The great indoors: creating beautiful backyard vignettes in your store is a great way to entice shoppers. Here's how to create scenes that wow them every time

It's the difference between being told about a movie and seeing it for yourself.

"When you take a spa and set it in the middle of a store without a context, you can sell it," says Jeff Grant, president of Trio Design Group in LaJolla, Calif., and author of the book The Budget Guide to Retail Store Planning and Design. "But for anything upscale, you need to create a vignette.

"People aren't just buying the goods," Grant adds. "You are really selling them the lifestyle."

The most common way retailers sell the lifestyle is to hang photos of people enjoying their pools or spas. A picture, after all, is still worth a thousand words.

But you can leave customers speechless by creating what Grant calls "a vignette"--a three-dimensional recreation of backyard life on your showroom floor.

Many pool and spa stores already do this outside their showrooms, displaying inground and aboveground pools dressed up with everything from floating toys to complete patios. But by following a few simple tips, experts say you can bring the outside in--and increase your sales in the process.

"You could have a cool deck, a table and a little barbecue, for example, with some plants and trees around it," says Jolie Foreman, the visual merchandising manager at the Seattle flagship store for sporting goods giant REI. "Then customers can put themselves in the scene."

Being able to put themselves in that scene is key to making customers feel comfortable about buying, says Becca Ostendorf, presentation manager at the Bass Pro Shops in Cincinnati. "People like to see something put together," Ostendorf says. "When they see it in a natural setting, they can relate to it. They can look at it and say, `Oh, yes! We can do that in our yard!'"

Bringing the outdoors in

Vignettes also offer a way to keep shoppers in your store longer, says retail designer Jim Rasmus, president of Retail Design Associates in Roseville, Calif. "Shoppers are after entertainment," Rasmus says. "Pools and spas aren't a `need' item. You have to convince them." Focal point displays do that.

Several of Rasmus' spa store clients have installed "mood rooms" to both show off and demonstrate their products. Walking into the room is like stepping into someone's backyard: There's the back of the house on one wall, constructed from clapboard or shingles. Painted on the other walls around the spa are trees and flowers; sometimes there's even a real picket fence in the scene. Fake grass carpeting is underfoot, while on the porch a porcelain dog keeps watch.

During store hours, Rasmus's mood rooms work as any other vignette. But the stores the rooms after hours too, inviting the most promising customers in for a private "test dip." That's when the doors are closed, the fiberoptic ceiling lights come on to recreate a night sky, crickets chirp from a soundtrack, and hors d'oeuvres and champagne await on the patio table.

"They spend a little while in there," says Rasmus, "and you just know they'll be breaking out the credit card. It sells so many spas."

But you don't have to do something as elaborate as a mood room to be effective. Rasmus believes even a 1,200-square-foot store can accommodate a small, 12-by-12-foot scene. Average-size stores might have as many as three such vignettes, including a centerpiece display that customers see when they enter the store. You can maximize sales potential by featuring within the scene a middle-of-the-line spa or pool that carries the highest dealer markup.

But to sway customers hearts and wallets, the displays must appear realistic, says Rasmus. "The atmosphere has to be such that the customer can remove themselves from being customers and time-warp themselves into their backyards."

Natural or artificial artifice?

The materials that go into your display ultimately will determine its realism. Finding the best props, says Foreman, "is one of those ongoing hunts."

Foreman prefers to use artificial props that are manufactured to look as authentic as possible. She says "really good foliage" is the key to a believable backyard scene. "It's really worth it to invest in good trees." She suggests buying durable items that can be reused. "You want to get a lot of bang for your money."

There are "tons and tons" of suppliers for the specialty materials that can be used in creating store displays, says Foreman. To find these suppliers, she recommends two sources: Visual Marketing and Store Design magazine (usually referred to as VM&SD) and its Web site www.visualstore.com. "Both are excellent, excellent resources," she says, "and each year they publish lists of suppliers."

Ostendorf, on the other hand, creates her scenes from natural ingredients. "We're always scrounging," she says. "We try not to spend any money."

Anything brought in from the outside must first be treated with a fire retardant, cautions Ostendorf. She uses Evergreen Christmas tree flame retardant: "We let it dry outside, and then we spray it."

Although Astroturf would seem a natural grass alternative, Ostendorf says its brilliant green can be almost unrealistic. She suggests using rocks, silk flowers and mulch to soften the turf's appearance. Carpet and tile also are options that suggest grass.

