12 Memorial Day Window Display Ideas

With the unofficial start to summer upon us, it’s time for retailers to ready their Memorial Day displays. Memorial Day Weekend, and the week prior, is one of the busiest times for retail shops as many people have a long weekend to shop the sales. Foot traffic and sales can be increased if retailers go the extra mile in creating an enticing holiday themed window display.  In this blog post, we will give several tips for making patriotic-themed window displays for Memorial Day using stock and custom merchandising products available at shopPOPdisplays.

white wooden hut during daytime

 

Why Window Displays Increase Foot Traffic

 

A savvy retailer knows that a creative window display not only attracts new customers but wows and retains repeat customers. To do so, you update your windows every two months to keep things fresh and change with the seasons and highlight any holidays. The more frequent your shoppers, the more often the windows get changed up.

This year, it really matters. You may be still trying to recover from pandemic fallout but now you face cautious customers amid rising inflation. Here’s how to make your Memorial Day displays present a great first impression to new customers while aligning with your brand’s story and ultimately increasing foot traffic and sales in your stores.

12 Memorial Day Display Ideas with Star Spangled Style

 

1. Arrange Red, White, and Blue Bouquets

Memorial Day is not only the unofficial start of summer, it also ushers in gardening season. A window display showcasing blooms (even if they’re faux) can be a window-shopper stopper. Fill acrylic boxes with red, white, blue, or clear glass pebbles and arrange patriotic-hued artificial flowers inside. Or place large, artificial blooms, like Dahlias, in dome-shaped floral foam spheres and place them on a round display pedestal. Plop faux daisies in red or blue gift bags for some fast, festive flair. A collection of dyed or tinted spider mums in small glasses and stem vases of varying heights and on risers create a dazzling display that looks like fireworks. Use the symbolism of a poppy flower, which has been used since World War I as a symbol of remembrance for those who have died in military service.

Acrylic 5 Sided Box - 12" x 12" x 12"

 

2. Fashion an Ode to Old Glory


Use your merchandise to design a spectacular Memorial Day display. If your products are available in red, white, and blue, arrange them in the colors of the flag. Anything that’s stackable, shelf topping, or hangable will work. For instance, a panel of red, white, and blue sneakers on shelves, book displays arranged and stacked by red, white, and blue spines; or sunglasses in patriotic shades hung on a gridwall or suspended from the ceiling. If color-grouping your products doesn’t work, shopPOPdisplays has red, white, and blue pedestals to feature products in a patriotic window display.

Red Economy Display PedestalWhite Economy Display PedestalBlue Economy Display Pedestal

 

3. Take Them Out to the Ballgame

What’s more American than apple pie, baseball, and blue jeans? An acrylic Jersey display case will really hit a home run. Fill with a local fan favorite Jersey and surround it with baseball cards, bats and balls, ticket stubs, etc. Clothing stores can display a range of blue jeans paired with red and white tees and accessories (baseball caps, perhaps?) either on mannequins or on display tables and shelving.

Acrylic Jersey Display Case with Clear Back

 

4. Design a Red- White- and Blue-Hued Display

Here’s a sweet idea for ice cream and frozen yogurt shops or candy stores: Line the edges of ice cream cones with icing and dip into red, white, and blue sprinkles (or jimmies) and display in an acrylic ice cream cone stand. Or fill the stands with festive paper cones for a colorful and non-perishable display. Got candy? Fill acrylic stacking candy bins with red, white, and blue candies.

Acrylic 10" Stacking Candy Bin

5. Set an Old-fashioned American Scene

Dip your paint brushes into a patriotic palette and craft an old-fashioned American scene: Make a white picket fence out of wood or heavy cardboard; use twine to create a garland or banner of American flags and drape on the fence. You can then lean a vintage cruising bicycle with a handle-bar basket against the fence or stack some nested crates (available in red, white, and blue, too) for an old-fashioned country feel.

 

Set of 3 Pine Nested Crates

 

6. Cook Up a Clever Display

Create a familiar summer scene for your Memorial Day display and set a BBQ-inspired table. Drape a display table with a red, white, or blue tablecloth; fashion a runner using red, white, or blue bandanas or gingham fabric; place a pitcher filled with lemons at the center of the table or line Mason jars with flameless candles on our LED riser display for an illuminating and eye catching centerpiece.

