The tile category is awash with benefits to the end consumer. However, making the sale can sometimes be laborious for the retail sales associate. With that in mind, tile suppliers are touting new-and-improved merchandising concepts designed to support the sale.
Following are the latest in tile merchandising concepts:
Daltile
Daltile’s Statements 2.0 “Showroom Within A Showroom” is the brand’s innovative new point-of-purchase concept designed to simplify the tile selection process for customers. It features interactive modules, trend insights, unique displays that showcase the entire product line, curated assortments and more.
“This new showroom setup—coupled with the other facets of the Statements Elite Dealer program, including premiere website placement, rebates and a strong leads program, pay-per-click and social media—will bring a seamless experience from online to in-store,” said Amber Leigh Martinson, senior director, brand marketing. “The ultimate goal is to equip our retail partners for success with our products and increase their sales. Statements 2.0 does just that.”
The new concept is also designed to help the flooring dealer make money. “The shopping methodology and messaging allow the in-store customer service rep to expertly help the customer navigate the process, or the customer can successfully navigate the shopping journey independently. Also included is ready access to hundreds of curated boards that present pre-selected pairings of floor, wall and countertop products, letting the consumer see what a coordinated collection in a room would look like. Generally speaking, if a consumer can see it already put together, they are more eager to ‘buy it all,’ even if they just came in for one type of tile.”
Emser
Emser’s newest merchandising offering for 2023 is a three-tiered, enhanced profile display to showcase both floor and wall products. This measures at the same height as the company’s outgoing display but offers more product capacity and optimized utilization of available display real estate to hold 72 boards. It also includes updated marketing boards with more noted features and benefits and boasts more impactful imagery for improved visualization that will be updated on a continual basis to capture the most trending styles.
According to Emser, the updated display and detailed marketing boards will be easier to shop, allowing the dealer to be less hands on and the consumer to narrow her selections independently. “This will give the sales team at our dealer locations the ability to spend more time to garner net new customers and target outreach,” said Mike Weaver Jr., vice president, dealer/trade sales.
Chasitiy Hurtt, senior manager of merchandising and marketing operations, noted that the new merchandising allows even the most novice sales teams to sell more confidently. “The new, larger room scenes will also give a post-installed visual of what the product will look like in their own space, which will ultimately take the guesswork out of the consumer’s decision-making process,” she explained.
Anthology
Anthology, a Mosaic Companies brand, offers a merchandising display capable of holding 200 items with a minimal footprint. The unit, which measures 40 x 40 x 7 feet, also contains caster wheels, making it easy to move around the showroom.
“Our Anthology display maximizes the amount of product that can be shown in a small space,” explained Suzi Portugal, vice president of design and sourcing, Mosaic Companies. “The other great feature is it makes a visual unassisted shopping experience. If a client wants to browse on their own, this system is very user-friendly. All of the cards have a J-hook to make it easy to pull the products out for easy viewing.”
The display is designed to help RSAs who are new the tile category as well as sales veterans. “The amount of products shown in this display can stand alone for multiple style and design options,” Portugal added. “We offer stock programs tailored to align with [the retailer’s] customers’ needs and tastes. Our team can develop custom products for large commercial projects, allowing [the dealer] access to our buying and sourcing abilities.”
MSI
MSI’s latest Premier Porcelain Display features three premium collections—Kaya, Regallo and Savoy—positioned in a good/better/best pricing strategy. The display includes 18 pre-labeled, 12 x 24 tile samples placed to cascade in front of three accent boards showing coordinating mosaic sample options.
“Embodying the striking look of high-profile marble, each collection is prominently positioned in a minimal display fixture alongside inspiring room scene visuals,” said Nicholas Duran, visual merchandising manager. “The display also incorporates coordinating mosaic and trim options for every color, which encourages add-on orders.”
The display is also designed to help the dealer make the sale, according to Duran. “The Premier Porcelain Display provides an approachable solution to a full assortment of colors, sizes, mosaics and trims without being overwhelming. While most displays cram as much product as possible into a small space, the Premier Porcelain Display offers a designer-curated selection of versatile, high-functioning products.”
