Every range has its heroes, so don't let them disappear into the crowd.

New launches, proven bestsellers and seasonal favourites deserve prime positioning, whether that's on a feature display, an end cap or within a high-footfall area.

Retail merchandising follows a long-standing principle known as "eye level is buy level.". Products positioned within a shopper's natural line of sight are significantly more likely to be noticed and purchased than those placed higher or lower on shelving.

Ask yourself:

• Which products consistently perform well?
• Can customers spot them within seconds of entering the store?
• Are they positioned where shoppers naturally browse?

Sometimes, simply moving your hero products can have a bigger impact than introducing entirely new ones.

Many stores naturally organise products by category. Mugs sit with mugs. Stationery sits with stationery. Wall art sits elsewhere.

But licensed merchandise often performs better when it's grouped by franchise rather than product type.

Fans don't want a notebook or a mug that happens to be Harry Potter or K Pop Demon Hunters. They want merchandise from the brands they love.

This merchandising technique is known as cross merchandising, where complementary products from different categories are displayed together to improve the shopping experience and encourage additional purchases. Rather than asking customers to hunt around the store, everything they want is presented in one destination.

A feature centred around one license could include:

• Drinkware
• Stationery
• Accessories
• Wall art
• Gifting

Instead of selling individual products, you're creating an experience for fans.

Displays do much more than hold stock. They create focal points, highlight new releases and encourage customers to stop and browse.

Whether it's a countertop display encouraging impulse purchases, a dumpbin showcasing promotional lines or an FSDU introducing a major new license, displays help products stand out in busy retail environments.

Research into visual merchandising consistently shows that products presented through secondary displays and promotional fixtures receive greater shopper attention than products located solely on standard shelving.

Effective display solutions can help retailers:

• Increase product visibility
• Launch new licenses with impact
• Highlight seasonal campaigns
• Encourage browsing
• Maximise limited retail space

When used strategically, displays become an extension of your merchandising strategy rather than simply another fixture.

Some of the strongest-performing products are also some of the smallest.

Keychains, pens, badges, bookmarks and other lower-priced items often perform best when placed where customers naturally pause during their shopping journey.

Checkout areas, aisle ends and queue lines are well established impulse purchase zones because shoppers have already committed to buying and are more receptive to adding smaller items to their basket.

Consider positioning impulse purchases:

• Close to tills
• At aisle ends
• Along customer walkways
• Within complementary product displays
• Alongside bestselling ranges

These simple merchandising decisions can help increase average transaction value while making shopping feel more intuitive.

Even the strongest displays lose impact if they never change.

Regularly refreshing merchandising around key retail moments gives returning customers something new to discover while keeping ranges relevant and engaging.

Whether it's a blockbuster film release, a new streaming series, Back to School or Christmas gifting, timely merchandising helps products feel current and creates natural reasons for customers to browse again.

Refreshing a display doesn't always require new fixtures. Sometimes introducing a new hero license, rotating bestselling products or creating a themed destination is enough to completely transform how customers interact with a category.

Good merchandising isn't about filling every available shelf.

It's about helping customers discover products naturally, making shopping easier and creating more opportunities to purchase across multiple categories.

When hero licenses receive the visibility they deserve, complementary products are grouped together and displays are used strategically, retailers can maximise the potential of every square metre without increasing their footprint.

At Pyramid International, we support retailers with more than licensed merchandise. Alongside one of the industry's widest licensing portfolios, we offer display solutions and category expertise designed to help retailers create engaging in-store destinations that encourage discovery and drive sales.