Reader Survey Results
A Variety of Fixtures Works Well
Spring 2007
Retailers like to fill their stores with different colored fixtures made of a variety of materials. “The mix looks nicer,” said one retailer who responded to our latest survey. Read on for the complete results of “What Fixtures Are You Using?”
1. When was the last time you added fixtures to your store?
Less than one year ago–61%
Three to five years ago–17%
One to two years ago–13%
Six or more years ago–9%
2. What materials are your fixtures made of? (Some respondents checked more than one answer.)
Metal–87%
Wood–74%
Plywood–57%
Glass–48%
Plastic–35%
Other–10%
“Other” responses included corrugated cardboard.
3. What color are your fixtures? (Some respondents checked more than one answer).
Wood tone–70%
White–59%
Silver/gray–43%
Black–30%
Other–22%
“Other” responses included blue, off white, ivory and purple.
4. Are your fixtures moveable?
Yes, some–51%
Yes, all–42%
No–7%
5. Do you have any custom-made fixtures?
Yes–79%
No–21%
6. Do you ever use fixtures supplied by manufacturers?
Yes–89%
No–11%
7. Were any of your fixtures previously used when you acquired them?
Yes–75%
No–25%
8. Have you ever used fixtures that were being thrown away by another retailer?
Yes–68%
No–32%
Some respondents sent us additional comments.
“Moveable fixtures are definitely the way to go.”
“I will only buy fixtures if they are flexible enough to be used for a variety of merchandise. We change things too frequently to commit to them. In addition, many fixtures are poorly designed for their actual retail use. We once had a spinner that couldn’t be easily spun when it was full. ”
"My store is set up so it can be easily rearranged. All the fixtures we've purchased are used. Others have been made."
“While fixtures are important, they should simply fade into the background when the merchandise is displayed.”
“Older fixtures tend to be stronger.”
“For decades we used a large old zipper display to hold hundreds of brushes. We replaced it about eight years ago with a number of manufacturer-supplied oak and acrylic brush racks.”
