Let’s say that you’re browsing the floor of a retailer that displays men’s and women’s clothes in one big area, rather than in separate departments. You’re looking for pants, and the colors and styles are quite similar for men and for women. Plus, some types of women’s pants use sizes like 29, 30, etc. that also exist in men’s pants. Together, these factors mean that your only reliable option is to scrutinize the tags from a few products on each rack, and repeat this process as you move across the sales floor.

For retailers who merchandise all or part of their stores this way, there’s an easy way to fix the problem. Just add a simple but highly visible placard on top of each rack to indicate whether the clothes on that rack are men’s or women’s, along with the type of garments and the sizes. For instance, you might have “Men’s Pants – Sizes 28-34” or “Women’s Sweaters – Sizes XS-M”. Make the signs double-sided, or even better, use a three-sided prism design that’s visible from every angle.

By providing these inexpensive navigational aids, you’ll help customers locate the type of items they’re looking for in a matter of seconds. This frees up more time and energy for those shoppers to actually browse through the available items, and paves a smooth path for them to buy the products they’ve found.