Your storefront windows are valuable marketing space, so using them to display key details about your business can be an effective way to grab customers’ attention, especially since they can be one of the first things they notice about your business.
For retailers, restaurants, salons, and other businesses with street-facing locations, storefront printing can make a strong first impression before a potential customer ever opens the door.
In this post, we outline some storefront printing tips that can encourage customers to stop and notice. Your business can use window graphics in several ways, so it is best to establish a clear game plan before you start to help you decide what to display and how your graphics should align with your branding and overall message.
Maintain Your Business’s Branding in Your Window Graphics
One of the most effective ways to build brand recognition is to keep your branding consistent across all materials. Because your storefront is an extension of your business, the window graphics you design should reflect your brand guidelines by using the same colours, fonts, logo, and imagery customers see across all marketing materials.
When your storefront decals and window signage align with your established branding, customers can more easily recognize your business and connect the message on your windows to the brand they may already be familiar with. Consistency is key, as it can also help create a more professional storefront no matter what you’re promoting.
Promote a Seasonal Sale as a Window Graphic
One way to use window graphics is to promote a seasonal sale that highlights a limited-time discount, holiday promo, student offer, or other timely campaign. Because these decals can be easily added to and removed from your storefront windows, it’s an even better reason to try several seasonal options that can generate customer interest because of their limited availability.
Design tip: Keep your window graphics simple and easy to read for people passing by. Include a short headline, make the offer clear, and use consistent branding. If needed, mention that additional details are available inside the store or on a website to keep the graphics from being weighed down with too much information to take in quickly.
Showcase a Popular Product/Service in a Window Graphic
Window graphics have many uses, and not all need to be discount-driven. You can use custom window graphics to feature a bestselling item or signature service that best reflects your business, giving new customers who aren’t familiar with it a reason to stop in.
For example, a bakery could feature a window graphic of its famous, award-winning cookies that customers rave about, as it can serve as an evergreen part of the storefront while highlighting a strong differentiator from nearby businesses.
Use Window Graphics to Explain What Your Business Offers
While it may be immediately clear what some businesses offer from their name, others have products or services that are less clear from the outside. For example, a law office may offer several specialized services for different types of clients, but someone passing by may have no way of knowing that without visiting the website or speaking with someone inside.
Window graphics can help clarify your business’s purpose by displaying key services and specialties you can customize and update as your focus changes. They can also encourage more walk-in traffic when your business’s purpose is clear.
Of course, window graphic(s) shouldn’t take up the entirety of the window. If you offer several products/services, try to condense them into a couple of general themes you can display so it’s still clear what you offer, without overwhelming the area.
Add a QR Code to Window Graphics
QR codes are valuable, recognizable elements that you can add to your business’s materials when you have more you want to communicate but lack the room. A QR code can direct customers to a menu, booking page, promotion details, product displays, contact details, etc.
READ MORE: Integrating QR Codes into Posters and Signage
If you are adding a QR code to your storefront’s window graphics, make it large enough to scan without overpowering the overall design or the message you’re trying to communicate. For example, a seasonal promo should be the star of the window graphic, with a QR code as its supporting actor. Also make sure your QR code works, doesn’t link to an error page, and goes to a mobile-friendly web page.
QR codes can also support walk-in traffic by giving potential customers more context about an offer, product, or service. When the information linked in the QR code supports the storefront messaging, it can help move someone from noticing your business to taking the next step and engaging with it.
Keep Window Graphics Minimal to Promote a Professional Appearance
When it comes to storefront window graphics, less is often more. Too many graphics and decals can make it hard for passersby to know what to notice first and can make your storefront feel less put together and professional.
Sticking to one main window graphic can also keep the design focused and easier to understand, while still allowing enough visibility inside your store. A 2022 study found that storefront displays with greater transparency were associated with higher perceived store attractiveness and longer observation times. Additionally, letting people see more of a store’s interior can contribute to a more appealing storefront experience.
Before adding a window graphic, decide how much of your window you want covered and design the graphic from there rather than the other way around. A focused design can make your custom window decals and business window signs easier to read while helping your storefront maintain a polished look.
Choose Print Three as Your Professional Printing Partner
The quality of your window graphics can shape how your message is perceived, so the printing and production process is an important part of the final result. Working with an experienced printing partner can help make sure your graphics are professionally produced and suited to your storefront’s needs.
Print Three offers window graphics and other signage solutions that can help your business get noticed. Reach out to a Print Three location near you to get started.