How to Choose Bucket Displays for Every Kind of Store

If you want extra convenience for both you and your customers, consider using bucket display racks for your merchandise displays. Bucket display racks include the fixtures for holding your merchandise (the buckets) and the fixtures to help you display them (the racks), which helps make creating the displays almost effortless.

However, there are numerous kinds of bucket racks and each kind is going to work best with a certain kind of merchandise and in a certain area of your store or business.

Below are three steps to help you get started. Ultimately, each step is connected to the final one: Deciding which bucket display rack will work best with your store’s display space and the merchandise you want to display.

Step One: Take a Look at Your Store’s Display Space

Do you want to situate a display near your store’s checkout counter? Do you want to create a display along one of your store’s walls, or somewhere on the store’s floor?

You can find bucket display racks in a variety of styles and sizes (see below), and before you make a selection you need to evaluate how much display space you have.

Step Two: Consider Your Merchandise

As mentioned above, bucket display racks – and the buckets they come with – are available in numerous sizes and styles; however, no matter what size you choose, these display fixtures generally work best for displaying small kinds of merchandise like:

• Wrapped candy, whether it’s individual pieces of candy, gumballs, suckers or lollipops, candy bars, and even novelty candy.
• Convenience items like lighters, eyeglass repair kits, on-the-go sewing kits, and travel-sized hygiene products.
• Souvenir items like key chains, seashells, and stickers.
  
• Craft and hobby items like buttons, beads, sewing and knitting needles, spools of thread, glue stick refills for glue guns, and containers of glitter or sequins.
• Home repair items like screws, bolts, nuts, and nails.
• Children’s toys like bouncy balls, yo-yos, and small stuffed animals.

Note that because the buckets are available in different sizes, you should take stock of the merchandise you plan to display in the buckets before you select your bucket display.

Step Three: Understand the Different Kinds of Bucket Display Racks

Now that you know where you want to situate your bucket display and which merchandise you want to display in it, it’s time to get familiar with the different kinds of bucket display racks.

Depending on where you want to situate your display and how much space you have to work with, you might want to use:

Rotating buck racks, which are great for floor displays and point-of-purchase, or POP, displays.
Countertop bucket racks, which work well as display fixtures for your checkout countertop or any other counter or table top in your establishment.
Free-standing bucket racks, which are similar to rotating bucket racks in that you can situate them any place on your floor as long as you have space.
Wall-hanging bucket racks, which are excellent choices if you need to maximize display space or are in need of wall-friendly display fixtures.

Using Rotating Bucket Racks for Floor Displays

Convenience stores, bookstores, gift shops, toy stores – they all need display fixtures to attractively, conveniently, and effectively showcase their merchandise. Unless you plan to display all of your store’s items on the wall and on the countertops (and most stores don’t do this!), you need some display racks for your floor displays.

Rotating bucket racks are great options for creating floor displays because they help you make the most of the floor space your store offers, they increase your customers’ convenience, and there are numerous options you can choose from to help you create as attractive and convenient a display as possible.

Rotating Bucket Racks for Floor Displays Maximize Space

Bucket display racks that rotate are generally “thinner” than traditional, fixed position display racks, so they take up less space than other kinds of display fixtures like common convenience store racks.

Plus, because you can fit a great number of numerous kinds of small items in the buckets, you’re actually displaying more merchandise items than you would by situating larger, stand-alone items on shelf racks. You can find bucket display racks with as many as thirty buckets!

Rotating Bucket Racks for Floor Displays Add Convenience

Sometimes, it’s more convenient for your customers to browse merchandise positioned on display racks that rotate than it is for them to check out the merchandise on fixed position floor displays. This is because revolving racks allow customers to view all the merchandise from one spot – when they’re finished looking at the items on one side, they can easily spin the rack to see the merchandise on another side!

Before you start adding revolving bucket displays to your floor, keep these two important tips in mind for your customers’ convenience:

1. Make sure there’s plenty of space between the rotating bucket rack and other display racks. This is not only to make sure there’s plenty of space for your customers to move around the displays, but also to make sure the rotating display’s items don’t get caught on any other racks that might be close by.
2. Be conscious of the weight. Thanks to their numerous buckets, these racks make it easy to display a high number of many kinds of small items; however, you want to make sure you don’t get carried away. If you put too many items in each bucket, the display might become too heavy for your customers to easily spin.
   

