The window display is an important aspect of retail layout design, because whether you are open or closed, it is a ‘window’ into your shop and customers will base their decisions on your window display before deciding to enter. A good way of enhancing this window display is with mannequins, especially realistic mannequins.

A window display using mannequins can help portray a feeling of association, especially if the mannequins have realistic proportions and are not stick insects, and they are wearing something that appeals to the onlooker. Mannequins give a storefront a personality that some other types of display just cannot achieve, as they are tangible models to help customers see if what the mannequins are wearing would suit them.

Mannequins no longer look lifeless, lack luster or like they are made from polystyrene, but are now rubber mannequins that are flesh colored, flexible to move and even look a little bit real and have hair (well most have rubber molded hairstyles, but it’s a step in the right direction)! These days there are many different mannequins available like children, ethnic mannequins and male and female mannequins. There is even a 5’4 mannequin to represent the average height of women.

When I talk about mannequins, it’s not just life sized mannequins that you can use, but jersey forms, jean displays, headless mannequins, standalone feet, hands and heads. All these can be used as window display mannequins to promote a particular range, or product in your store.

The secret to creating a great mannequin display is to create a display that make people look twice. You don’t want stoic mannequins staring into space and not doing anything. Yes, I know mannequins can’t move unless you get mechanical ones (and I have watched the film ‘Mannequin’, so you never know)! However you can create a feeling of movement in the window.

For example, if you have a sports shop you could set up the mannequins playing a tennis match. You could suspend one of the mannequins in the air with some wire, like they have jumped to reach the tennis ball, and the other player crouched down or put in a running pose towards the net, preparing to hit the ball back. Of course you would have the tennis nets in the window display, and the tennis ball suspended over the ‘jumping’ mannequin.

By putting this ‘movement’ into the window display you are attracting the attention of your customers. Perhaps you want to promote summer clothing, then you could recreate a scene on the beach, or if a scene in an office if you are promoting suits and office wear. You just want to avoid the boring forward facing mannequin, who just stands there, but instead create a scene that attracts the customer’s attention.

You can use your mannequins as fashion mannequins to display a look of city life. You can put multiple items on your mannequins like scarves, sunglasses, jewelry, watches and shoes to promote the ‘whole’ look. Once again with this scenario, you should not just have all your mannequins facing forward. Note that I say mannequins – it’s always better to have multiple mannequins to create a theme or scene. One lonely mannequin does not do the job of attracting customers so well. My recommendation is to have three.

Another way to catch people’s attention is to move the mannequins slightly everyday to build up to a crescendo. With the tennis example earlier, the score and position of the players could change everyday, until one of the players wins the game. I remember, as a child watching out for the mannequins in a particular shop, as I was driven home from school, to see if they would change and once in a blue moon they did.

You can use your own imagination here to come up with something that catches your potential customer’s eye. Try to create a scene that suggests both emotion and movement by positioning each mannequin in a different way that might convey a feeling to a potential customer walking by. It is actually quite a fun way of attracting customers, and if you change your mannequin displays regularly it is a great way of keeping your customers interested. Of course, you can use mannequins creatively on your store floor too.