prop if used well a bike will make an even better marketing tool for advertising your business. Whether it’s simply chained to the shop front with baskets full of flowers, or with shopping bags slung over the handle bars, panniers full of goodies or gift boxes piled high on the rear bike rack I can guarantee if used with a bit of imagination it will attract attention and raise a smile!

As a merchandising tool bikes have many advantages. Firstly, they don’t take up too much space so there is a real possibility of using the bike on the street. Secondly, the design provides a good structure to work with and the height means it won’t go unnoticed. But, my favourite thing is you can easily change the appearance of a bike and this is where you can take full advantage of its pulling power, especially if its outside your shop. Why, because most of the time customers, especially your dedicated regulars, go about their day on automatic pilot. They soon become accustomed to seeing the same things so even though they may still be looking they’re probably not seeing, that is until something is changed!

The popularity of bicycles appearing in or outside our high street shops may be on the up but not everyone is making best use of the this versatile prop. If you’re going to use a bike as a permanent feature, outside or inside your shop, don’t just tie it up and leave it there ad infinitum you need to do stuff with it. Change its position and appearance on a regular basis, use it for promotional purposes for advertising your latest campaign or new product launch, use it to tell your story about who you are, what you do and what you sell. If it’s appropriate add another bike or two, maybe a complete family of bikes if there’s room! Think about it, you might just be sitting on an idea than no one has thought of yet!