Erecting the stage

Rare would be the spa and pool store that could justify adding a full-time visual merchandiser to its payroll. And while a store owner could work with designers specializing in stores, sets, scenery or props, the scene creation can be a do-it-yourself project.

Grant says the best first step for a would-be display creator is to "look at every other store of their ilk that they can." Then talk to manufacturers' reps to see what they have to offer in terms of backgrounds or props--and recommendations of more stores to look at.

Ostendorf also suggests visiting the new-house showcases presented by local home-builder associations to see the latest trends in landscaping.

Another source of ideas for those creating outside scenes indoors are home and garden shows. These convention-hall shows often feature elaborate recreations of backyard gardens and patios. (It might even be possible to reach a deal to transplant one of these displays to your store.)

After you decide what you want, it's time to create "a good game plan," says Ostendorf. Sketch out your scene on paper, including whatever structures you'll need to support the props. Think through every step as far as you can. Then make a grocery list of all the materials you'll need to construct the scene.

Having a collaborator experienced in construction is invaluable, she adds. "I always say that two heads are better than one, and three is great."

Obviously, creating a scene carries a price. Rasmus says it's possible to build a simple vignette for as little as $500, but he tells clients to plan on $2,500 or more. And that can be a sticking point for many retailers. "But how many spas are they going to sell off that focal point?" Rasmus asks. "Even if it's just one a month, it will pay for itself in a hurry."

Finally, says Grant, "Don't think of doing it once." Plan on changing, or at least freshening, your display regularly. "Obviously, if you build a deck, it's going to be there awhile," he says. "But you can change out the furniture or add new details. Every month, you should be moving things around."

After all, says Grant, "Some of this has to do with staleness. Progressive retailers have full-time retail display people. They do that because it works. It keeps people coming in."

Thomas Clark is a free-lance writer based in Edgewood, Ky.

Tips for creating natural-looking vignettes

Anyone who's tried knows that creating natural looking vignettes is harder than it looks. Here are some tips from the experts:

* Scale is the most important element. "You have to make sure all the pieces in the scene are big enough in relation to the product," says Jolie Foreman, visual merchandising manager at the Seattle flagship store for sporting goods giant REI. "One scrawny tree or a fake rock isn't going to do it. It doesn't have enough punch." A few good-sized props will have more visual power and impact than lots of small props, according to Foreman.

* Pay attention to detail. Becca Ostendorf, presentation manager at the Bass Pro Shops in Cincinnati says she spends a lot of time just looking at nature's small details. Like pine cones, for instance: "Do you find them hanging up or down?" (It's down, by the way.) "Study how colors appear in nature, how rocks lay on the ground, how pine needles fall."

* Beware flat land, "Uneven ground looks more natural and adds interest for the eye," says Ostendorf. "A slight slope that meets the pool's edge could give ideas to the person who thinks their yard is too hilly for a pool."

* Mannequins can help, but may not be necessary. Foreman says the type of mannequins that would look good and give you options is probably too expensive to be worth it for the typical pool store. "It would be cooler to build the backyard scene and let customers put themselves in it."

Retail designer Jim Rasmus is a big fan of what he calls "silent salesmen," which cost between $800 and $1,500 apiece. He likes to see mannequins dressed in swimsuits playing cards at the patio table, or stretched out on a chaise lounge with a boom box close at hand. The ersatz people add a human touch that stores often lack, he says. "And when the customer sees Mom, Dad and a couple of kids in the display, they know this is where the family fun is," says Rasmus, president of Retail Design Associates in Roseville, Calif.

* Take a hard look. Although displays are meant to be seen head-on, customers will no doubt see them from other angles as they walk through the store. "You don't want them to see how it was put together," says Ostendorf. Cover the bracings that hold up trees with rocks or a carpet of pine needles. Paint the backs of props dark colors. Hide the power cords.

* Include signage. You want to tell customers what they're looking at. But even signage can be an opportunity for creativity. Ostendorf says she has reproduced logos in wood or painted them on rocks to highlight the product on display.

* Have fun. Ostendorf says she tries to add a touch of humor into every display "just to make sure the adults are watching." A Christmas display featuring Santa's workshop includes a sign: "Specializing in toy building and overnight delivery."

--T.C.

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