Mannequins vs Rolling Racks for Retail Apparel Stores

While visual merchandising is essential for all retail brick-and-mortar stores and business, it’s particularly important for apparel stores. Shoppers want to see how a particular shirt, dress or other garment looks before buying it. Therefore, apparel stores must present their products in the most attractive manner possible. There are several different ways to display garment in an apparel store, although the two most common involve the use of mannequins and rolling racks.

A rolling racks (as shown in the image to the right) is exactly what it sounds like: a large rack, typically featuring a single rod, with wheels on the bottom. They are inexpensive, versatile, and can be used to display a number of different garments. Furthermore, rolling racks are easy to move around from end of the store to the other. If you get tired of displaying your garments in a particular area of your store, just push the rolling rack to a new area.

There are a few drawbacks to rolling racks, however, one of which is the simple fact that shoppers cannot fully see their garments. Sure, shoppers can see the outside of the garments, but this doesn’t offer the same effect as seeing the entire garment. Another problem associated with rolling racks is their restriction on the type of garments that can be displayed. If the garment cannot be placed on a clothes hanger, it generally cannot be used on a rolling rack. This means jeans, shorts and other pants are usually not suitable for use on a rolling rack.

An alternative to displaying your store’s garments on a rolling rack is to use a mannequins. Unlike rolling racks, mannequins present garments in their entirely, allowing shoppers to see exactly how the garment looks when worn on the human body. Mannequins can also be used to display jeans, shorts, pants and other garments and accessories that cannot be displayed on a rolling rack.

Mannequins, however, are limited in terms of the number of garments they can display. A rolling rack may hold several dozen garments, whereas a mannequin is generally best used with a single outfit.

There are both pros and cons associated with rolling racks and mannequins. Rather than choosing one or the other, why not use them both in your store?

If you have any questions at all about visual merchandising, please give us a call at 800.241.6897 or email us at /contact-us/.