Add Visual Appeal: Compare Plastic Bucket Racks and Wooden Display Racks

Traditional spinning bucket racks for floor displays are made of plastic buckets positioned on plastic or wire stands; however, this isn’t the only option you have!

Rotating wooden display racks work much the same way and add visual appeal to your displays. Wooden displays work well for nearly every kind of retail business, and just like plastic buckets, wooden baskets are ideal for showcasing edible items like wrapped pieces of candy, candy bars, and gumballs, as well as non-edible items like novelty toys for children, common convenience items like key chains and lighters, and emergency items like travel-sized hygiene products and eyeglass repair kits.

Create Countertop Displays with Bucket Racks

If you manage any kind of retail business, chances are you have a countertop (or two!). Countertops are where most stores’ checkout registers are located, but they’re also ideal places for merchandise displays.

If you haven’t yet created a countertop display for your store, or you’re looking for ways to spice up the countertop display you currently have, consider using bucket display racks.

Small Merchandise Is Best for Bucket Display Racks

Bucket displays are best for showcasing small merchandise, whether it’s edible merchandise like wrapped candies or non-edible merchandise like novelty toys or convenience items. This works well if you’re choosing racks with buckets for your countertop displays because most stores tend to display smaller items on their countertops and near their registers.

Browse Different Kinds of Bucket Rack Displays

Now that you have an idea about the kinds of merchandise you want to display in the rack’s buckets, it’s time to think about two other facts that will help you as you browse the different kinds of bucket display racks: The amount of merchandise you want to display, and whether you want a stationary or revolving rack.

Even for countertops, bucket racks are available in a variety of sizes and with as few as two buckets or as many as ten buckets. Choose a bucket rack based on how much merchandise you want to display. Racks with few buckets, for example, are ideal for small candy displays, while racks with several buckets are great for creating an elaborate display of a number of common convenience items like key chains, lighters, pens, eyeglass repair kits, and items to keep children busy during long trips like novelty toys, small coloring books, and crayons.

Like their floor counterparts, bucket racks for countertop displays are available in both fixed position and revolving models. Personal preference will most likely help you make your decision. Fixed position racks generally position the buckets side by side and on two or three levels, or “hang” the buckets from wire or metal rods. Revolving bucket racks are great for maximizing your countertop space. When you choose a revolving rack, you’re making use of each of the rack’s sides and making your customers’ shopping experience even more convenient because they can spin the rack to see all the items.

Of course, you must keep your countertop’s size in mind. Choose racks with few buckets if you don’t have much space to work with, or choose revolving racks to make the most of the space your countertop offers.

Not All Buckets Are Plastic: Consider Wooden Basket Racks

Although they’re not typically called “buckets,” wooden baskets and display racks function in much the same way as traditional plastic buckets and containers while adding some extra visual charm to your display.

Like other kinds of bucket displays, you can find both fixed position and revolving wooden display racks. These racks generally come with anywhere from three to eight wooden baskets and are idea for showcasing everything from edible items like candy bars and wrapped gumballs to non-edible items like small children’s toys and travel-sized convenience items and hygiene products.

Select the Best Display Racks for Gift Shops

Whether your gift shop is located in a hospital or a mall, you need the best display racks for showcasing your merchandise. But how do you choose the best display racks?

Below are three factors to consider to help you select the perfect racks for display gift items throughout your shop.

Consider the Merchandise Your Gift Shop Sells

You can’t choose display racks for your merchandise until you consider the merchandise you’re selling.

Glass or plastic containers or fish bowls positioned on display racks work well to hold small kinds of merchandise like candy and novelty toys for children, while larger fixed position convenience store racks are sturdier and can hold heavier gift items like board games, flower vases, and larger stuffed animals. Of course, you don’t have to save your shelf racks for large gift items; you can also mix your containers with stationary display racks to create attractive and convenient displays throughout your store.

Think About How Much Space Your Gift Shop Provides

The amount of space you have to work with will play a big role in choosing merchandise display racks.

Countertop displays are usually ideal for shops of all sizes, but you’ll need to consider the amount of countertop space you have to work with. Small countertops generally lend enough room for one or two large glass or plastic containers, or several small containers, while big countertops offer room for more containers. Regardless of how many containers you want to use and the sizes of those containers, countertop display racks will help you make the most of your space. These racks hold the containers side by side and generally position them on upper and lower levels.

