Clothing displayed on mannequins sell 75% faster!
Last month, the India Times reported that the clothing dressed on store mannequins sell 43% faster than those simply folded up on clothing tables or hanging from clothing racks. This statistic is, of course, very dear to our heart so we set out to speak to our customers and industry professionals to see whether they see the same results (here in the U.S.). The response was that mannequins in the U.S. perform significantly better than their Indian counterparts.
Kimberly Karabinos, a visual manager at LOFT, reported to us that she sees clothing on store mannequins selling "75% quicker - especially if it fits (or is pinned) correctly to show how it will look on the body". Other responses agreed and pegged the number anywhere from between 50 - 75%.
Why does clothing sell faster on mannequins? In truth, mannequins help in several areas of a store's sales cycle: getting the customers into the store, getting them to notice a product and helping them decide if the product is right for them.
- Mannequins attract attention - Stores are usually full of clothing either hanging from racks or folded on garment tables. Anything placed on a mannequin is seen as out of the ordinary, and, as we all know, 'out of the ordinary' is interesting. Also, many mannequins are designed to be strikingly beautiful (as in the skin colored realistic models) or slightly bizarre (witness the abstract mannequins - eggheads, headless, white, chrome, etc.). Beauty and bizarre are interesting. Window mannequins attract the customers' attention getting them to come into the store while the floor mannequins cause them to notice the individual products.
- Mannequins show how the clothing looks and fits - Stores usually have dressing rooms and consumers do use them liberally. However, the vast majority of consumers do not really like to have to try the clothes on - it is both time consuming and annoying to have to have to wait for the usually occupied changing rooms to be available, change out their current clothes, guard their valuables while doing so, check themselves out in a mirror, take the clothes off, refold them and try to put them back where they found them. When a mannequin is wearing the clothing, on the other hand, customers can quickly determine how the clothes actually look when worn and how its various outfits work together. Customers always have appreciated - and always will appreciate - their shopping experiences made easier.
Mannequins are the perfect salesmen - get them to help your store! (our full mannequin inventory)