How to Give Your Bookstore's Holiday Displays a Story

A table of holiday stuff and a display that tells a story can hold the exact same products. The difference is whether a customer walks up and understands what ties it all together.

Quick intro: I'm Theresa. I bought gift for my own shops in Tucson and Phoenix for five years. When I walk up to a display, I'm looking for a red thread running through everything. Here's how I build one.

Story first or product first? Both.

It's a chicken-and-egg situation. Going into certain seasons, some stories always stand out as the obvious choices, or you're catering to the kind of buying that's popular that time of year. At the same time, you're picking product based on your data, on trends and on what will help you stand apart.

So it's a merging of the two. When I plan displays, I ask:

• What products are we excited about bringing in? Do they bring their own story with them?
• Which narratives do we need to keep consistent, because customers expect them from us?
• Where can we put a new spin on a story we've done before?

Start with a color story

The easiest place to start is a color story: everything in the same color palette. Or pick two colors and play off of them, like a cool ombre. It's a purely visual story, but it instantly looks intentional.

Go deeper with a hero item

When you want more than a visual story, build the display around a hero item and let everything else support it.

A story needs more than one or two products

Having multiple products is really important. One or two products don't create a narrative. They just create a spotlight and you miss out on opportunities to upsell.

Include a range of price points on the table, too. Unless the table is marketed around a price, like stocking stuffers under a certain amount, having a range often gives the display more dynamic.

Don't overdo the number of stories

There is such a thing as too many narratives, and the size of your shop can decide how many is too many. You want the store spaced and designed so people want to flow through it, with hot spots that catch their eye and move them along. Narratives and color stories are a great way to do that. In a small store, though, too many can feel overwhelming and crowded. Walk the floor yourself to feel it out.

Skip the literal theme sign

Say you did an ocean theme. You don't necessarily need a big sign that says "OCEAN BOOKS". If you've got a Trader Joe's sign artist at your disposal and a way to display it that doesn't interrupt your sight lines and category signage – a cute thematic sign for the top of the table can be cute.

In most contexts, keep your signs small and specific to the products they sit with:

• Pricing and promotions
• Staff recommendations
• The maker's story or where a product comes from
• What's special about the product

Where a theme sign earns its spot is further back in the store, for something you know people are looking for when they walk in. Stocking stuffers or white elephant gift ideas are good holiday examples.

Decide where the book fits

In a bookstore, the book can anchor the story or be one piece of it.

Let the book anchor it when there's something exciting about it: a new release, a new illustrated edition, an author coming in for a signing, or an event you're building around it. Put it front and center, create some height, and and showcase it.

Make it one of several when the theme is broader. With the ocean theme, for example, that might be a few books on oceanography, water and fish life, alongside sidelines that fit the story.

Every display can have a card

In my shops, we always worked cards directly into our displays based on the season, the theme and the color. Sometimes they were duplicates from our big card wall, and sometimes they were special one-offs that people loved to pick up and show their friends. It's the easiest add-on you have and goes with everything!