Most every kind of store – whether it’s a gift shop or another kind of retail store – has floor displays. The key is to assess how much floor space your shop offers and, based on that amount of space, choose floor display racks that will both attractively display your merchandise and be convenient for your customers. Tall rotating display racks for floors make the most use of space because customers can rotate them without having to walk around and potentially bump into other displays or customers. Traditional convenience store racks work well for holding heavier gift items, and revolving clip racks are great for holding birthday, anniversary, and sympathy cards.

If your gift shop sells small items that can easily fit in bucket containers, you might want to consider wall display racks. These racks are designed to maximize space by hanging from your shop’s wall, and most wall racks are available with buckets (so you don’t have to choose your own).

Add Extras Based On Your Gift Shop’s Customers

Depending on the kinds of customers your gift shop usually receives, you can find display racks ideal for additional merchandise not usually considered “gifts.”

For example, if your shop tends to attract lots of families with children, you might want to consider adding gumball machines near the entries and exits as well as close to toy displays. You can also find pre-filled lollipop trees perfect for floor and countertop displays, as well as pre-filled bucket display racks that feature small novelty toys for children.

3 Display Fixtures for Creating Countertop Candy Displays

Countertop candy displays are lucrative merchandise options for a wide variety of businesses. Stores that already specialize in selling food items, such as candy stores, grocery stores, and convenience stores, can benefit from candy displays on their countertops, as can businesses that generally focus on selling other kinds of merchandise, like gift shops, bookstores, toy stores, and even hotels and motels.

Countertops are ideal places to create candy displays because these areas are generally the last places customers are before they checkout and leave. Countertop displays allow customers to see the available candies without having to hunt for them and, because nearly everyone loves candy, many customers are likely to make a purchase as they’re checking out.

Of course, in order to create an attractive, effective, and convenient countertop display of candy, you have to think about the best ways you can showcase the candy. Below are three common display fixtures ideal for candy displays on countertops.

Candy Containers

Some store owners opt to create their own candy displays (as opposed to using display racks; see below) and in order to do this they need to use candy containers. The most popular kinds of candy containers include:

• Plastic candy containers and plastic fish bowls

• Glass candy jars and glass fish bowls

• Wooden baskets

Note that these containers come in many different shapes and sizes. Make sure you choose the size and shape that will work best with your countertop’s space as well as the material (plastic, glass, or wood) that will work best with your store’s traffic volume. Also remember that if you’re display unwrapped candies you’ll need containers with accessories like lids and scoops.

Display Racks

Although there are two basic kinds of display racks (rotating and fixed position), when it comes to choosing display racks for your countertop’s candy display, it might feel as if the possibilities are endless!

• Revolving Display Racks: Revolving display racks include wooden racks with wooden baskets, pegboard racks with two or four sides, and spinning racks great for hanging small bags of candy. Some store owners also use turntable cereal dispensers, filling the tubes with candy instead of cereal.

• Fixed Position Display Racks: Fixed position display racks include bucket racks with buckets designed to sit or hang, and racks with shelves for placing candy containers (these racks mostly resemble traditional convenience store racks; they’re just smaller versions that fit on your countertop).

As is the case with the many different kinds of candy containers, fixed position and revolving display racks are available in an assortment of sizes and, if you’re displaying unwrapped candies you should also look for accessories like lids and scoops.

Pre-Filled Candy Displays

Pre-filled candy displays are ideal for store’s that are just getting started as well as busy store owners who don’t have a lot of time to dedicate to arranging their countertop displays.

Store owners can find pre-filled candy displays in most of the same forms of the empty containers and display racks. For example, it’s possible to order both pre-filled candy containers (plastic or glass) as well as display racks with buckets already filled with candy.

Keep in mind that pre-filled lollipop trees are also convenient options for countertop candy displays.

6 Types of Rotating Racks for Your Floor Displays

Rotating racks for floor displays are ideal for nearly every kind of retail business. These racks help store owners make the most of the floor space they have to work with, and they offer extra convenience to customers because they enable customers to view all sides of the racks without having to move!

Below are five of the most common kinds of rotating racks you can use for your floor displays. Consider the kinds of items you want to showcase and the amount of space you have to work with as you learn more about each one.

