Merchandising: To Theme or Not to Theme?

When thinking about devising themes for your catalog spreads, consider all the things that come readily to mind: color, price points, style, customers’ needs, practicality, seasonality and sheer creativity. But then what?

Themes Don’t Just Happen

Catalogers who successfully use themes don’t just stumble on them. Rather, they create them intentionally. Here’s how you can do it:
Look at your bestsellers and observe any commonalties among these winners. Tip: Cut out the copy blocks and photos of your top 50 performers, and arrange and rearrange them to find common threads. Once you’ve identified commonalties, determine if they can be expanded into larger themes or groupings. After all, these products are customer favorites. Think of them as picture windows into your customers’ minds. How, then, can you expand and extrapolate your customers’ particular needs by offering similar products? What stories are these products telling? What stories can you create?