Retail
The ROI of getting shoppers into the holiday spirit with in-store visuals
A data-focused approach to in-store holiday visuals and displays lets retailers make informed decisions about aspects of the shopping experience they’ve traditionally relied on instincts alone to implement.
November 21, 2025 by Gerry Price — President & CEO, North America, The Look Company
Imagine this: You walk into a Walmart, Target or other retail store during peak holiday shopping season and discover that, this year, they've decided not to put up any holiday visuals. No red, no green, no gift-wrapped box displays, or festive bows–not even a hint of snow, snowflakes or snowmen. It's any other day, even though it's December.
Needless to say, this would feel like an alter-universe to even the most passive shopper.
For the retailer, it would be a very quick way to get clarity around an age-old retail paradox: "We know we need holiday visuals and displays. But we don't know the value of them."
But retailers don't need to go to this extreme to understand that a thoughtfully-crafted holiday atmosphere benefits them. After all, appealing window displays alone are estimated to boost in-store foot traffic by 23%, while in-store displays are estimated to inspire from 80% to 478% more spending.
It's more important for retailers to answer questions such as, Which holiday displays, graphics and experiences are positively influencing shoppers? Which elements are contributing to increased spending and which could be optimized for even more impact? Should we reuse last year's displays or introduce new ones?
Knowing what gets more shoppers through their doors, increases cart sizes and turns in-store environments into differentiators is especially important for brick-and-mortar retailers considering that holiday shopping will increase only moderately this year and online shopping will account for a significant portion of that spending.
Here's how to make effective visual decisions by using and creating quantitative data at the intersection of shoppers' in-store behaviors, sales and in-store product and display placements:
1. Use data you have to determine locations, themes performed best and create more
Retailers might assume they don't have a lot of data about their visual displays, especially when it comes to non-digital installations, but they have more data than they think. For instance, they can use sales data to map out the most highly trafficked areas and highest converting product placement zones. From there, they can determine which displays and visuals were used in both last season.
Similarly, they can look at low traffic areas and product placement zones, and map out which visuals were used there.
While this is not an exact science, doing this can offer correlational insights into which display types, themes, graphics, copy and store locations contributed to driving shoppers to the highest performing products and ultimately, their purchase.
2. Intro digital elements that extend experiences while offering new engagement insights
Nearly every shopper now has a smartphone, which enables them to interact with displays on a deeper level. Retailers have tapped into this new reality by introducing elements like scannable QR codes on printed visuals to extend the in-store experience virtually and electronic visual displays that change based on a given shopper's preferences to create a more personalized experience.
These digital installations don't just keep digitally native shoppers engaged though — they can also collect behavioral data that tells retailers what's working and what's not — long before next season.
Location-based sales tools, such as in-store digital coupons, also offer a better understanding of who's shopping in real time, which offers brought them in, and which products they're buying in addition to the original advertised items.
3. Holiday season is long, social media trends are quick — make sure some displays can change on the fly
Retailers that integrate digital elements into their print displays or offer completely digital experiences will potentially begin gaining data immediately. Depending on what they learn about users' interactions with their displays and the resulting sales (or lack thereof), it's unlikely they'll want to wait until next season to act on it. The good news is that they don't have to.
By introducing SEG fabric and adaptable frames, which have unlimited design flexibility, retailers are empowered to update visuals to reflect what they're learning–or simply refresh displays so that regular shoppers don't have the same experience all season long. This is especially important considering that the holiday shopping season now lasts longer than ever–with some stores rolling out their holiday displays well before Halloween.
Similarly, social media trends tend to pop up out of nowhere without warning. For retailers, this can mean quickly curating product assortments that bring together items associated with the trend.
But building spur-of-the-moment collections is only step one. Making sure shoppers know about them the moment they walk through the doors is step two. Retailers who include a range of customizable physical design options in their visual plans will be able to do both.
4. Let some feel-good moments go un-measured (at least partially)because 'tis the season
Stores have historically leaned into traditions like meeting with Santa to draw shoppers in and build goodwill. Santa comes with good vibes but doesn't always come with a traffic counter or QR code.
If a festive feeling alone isn't enough, retailers can assess Santa's — and other activations' — popularity and ability to drive sales in a few different ways. For instance, some stores now require shoppers to make online reservations or buy tickets for a Santa visit in advance. This gives them an exact visitor count.
For retailers who sell photos with Santa, the sales number is another clear cut way of understanding direct revenue generation from the photos themselves, which they can later compare to the costs of hiring Santa.
One thing retailers don't always have insight into is which visitors go from Santa into the aisles and make purchases. This scenario is likely the most lucrative of all, but also the hardest to track.
To increase the likelihood that Santa visitors will convert into store shoppers, retailers can use visuals to create magic around their in-person moments. For instance, using self-standing graphics or pop-up displays to create entertaining environments, such as a winter wonderland backdrop, can enhance the experience in a way that heightens the holiday spirit and inspires visitors to shop.
A data-focused approach to in-store holiday visuals and displays lets retailers make informed decisions about aspects of the shopping experience they've traditionally relied on instincts alone to implement.
About Gerry Price
Gerry Price is President and CEO of The Look Company, creators of large-scale visual branding for big box and chain retailers, as well as sports and event environments.. He has 35 years of C-level leadership experience and now coaches other leaders to defy the status quo and exceed the possible. Gerry has worked around the world, including in North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