1. Bucket Display Racks

Bucket display racks are some of the most versatile racks available. The revolving versions of bucket racks can include as many as thirty buckets and can hold anything from edible items like wrapped candies to small novelty toys for children.

2. Jar Display Racks

Think of jar display racks as siblings to bucket display racks. Jar racks come with numerous “jars,” rather than “buckets,” and these jars most often have lids to help keep food items such as candy safe and small merchandise like hair accessories or toys safe from sticky fingers.

3. Wooden Display Racks

If jar displays are the siblings of bucket racks, wooden display racks are definitely their cousins. The main difference between bucket racks and wooden racks is the fact that the racks and buckets are wooden!

Many store owners use these delightful display fixtures to add charm to their merchandise displays, and they work well for everything from bags of chips and candy to children’s toys and trial-sized hygiene products.

4. Pegboard Display Racks

As the name suggests, pegboard display racks are designed showcase merchandise that hangs from pegs or “hooks”; however, other accessories such as pegboard trays, divider bins, and pegboard buckets work well with these racks and expand the possibilities of the kinds of merchandise you can showcase.

Pegboard racks generally have two sides (though sometimes you can find slightly larger versions with four sides) and spin from the base. Depending on the overall feel of your store, you can even add some flair to your display when you choose pegboard racks in fun neon colors.

5. Wire Display Racks

Like pegboards, many kinds of wire display racks come equipped with their own kinds of pegs from which you can hang different kinds of merchandise.

Wire racks offer different kinds of rotating options, as well. For example, some wire racks allow customers to rotate the entire display, while others are designed to rotate at each level (spinning one “row” of items while leaving the others untouched).

6. Clip Display Racks

Clip display racks are very similar to wire racks, with one major difference: Rather than using any variation of a “peg” from which to hang merchandise, clip racks use “clips” from which to hang merchandise. You can fasten such items as bags chips or other bagged treats to the clips, and customers can spin the rack to see all the goodies you have to offer.

It’s easy to find sturdy clip racks, but you should be conscious of the weight of your merchandise. It’s best to save small and lightweight items for these racks.

Choosing Racks for Floor and Countertop Displays

Whether it’s a convenience store, bookstore, or gift shop, nearly every kind of retail store uses display racks to showcase its merchandise.

As you’re determining the kind of display racks that will work best for your store, keep three things in mind:

1. The merchandise you plan to display.
2. The amount of display space you have to work with.
3. What will be the most convenient for your customers.
   

1. Consider Your Merchandise

The first thing you should consider as you’re thinking about the kinds of racks to use for your floor and countertop displays is the merchandise you plan to display.

Some items, such as small bags of chips, peanuts, or trail mix, are designed with holes at the top the bags to hang from pegs. Pegboard floor and countertop racks work well for these kinds of merchandise.

Other kinds of items, such as liters and cases of soda, are heavier and work best with traditional convenience store racks with sturdy shelves.

If you plan to display small items like wrapped candies, children’s toys like bouncy balls, or craft items like beads, containers of glitter, or spools of lace, display racks with buckets might work best. Like many display racks, bucket racks are available for both floor and countertop displays and designed to hold as few as four buckets or as many as thirty buckets.

2. Consider Your Display Space

Considering your display space will help you determine whether you need to use fixed position or revolving displays, and whether those displays would work best on the floor or on your countertop.

No matter what kind of rack you want to use, chances are you can find it in a model that will work best with the space you have to work with. Most racks for displays are designed with two versions in mind: One that will work well for countertop displays and one that will work well for floor displays.

For example, you can find both fixed position bucket racks and bucket racks that rotate. The same is true for traditional convenience store racks, wire display racks, and pegboard racks.

3. Consider Your Customers’ Convenience

In the end, no matter how attractive your display is and no matter how well it works with the flow and space of your store, if it’s inconvenient for customers, it’s a failure.

Follow these tips to make sure you showcase your items in a way that’s as convenient for customers as possible:

• If you’re using fixed position racks, make sure the side that doesn’t hold any merchandise is facing away from the customers. For countertop racks, this means the empty side should face your side of the counter. For floor racks, this means situating the empty side against or close to a wall or another stationary display.

• If you’re using rotating racks, make sure the racks are situated far enough away from other displays that customers can easily spin the racks without the merchandise getting caught on other items.

• Regardless of what kind of rack you use, make sure it’s never situated in a place that blocks a customer’s path.