How to display tiles to improve my tile business: hot and cold areas

When designing a display tiles showroom it is key to define what the optimal circulation cycle will look like. The objective is to avoid cold areas and for the entire space to become a warm area that enables you to improve sales and the customer’s experience of your store.

You have 10 seconds to make a positive impact when a potential customer enters your ceramic tile, bathroom or construction materials showroom. A customer who, quite probably, will already have had several positive experiences before coming to you. Nevertheless, the decisive moment begins when they walk through the door: you have to achieve excellence.

How to display ceramic tiles to improve my tile business? Read on, and we’ll tell you!

Key ideas for tile display presentation

The showroom is where you first meeting with the customer takes place, and is therefore the main tool for achieving two important business objectives: conversion and loyalty.

Your most positive values have to be well defined so that they are easily perceived by your visitors. Your empathy, proximity and professionalism must be come across in your display so that your brand comes to life and connects with your customers.

What can you do to achieve this? We invite you to take a moment to observe your showroom through the eyes of your visitor. Do you like what you’re seeing? Would you buy in your store? If the answer is yes, congratulations! You are on the right track. Read on to improve your results. Instead, if the answer is no, we invite you to contact us directly, we can help you!

1. Strategy in the design of your tile display showroom

Although marketing or merchandising techniques will help you guide your customers through your tile display, these techniques will be of little us if you don’t have a showroom designed to generate sales.

Keep in mind that the shopping experience you provide via your showroom is defined by a whole set of factors, such as product location, the presentation of your collections, the creation of a pleasant atmosphere and, of course, the attention you offer. All this contributes to them buying from you and, most importantly, to recommending you and coming back.

PTherefore, you need good interior architecture and the best ceramic tile displays in order to provide the best shopping experience.

2. Creation of circulation flows

Each square metre of your ceramic tile showroom has to be economically viable, and so it is key to create circulation flows that favour conversion.

Although it does not belong to the construction materials sector, one company that stands out for creating excellent circulation flows is Ikea. The route through its showroom is perfectly signposted and researched in detail so that all visitors move through the displays in the direction desired by the company, continuously receiving positive impacts that inspire, motivate and awaken the customer’s desire to buy more.

In your business then, it is important to organise the presentation of your products well according to trends, rooms, typology or themes that inspire your visitors. You have to think of your entire showroom as one big shop window. To achieve this, you need each tile rack display to be well chosen and strategically located.

For example, self-supporting settings, such as those in our Tubestile series, are perfect for inspiring your visitors and guiding them around your circuit. You can easily recreate different rooms, enabling your client to visualise the final result. And, to improve the experience, there is also the option of inserting tile display sliders, ensuring you can display more product in smaller spaces.

3. Mitigate cold areas

Studies show that when a customer walks into a free-service sales area, they generally head toward the centre and then turn to the left. It is therefore advisable to place the access point on the right side, in order to favour this natural tendency.

The hot zone would be the natural circulation area, regardless of the product sought. Hence, in this area it is common to place products that are bought less frequently and have lower rotation, or those that are more recent additions, in order to facilitate their sale.

The cold zone is that which would lie outside the customer’s natural path around the store – where the flow is less fluid. Hence, it is best to place the most popular, most frequently purchased and most attractive products in this area, or those with the highest turnover, so that you will be able to direct your clients towards those less travelled areas.

Indeed, on many occasions, the counter or project design area is located in this colder area.

If you are lucky enough to have two or more entrances to your store, the cold areas are reduced, since circulation flows in two or more directions.

4. Generate spaciousness and create comfort

In our tile display showroom designs here at INSCA, we take into account what this circulation flow will look like, which areas will be naturally hot and which are the colder ones to be mitigated.

Depending on the characteristics of the space and product, it may be more suitable to opt for open display presentations or others through which a strategic guided route can be established.

In the showrooms that we create at INSCA, every corner and pillar is likely to become a display setting, so that the entire room is a large warm area with no cold spots.

In addition, we always prioritise visitor well-being and the creation of pleasant exhibition spaces. Ceramics and sanitary ware are not products that are bought on impulse. Clients like to ponder their decision, taking time to visualise the end result.

Open displays

We can choose to create a completely open display in which collections are displayed along the sides and the centre is reserved for personalised attention, with technical benches enhancing customer service and enabling the display of samples, at a height that does not obstruct a global view of the entire showroom.

This type of solution is very practical when we want to generate a sensation of spaciousness. In this way we achieve the creation of a natural route that favors closeness, since the personalised attention points are visible at all times.

The sides are perfect for dividing into areas with ceramic settings in which to display the most current collections for example. Of course, we are inviting our customers to dream, so each room must be presented complete with every detail.

Given that ceramic tile display units take up a lot of space, we can combine them with other display solutions such as the Kansas, Maxi Tiles or even Utah styles with which collections can be displayed in an open manner.

And, if you want to make the most of every square metre, there is also the option of including London, Denver, Rome, Open or Paris style tile display sliders. For smaller samples, don’t hesitate to choose a tile library, or ‘ceramoteca’.

Displays with guided routes

Another option for presenting ceramic tiles is by creating guided routes through the display, especially if you have a large surface area. The ceramic settings and the tile and sanitaryware display units will enable you to create such routes without the need to carry out any building work in your establishment. In addition, they promote the coordinated and complementary presentation of your products.

Bear in mind that when it comes to ceramics, as opposed to aisles, what we do is create environments that generate sensations so that your client has an immersive experience. This type of experience prompts psychological connotations in buyers that transport them to certain rooms and enable them to feel what it is like to be in a particular type of setting. They thus experience them in a natural way, which results in a positive perception.

5. Easy-to-handle tile displays

Updating your collections to show new products and trends is a value that you should take advantage of. For this reason, at INSCA we design systems that are easy to manipulate and allow samples to be changed easily. In this way, you can show a renewed image of your store without having to invest more.

6. Ceramic Trends 2022

We want to conclude this post by referring to the upcoming trends of 2022 in ceramics according to the Habitat Trends Observatory (OTH).

This year interior design will be defined by naturalness and balance, in a continuing search for connection with the environment. Floor and wall tiles with an artisanal aesthetic which extol the beauty of nature will be a trend.

In addition, luxury will be key, but in a subtle, timeless format that does not lose its elegance, involving metal effect materials or imitation marble.

Vibrant tiles that transmit positivity, joy and optimism will also be the main protagonists of 2022. The most creative and colourful ceramics possible.

And, lastly, another trend is for collections that inspire tranquillity and well-being. Floor and wall tiles with subtler, matte finishes that create a sense of security.

In short, you have 10 seconds to impress your visitors and now you are armed with a whole set of techniques to help you achieve it. Your ceramic display presentation has to invite discovery and represent a pleasant space that motivates your customers and helps them understand your product.

At INSCA we have been manufacturing displays for ceramic tiles and sanitaryware for more than 40 years. Now you know how to display tiles to improve your business. If you want to take the next step, we can help you. Contact us now!