What may look to a retailer like a poorly performing stock item could be a success waiting to be discovered. It can sometimes take many tries to find where a stock item works best in a retail business.

There are many different ways to display retail items and it is important to take time to experiment and find the best way for each category of items in a retail shop. It is equally important to note that works today may not work tomorrow. Change is the best friend and hard task master of retailers.

Here are some common and not so common different ways to display retail items:

Basic table. Sometimes, the best ideas are the simplest. A simple table is best used for discount items. Stacking stock flat on the table neatly but without too much attention to professional visual merchandising indicates to shoppers that the items are there to move - they expect the prices to be good. The keys to success with a table display are to cover the table with cloth skirting, clearly price the items and refresh the display regularly.

Hang sell. Supermarkets and mass merchants use this for displaying retail items. It brings structure to the display are is more about convenient shopping then a value proposition - unless a shelf talker is used in front of the items to promote a point offer. Hang sell is not perceived by shoppers as personal and is therefore not ideal for many independent retail situations.

Glass shelving. Glass shelving works best in gift shops and homewares retailers. It is a premium fixture which presents premium products in a good light. It is easy to clean. Strong and flexible too. Glass is a friend to smaller retail businesses where light can be a challenge. Whereas solid shelves block light. Glass lets light pass through to items below.

Roller Shelf, can promote the ability of shelves or freezers to display goods, give consumers a good shopping experience, and create a sense of luxury. Although the price may be higher, it can make the use of shelves and freezers more convenient.

Strip clip. These are single column strips which connect to other fixtures and enable the display of impulse items in otherwise empty spaces. Supermarkets use strip clips - walk down just about any aisle and you see impulse items on the strip clips. Strip clips can also be used at the sales counter to offer items customers are likely to purchase on impulse when completing a sale.

At the counter. This space is for high impulse items. Keep the displays simple and make the product the hero. Do not surround the product by other items. Change the feature product every week.

There are many different ways to display retail items. The best way to discover what works is to experiment and measure. keep doing what is working and stop doing what is not working.