The store environment sells before the product does. Research shows the shopping environment directly influences purchase behavior, and brands that understand this build their stores accordingly. A McKinsey study found that 76% of shoppers say the shopping experience matters more to them than the specific product they came in for. Window displays alone show a strong, statistically significant link to whether a customer enters and buys. The store environment is not decoration, it is strategy. That is why retail store signage, retail design and visual merchandising decisions carry real weight for brands competing for attention in high-traffic locations. We had the chance to see that firsthand when we produced multiple signage projects for Swatch’s Times Square retail store in New York City.
Retail store displays make Swatch’s Times Square store stand out.
Meet Swatch and Their Immersive NYC Store
Swatch is a Swiss watchmaker known for colorful, collectible timepieces and frequent collaborations with artists, museums and cultural icons. Their retail NYC store at 1535 Broadway puts them at the center of one of the most visited locations in the world. For this project, we produced a range of retail signage solutions across the store, including SEG fabric lightboxes, floor graphics, window signage, adhesive vinyl wraps and specialty displays. The goal was to make every surface of the store reflect the Swatch brand.
Swatch x Guggenheim: Turning Art Into a Display
The Swatch x Guggenheim collaboration called for something beyond a standard retail display. We printed the corresponding artwork from the collection onto styrene boards, then heat-bent each board into a spiral shape and mounted them on route-cut bases. Each spiral stands roughly five feet tall. Inside each one sits a cylindrical pedestal with an acrylic top that holds the watch. The result is a display that mirrors the spirit of the collaboration. A separate window display spotlights the collection using a SEG fabric display and a standalone pedestal, giving the collab dedicated visibility from the street.
Custom spiral pedestal displays complement the unique Swatch x Guggenheim collab.
A Valentine’s Day Display Customers Fell in Love With
For Valentine’s Day, we produced a 64-inch circular floor graphic using Traffic Graphic media. The design uses blue, pink, red and white in a two-sided layout. One side shows hearts in a checkered pattern. The other overlays the words “love” and “blah.” The twist is that red and blue 3D glasses reveal one word or the other, making the display interactive. A large neon sign mounted above it completes the setup. This kind of floor graphic does more than decorate. It pulls people in and gives them something to engage with.
SEG Fabric, Adhesive Vinyl Wraps and More Throughout the Store
The store uses retail signage in several other ways. The top windows above the entrance are wrapped in a cold-weather translucent vinyl film, creating colorful window signage visible from street level. Inside, wall-mounted watch displays are wrapped with adhesive vinyl film in neon colors. Some displays use color-shifting lenticular displays that change as you move past them. For the Omega x Swatch collaboration, we produced custom side-mounted SEG fabric lightboxes. These SEG backlit fabric displays use interchangeable signage panels that can be updated without replacing the entire frame, which makes them a practical choice for a store that runs frequent collaborations. The retail store design pulls together all of these elements into a cohesive experience. A large direct view LED video wall runs promotional content deeper in the store, rounding out the overall retail store signage environment.
Retail displays capture the Swatch universe and celebrate living life to the fullest through the spirit of sport, the creativity of art and the power of innovation.
What Visual Merchandising Actually Does to Shoppers
The research on visual merchandising is consistent. Store atmosphere affects mood, and mood affects buying behavior. Customers who have a positive emotional response to a retail environment are more likely to make impulse purchases. Strategic store signage and retail design give shoppers cues about where to go, what to look at and how to feel about a brand. It is not about making things look nice. It is about guiding behavior.
This multi-media project brought together floor graphics, window signage, SEG fabric graphics, adhesive vinyl, lenticular displays and fabricated art displays in one location. Each piece served a purpose. Together, they show what thoughtful retail signage looks like in practice. If you are planning a retail display project and want to talk through what is possible, contact 40 VISUALS today to make your vision a reality.