7.25" H x 36" W Glass Jar Tall Riser Display With LED Lighting

 

7. Create a Star-Spangled Salute

Go star crazy! Hang a banner of stars along the edges of tabletop displays. Craft some red, white, and blue 3D paper stars and pile in a 3-tiered basket. Our chalk markers work on acrylic so use them to draw patriotic stars and stripes on acrylic bins and signs.

Oval Basket Display with 3 Tiers

8. Adorn the Entrance with Stick Flags

Nothing shows support for our fallen heroes like displaying the American flag! If your store’s entrance has grass around the entry, then you have the chance to stick mini stick flags into the grass alongside the entire entrance path. Customers will walk with the holiday spirit as they enter your store.

Source: Walmart

9. Line Up Toy Soldiers on Display

If you’re decorating a toy store or antique store, now is the time to bring out your toy soldier collection and present it to your customers in a beautiful display. Afterall, Memorial Day is a holiday that commemorates the brave soldiers who fought for our nation. Let’s give the soldiers the spotlight this holiday. Use an Acrylic locking 5 shelf front opening wall mount display case to house your toy soldiers.

Acrylic locking 5 shelf front opening wall mount display case.

10. Hang Memorial Day Quotes on the Walls

In addition to the creative visual display ideas above, you can add another element and decorate the walls with quotes that will make your customers proud to be American. Frame the quotes in a floating acrylic wall frame to ensure visibility and legibility for your customers. Let the inspiring quotes combine with your creative decorations to fully commemorate this holiday.

Sun Tzo Memorial Day quote from CountryLiving.

Source: Country Living

11. Arrange a Patriotic Cupcake Display

If you’re decorating a bakery or cafe, now is a perfect time to bake star-spangled cupcakes. Decorate the cupcakes with red, white, and blue icing. Add starred-sprinkles on top, and then arrange the cupcakes in a patriotic, red-white-and-blue fashion. Use an Acrylic cupcake stand with 4 configurable tiers to feature your patriotic cupcake display.

Acrylic cupcake stand with 4 configurable tiers with chocolate and vanilla cupcakes.

12. Create a Patriotic Balloon Arch

Use a patriotic balloon arch with red, white, and blue balloons at the entrance of your store. You can also use them as you transition between products to create a sense of separation of merchandise and natural flow for your shoppers. Just make sure there are no sharp objects nearby, to prevent the balloons from popping! 

Red, white and blue balloon arch for a patriotic Memorial Day display

Source: Pinterest

More Eye-Catching Memorial Day Display Examples for Inspiration

American flag drink box store display.

Drink Display at a grocery store. Source: Pinterest

 

Memorial Day display of a storefront behind glass doors.

Patriotic Memorial Day Window display. Source: Pinterest

 

Patriotic photo display on mini white picket fence.

Americana photo display commemorating soldiers. Source: Yesterday on Tuesday

Frequently Asked Questions about Memorial Day Displays

  • Should I create a Memorial Day display?
    Creating a Memorial Day display is a great way to pay tribute to those who have sacrificed for their country. As such, Memorial Day is a somewhat solemn holiday as it commemorates the fallen military members who died while serving our country. So be sure to be respectful when creating your display.
  • What colors should I use in my Memorial Day display?
    The most commonly used patriotic colors in Memorial Day displays are red, white, and blue. Red represents the blood shed by American military members who fought for our country. White symbolizes the purity of their sacrifice. Blue represents the ideals of democracy and freedom that they fought to defend. 
  • What should I display for Memorial Day?
    If you are creating a Memorial Day display, there are many creative ways you can pay homage to those heroes. Some common ways are displaying a flag (flying the flag at half-staff until noon), displaying photographs, statues, or plaques of service members, or decorating with patriotic colors such as red, white, and blue streamers or bunting. 

Be sure to commemorate this important holiday at your store. You don’t even have to switch out the main focus of your window displays to make them Memorial Day ready. Deco mesh and ribbons can embellish mannequins, pedestals, risers, and more. Wrap stripes of red, white, and blue ribbons on pedestals; drape over risers; create skirts on mannequins with deco mesh; and use either as streamers suspended from the ceiling. 

Regardless of holiday or merchandise type, Americana-style décor displays are popular year-round. Pick-and-choose shopPOPdisplays stock merchandise for fun functional colorful displays or ask about custom merchandise with your logo, branding message, or patriotic product promotions for seasonal, holiday, or everyday use. Call our team for our Made in USA items, too!