Seasonal holiday displays are often the most memorable and exciting to customers. They have the power to create anticipation and excitement for the day and encourage the passers-by to splash out on gifts for their loved ones. Valentine’s Day is exactly the same! As soon as the January sales have finished, the high street is revamped into a wonderland of red and pink. Each year, the competition gets tougher and stores really need to pull out all the stops in order to have the most eye-catching retail design out there. As a retail design agency, we love looking back at all of the inspirational displays we have seen over the years. Read on to see our top Valentine’s Day retail design picks.
Unfortunately, Valentine’s Day often falls victim to stereotypical expectations, such as flowers and chocolates and for happy couples only, but with the right retail design you can inspire the masses and attract a larger audience to your store. In recent years, there have been some great examples of stores pushing the envelope to make Valentine’s Day something we can all look forward to. Harvey Nichols on Brompton Road, London, created an exciting and outstanding example of creative retail design surrounding Valentine’s Day. Their windows promoted gay rights by featuring windows with same sex couples, showing that Valentine’s Day and loving relationships are not limited to heterosexual couples. This is an inspiring way to use retail design to make a positive change.
Taking stereotypes away from retail design means finding new ways to grab the customer’s attention. Tokyo’s American Apparel store created a new twist on the traditional heart motif with a healthy dose of imaginative retail design. Rather than setting merchandise against a backdrop, garments from the store were used to create a backdrop of red and pink fabric which was set behind window sticker decals of the outline of eyes with heart shaped pupils!
Another store putting a new twist on traditional Valentine’s displays is designer brand Miu Miu. Although the heart motif is the main feature of the display, gone are the rosy tones of the hundreds of other shop windows, instead with a focus on dark blue and yellow. The brand attached a selection of their designer handbags to a giant heart using ‘larger than life’ cupid’s arrows. This just goes to show a little creativity can go a long way when it comes to retail design!
However, some stores have stepped away from traditional Valentine’s icons like hearts and flowers, instead opting to add a modern twist to the classic colour scheme. Tiffany stepped out of their comfort zone of sleek, simple designs with a cute, kitschy display featuring embroidery hoops complete with spools of thread. Each hooped was lovingly stitched with a short message or Valentine’s themed word. This timeless display is sure to appeal to customers of all ages.
Agent Provocateur’s ‘Adventures in Lingerie’ themed window took a different take on Valentine’s Day altogether! Although the colour scheme was fitting for the day, the romanticism stopped there, with mannequin simply posing at a petrol station whilst modelling the store’s merchandise. Taking an alternative, daring approach to retail design is a great risk to take. Where else have you seen someone fill their car up on their underwear?!
Links of London targeted a younger audience with their playful retail design. Pink paper fortune tellers printed with the word ‘Love’ created added a pop of colour to the jewellery store. This simple repeated pattern goes to show that creative, eye-catching retail design can be applied to stores of any size and doesn’t need to break the bank either!
Here at H Squared, we are already excited to see the displays the rest of 2014 has to offer. Is your store’s retail design in need of a bit of love? Get in touch with us today and find out how we can help you create the store of your dreams. Happy Valentines Day from H Squared!
