The area of a store right in front of the window, the spot that is usually most visible by would-be customers as they pass by on the street, is vital to drumming up business. The best way to maximize this area is through a combination of hot-ticket sales items, unusual displays and custom window graphics that leave an indelible mark.
There's one type of business in particular that benefits a lot from store displays: the comic shop. Because of the colorful and novel items that can make up a winning display, this is an area that gathers attention relatively easily. It even has its own award ceremonies, like the Diamond Comic Distributors Better Practice Award, which was recently reported on in Bleeding Cool.
Photos included with this story show some of the different tactics used by vendors to get people interested, including giant statues, action figures and posters. One example, Arcadian Comics and Games in Newport, Kentucky, does an excellent job placing an original, superhero-themed logo on a window surrounded by similarly-themed comics items.
It's naturally a big time for stores that sell comics and other related items, because of the recently concluded San Diego Comic Con, an event that brings in more than 100,000 visitors.
That event has its own list of candidates worthy of an honor it calls the Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer award. The BBC reported on one shop in Leeds that was nominated as one of the best stores worldwide. That source featured comments from the owner, Jared Myland, who put it down to simply having a sense of what they do best.
"We offer a pretty diverse range of books and we stick to what we know," he said. "We're pretty evangelical about it."
The window graphics you implement can help you get this kind of exposure.