Muse Seeming Museum-Like in Your Store

I’ll guess that “museological” is not a word you promptly recognize as a technique for displaying retail items. But a set of researchers at University of Leeds, Cardiff University, University of Southampton, and Aston University suggest you muse at least briefly about being museological. The word refers to presenting offerings in ways that artifacts and fine art are presented to visitors at traditional museums and art galleries.

• Instead of using hangers, rails, or traditional shelving, place samples on tables or pedestals or in glass cabinets. 
• Frame items with reflective and translucent materials, metal detailing, or hardwood. Select either the contemporary look of modern art or the antique look of the great masters. 
• Space out items so each can be viewed from a range of angles. Also maintain a distance between the displayed item and the shoppers to discourage or prevent touching. (However, plenty of other research indicates that once we arouse interest in buying, we'll close the sale by encouraging the shopper to feel the specific merchandise they're considering purchasing.) 
• Organize the items by theme and use signage to describe that theme. 
• Illuminate each item with accent lighting, but limit the intensity of the lighting. Sophisticated consumers associate low intensity spotlighting with how paintings are protected in art galleries. 

     In a set of studies, these museological display techniques increased purchase intentions among shoppers for luxury products. The researchers’ explanation for the museological effect is that such techniques convey on the displayed items impressions of craftsmanship, aesthetic value, conscientiousness, and dramatic appeal.
     The researchers found no evidence that surrounding the items with actual artwork or museum-quality artifacts was necessary for the museological advantage. However, researchers from California State University-Stanislaus studied the effects on visitors of themed artifacts, such as you might use in a store. Those effects fell into three categories:

• Physically drawing the consumer in. Objects which are visually interesting or cry out to be contemplated guide the consumer’s path of inquiry. 
• Conceptually drawing the consumer in. Entering the area, the visitor has preconceptions about what will be experienced. Then when the visitor encounters each of the objects, those preconceptions stimulate the visitor to create stories which add interest, making it more likely the visitor will stay for a while, tell others about the place, and choose to return in the future. 
• Substantiating. The right artifacts give substance to the moods the visitor is experiencing, meaning that impressions of the site are trusted more. In this process, the consumer is likely to incorporate what they’re feeling and what they believe others around them at the time are experiencing. 

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