industry talk
merchandising
balloons
Supermarkets
display balloons for both planned purchases and impulse buys.
Few retailers would dispute that balloons have multiple
attributes. They are the perfect add-on sale for flowers and
plush because of their universal appeal. They can stand alone or
in groups as impulse buys, and they dress up displays for all
occasions while capturing customers’ attention. To find out how
retailers make the most of these customer favorites,
Contributing Editor Monica Humbard asked four floral managers
this question: How do you
merchandise balloons?
 We incorporate birthday
balloons into our bakery department. To show customers we carry
different party themes, we display, on every other check stand,
Quickflate balloons, which come with a string and weight
attached for a quick grab and go. We have a balloon corral above
the greeting cards and a balloon rack and balloon pole for more
impulse sales. We decorate our ad items of the week with
occasion balloons to remind our customers of upcoming holidays
and special days. We display balloons in our meat and produce
departments to remind customers to pick up snacks for unexpected
guests or parties. We have a theme each week to show we carry
everything from Disney characters to Hannah Montana. During our
busiest times—Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day and graduations,
Produce Manager Jon Piotrowski helps make sure we start our
ordering for balloons a month ahead, and we carry double the
amount of helium throughout those months.
Evelyn Ivory, floral
designer
Stater Bros.; Perris, Calif.
 In addition to a spinner
rack for Mylars, we display balloons at the checkout lanes in
multiples in a pyramid style. Each grouping has a color scheme.
We also have helium and stick balloons in our bakery department,
the inner aisles of the store, the card aisle and the frozen
section with birthday cakes. I keep bouquets of Mylar and latex
balloons with HI-FLOAT® made up for quick pick-ups. We add
balloons to slow-moving giftware or plush and adjust the
pricing. Balloons are an inexpensive way to add movement to a
display, too. They also can fill negative space and add more
interest, but they should not overpower the display. I use
balloons to fill in a display that is selling down, and if I
don’t have time for a reset to keep a display fresh, balloons
are a quick fix to change the look.
Dianne Kozel, floral
manager
Logli Supermarkets (Schnuck Markets); Rockford, Ill.
 The
floral department doesn’t have room to display balloons, so we
direct shoppers to the customer service desk for them. An
associate there loves to work with balloons and has the latex in
glass cookie jars in a rainbowlike display. The Mylar balloons
are in alphabetical order per occasion in a folder box under the
counter. The sales associate finds out the occasion and then
shows the customer one or two that best fit. This has been
successful and leaves me time to work on other things. When the
seasons change, I meet with the customer service associate to
plan a display. An Easter bunny [a 71⁄2-foot-tall design made
from latex balloons] we did last year attracted so much
attention that we sold out of lilies and had to get more. I have
attended several balloon training seminars and enjoy creating
fun balloon designs, including balloon arches for birthday
parties.
Juan M. Tracy ll, floral
corporate manager
Broulims; Rexburg, Idaho
 I
use balloons every chance I get, especially with theme displays.
They are like frosting on a cake—the finishing touch. We are
fortunate to have designers/manufacturers who supply us with a
large variety from which to choose to complete our displays. We
have our balloon displays in the front of the store, close to
the floral coolers, with some blown up. They help make a double
sale with flowers that say “I Care” or “I Love You.” We just did
an event in our store for our founders and used the sale Mylars
grouped with latex balloons to match all of our signs. We also
used latex balloons for a fun giveaway. We put numbers on them
and spread them throughout the store. We called out numbers
during the event, and customers standing at the numbered
balloons won prizes. Balloons make people happy no matter what
age they are.
Sandi Probst, floral
manager/events coordinator
Lin’s Marketplace; St. George, Utah
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