A message from Geni Hulsey, president of the Church Bookstore Network:

As a shorty, I have had a number of top-shelf "episodes" while out shopping. Just last week, when I was at the grocery store getting some laundry items, one of the boxes I was reaching for fell on my head.

Some of those things that come in boxes or jugs are pretty heavy-especially if they are six to eight inches above your head. The result can be bruises, displays falling apart and other embarrassing moments.

My latest such incident made me think about our stores. Can a customer comfortably reach the items she is interested in? Can he look at an item without the entire display falling apart? Is the price visible at a glance or at least easily found on the item?

This is all to do with how we merchandise our stores. How readily available is the product that we are trying to sell?

On Sunday when the store is packed and all of your employees are busy, is someone going to leave without the picture they really wanted to buy because he could not see the price or reach it to take it off the wall?

Pretty and clever is great for displaying items, but there must be a touch of practicality. As you decide how to display items, be a shopper for a few minutes. Reach for the item at the bottom of the display and see what happens.

Window displays will be an exception, of course. Those items that are in the windows or are meant to be a representation of what you have can be displayed in clever ways that might not be as "shoppable" because customers will not be purchasing those items. Or at least, an employee would be the one to remove the items in the window.

But for all other parts of the store, it's important to remember to make it easy for customers to make a purchasing decision. For example, when we display artwork, we tend to put the price tags on the back of the picture because we do not want to take away from the beauty of the art itself. That makes sense, but it can also frustrate a shopper who wants to know the price.

In this case, you might use a price-tag size piece of card stock, note the price with calligraphy and slip it between the frame and the glass, or post the price on the wall beside the art piece.

If you have very fragile gift items, be sure they are out of reach of small hands. Also be careful that they are not displayed in such a way that even careful customers might break them just by examining them. The prices for these items also should be visible without touching the item. Folded pieces of card stock-table-tent style-with artistic writing would work well for this.

Many times we cross-merchandise books with gifts, which makes the books less accessible than when they are on a shelf. Once again, be sure that your display lends itself to the ease of the shopper.

There will always be high shelves and unreachable spots because we have to use every bit of space available. But those spaces can be good spots for duplicate items or lighter-weight items that will not hurt someone should the items fall.

Be sure, too, that your signage is in a large enough font that it can be read from a distance by those who might have vision problems.

It is all about the "shoppability" of your store. Make it easy for those who come in to touch, see and purchase the products that you have. It just might increase sales during those very busy times when your staff just cannot break away to help.

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