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If you’re a retailer, it’s never too early to prepare for the most wonderful time of the year. From inventory purchases to seasonal staffing considerations to marketing budgets, the summer season is the time to start thinking about all things holiday. And that includes your Christmas display window ideas. Your window displays are an important tool in driving in-store traffic this upcoming holiday season. They enhance the shopping experience, increase sales, and build brand loyalty.
1. Why Compelling Window Displays Matter
Christmas display window ideas deliver more than décor. They reinforce your brand while providing product information to shoppers and eye-catching displays separate you from the competition to draw in foot traffic—and sales. A recent study concluded that store operations and visual merchandising are the largest drivers of customer purchasing behavior and profitability.
Many retailers invest extra money into their holiday season displays. If your budget is on the leaner side this year, know that a few strategic displays interspersed with your usual merchandise may be all you need to do create an eye-catching holiday display that sets you apart from the competition. First, we’ll share a few reasons why you should prioritize Christmas holiday windows and then we’ll share some tips (and real-life examples) for creating your own ideas.
How window displays boost foot traffic
Successful holiday window display ideas capture the attention of customers by creating vignettes or a story that connects with the customer and invites them into the shop. The study showed an increase in visitors by as much as 20% due to captivating window displays.
How window displays help you beat the competition
The analysis also found that seasonal-themed displays create a sense of urgency and uniqueness that spurs impulse buying. That decked-out window persuades customers to enter your store and check another box off their long holiday gift list. However, this tactic can backfire if overused since it causes fatigue among shoppers (imagine a row of stores with similar over-the-top retail displays). The research recommends mixing seasonal displays with your evergreen themes and products to avoid shoppers’ fatigue and set yourself apart from the competition.
7 Tips for Beautiful Christmas Window Display Ideas
1. Embrace the Holiday Spirit
This is not the time to be a Scrooge. Embracing the holidays can go a long way in creating effective Christmas window display ideas that drive sales. This can be accomplished by incorporating holiday colors, classic decorations, and even leveraging cherished Christmas stories to make a connection with customers.
—Share holiday stories. When one thinks of holiday window displays, Macy’s Herald Square comes to mind. In fact, their annual displays attract at least 10,000 visitors daily. In 2021, Macy’s holiday window display followed the story of Tiptoe the reindeer who was chasing her dream to join Santa’s team on Christmas Eve. Each window featured another chapter in the reindeer’s story with interactive elements to delight tourists and New Yorkers alike.
Images: https://t2conline.com/macys-holiday-window-display/
–Include holiday colors. In 2024, Raising Cane put their mascot in a series of classic red-and-white vignettes celebrating the holiday season. The restaurant chain’s branding is a cheery red which made it easy to create a whimsical holiday display while staying on brand.
–Use seasonal décor. Lean into traditional Christmas decorations, such as Santa’s sleigh, Christmas trees, garlands, wreaths, ornaments, stockings, and more, to create a festive backdrop for your Christmas window display ideas. Fill in with displays that do double duty. For instance, wooden crates and barrels can be used for a cozy/rustic feel. Use them to hold snow-kissed and tinsel-topped trees. Or, turn them upside down and use as risers for featured products. Consider display pedestals in red, green, silver, gold, our holiday exclusive frosted acrylic, for boosted product visibility in your windows while complementing seasonal accents.
2. Make It Interactive
Christmas display window ideas can go beyond visuals and pull the customer into the scene itself. Research has shown interactive displays increase engagement by as much as 60%. They make people stop, spend some time interacting with the display, and enhance their overall experience.
For example, Ralph Lauren’s shop on Madison Ave had its mascot bear, Polo Bear, in the window, interacting with holiday shoppers and tourists. The bear—dressed in Ralph Lauren—waved, blew kisses, danced, and of course, took selfies with passersby on the sidewalk. The 3D digital rendering really brought the holidays to life!
3. Showcase Holiday Deals
There are many ways to broadcast holiday sales to shoppers. You can employ traditional signage; display seasonal props such as ornaments or stockings that spell out S-A-L-E, or use chalk markers to adorn shop windows with your handwritten messages.
4. Consider Color Scheme
If your brand doesn’t have a holiday-themed hue like Raising Cane’s, you can still incorporate color as an impactful way to drive sales—and there’s good reason you should. Tony Morgan, who has lectured at the London College of Fashion and the Fashion Retail Academy in London, notes that “the most effective window displays are designed with a strong emphasis on colour.” Visual merchandisers typically take inspiration for the color scheme from their brand or products they are displaying, but holiday displays allow for creative color combinations that can expand options. Consider monochromatic or bold color schemes to add visual interest and drama.
5. Install Lights
Lights can be a great prop, particularly in outdoor malls or on exteriors, since it gets dark earlier in the wintertime. Plus, holiday lights are a destination all by themselves.
For example, Saks Fifth Avenue’s 2022 window displays included 60,000 LEDs synchronized to a medley of Elton John’s hit songs. Cartier’s New York City building was adorned in string lights. The lights outlined windows and accented the red awnings and architectural features of the building on 5th Avenue, in addition to lighting up their holiday window displays.
Adding lights to your display—including focused lighting on your products featured in the window—will attract shoppers and entice them inside.
6. Extend Beyond Windows
Draw customers from a distance by decorating your building’s façade in addition to your windows. An elaborate Christmas tree on the exterior of the legendary Gerstner café in Vienna is a cheerful beacon that calls out to shoppers. Any type of greenery—potted Christmas trees or garlands draped around doors and windows—will add welcoming holiday cheer.
7. Put the Most Important Items at Eye Level
There’s a saying, “eye level is buy level.” While your window is eye-catching, you also want to draw eyes to your product as well. Eye level is usually that focal point—it’s where the eye naturally travels. The rest of the display should create balance and visual appeal. For example, Rothy’s featured their footwear and accessories on risers at eye level with minimalist gold and silver ornaments suspended from the ceiling for holiday flair and succulents to give a nod to the brand’s sustainability efforts.
Creating Compelling Window Displays with shopPOPdisplays
Consider shopPOPdisplays for your Christmas display window ideas. Our experts, along with our retail displays and fixtures, can assist you with all your visual merchandising needs for the upcoming holiday season.