Setting up visual enticements in a retail store is aimed at keeping the shopper interested enough to stay on the premises until they break down and make a purchase. Sales success happens in direct proportion to effective advertising and displaying of goods such as clothes, sporting goods, and electronics. Shopping in a retail setting is mostly a form of entertainment, more to fill leisure time than a necessary trip for essentials. There is some satisfaction in finding something nice as a gift to reward oneself after days of work or to give someone else on a special occasion.

The investment in time seems to call for closure in the mind of the shopper; if he or she has looked around for an extended time, chances are that they've had an eye on an item or two and they're deciding which one to buy. It is difficult for a salesman on the floor to approach at the wrong time for fear of scaring them out the door, so the bulk of the selling has to be done by the inventory and the way in which the store is laid out. Large stores have displays so abundant that the shopper sees nothing but product, oblivious of the time in a place where clocks are not kept on the walls and it is difficult to find the way out back to the mall or sidewalk.

Stage magic works with smoke and mirrors, and the store owner has one of these to work with. These are mirrors; they adorn eyeglass shops, hat boutiques, and most of all fashion stores. The mirrors serve a purpose besides allowing the customer to look at a garment when they try it on. Mirrors make a space look bigger, and thus more comfortable and important. People can feel closed-in and trapped in smaller spaces so they will likely move on faster. If a spark of ego flashes with the new attractive garment or set of frames, then the mirror can produce a sale.

Inventory is displayed to shoppers on clothes racks, in glass showcases, jewelry display cases, and on female mannequins. Retail window displays are constantly updated with the fashions of the season or new merchandise. These are designed using grid panels, clothing racks, shelving, glass displays, mannequins, slatwalls, clothes hangers, and mirrors - all the inner physical and visual necessities to make the sales process work. A store that is strategically set up will offer its goods visually to make a logical trail through the aisles that will display enough items to catch the interest of the visitor.

The shopper will likely be making a purchase that day so the retailer needs every edge possible to turn a passing interest in an outfit worn by a mannequin into a solid sale. The floor sales staff can suggest things and stand politely by while the customer hems and haws, trying to make a decision, but ultimately your store will do more to bring the sale in after a retail store fixtures company has supplied all the displays and racking systems that will aid the shopping process.