Visual merchandising training for retailers: inside «Beyond the window display» with AMAPE in Barbate

On Sunday 9 November 2025, Women’s Entrepreneurship Day, I ran the workshop «Beyond the window display: commercial strategies for an inclusive store» at the Casa de la Juventud in Barbate (Cádiz, Spain). It was organised by AMAPE, the Association of Self-Employed, Professional and Business Women of Barbate, funded by the Diputación de Cádiz (Social Services, Families and Equality) and supported by Barbate Town Council.

Five hours, from 9:30 to 14:30, with shop owners who have kept their businesses going in the town for years. The motto summed it all up: «Roots of equality, windows of change». Here is a summary of what we covered, in case it helps your store or the training of your team.

How the training was structured

• Module I (30 min) · Next Level Retail. The store as a visible statement of values, not just a place to sell.
• Module II (60 min) · The customer has changed. From selling an aspiration to offering representation: customers want to see themselves reflected in the brand, and they punish inconsistency.
• Module III (60 min) · Hands-on window display and moodboard workshop.
• Module IV (90 min) · Store design and accessibility. Physical and sensory accessibility, fitting rooms, tills and signage.
• Module V (30 min) · Wrap-up and actions. Technology, omnichannel and concrete commitments for each store.

The window display with a gender perspective

The starting idea: a window display tells people who the store is for before anyone walks in. If it always shows the same body, the same age and the same «women only» or «men only» cliché, it leaves out a large part of the street. Some of the ideas we worked on:

• Dressing several mannequins in the same garment in different sizes, to normalise diversity without speeches.
• Using a seated mannequin to present bags, scarves or accessories: it changes how the window reads and opens the door to people who move differently.
• Presenting accessories as universal, not as «women’s accessories».
• In store, service that does not presuppose the identity or tastes of whoever walks in.

The practical exercise: the moodboard

The moodboard is the bridge between an abstract idea and a physical window: a board of images, textures, colours and words that sets the tone, palette and story before anything is built. Each participant prepared their own following four guidelines:

1. Choose a central narrative: community, authenticity or individual celebration, without relying on a single body type.
2. Include images of real people of different ages, backgrounds and sizes.
3. Add phrases about acceptance and material samples.
4. Avoid the binary men/women split.

It is the same method I use to design brand windows: first the concept on the board, then the build. For a small store, it is the cheapest way to make mistakes on paper rather than in the window.

Inside the store: accessibility that also sells

• Aisles at least 90 cm wide and fixtures that do not create mazes.
• Spacious fitting rooms that fit a wheelchair or a companion, where everyone is welcome.
• At least one till at an accessible height and an uncluttered counter.
• Warm, indirect and steady lighting; no harsh spotlights or flicker.
• Quiet music and, if possible, a «quiet hours» slot with dimmed lights and no music.
• Clear signage: pictograms, large sans-serif type and good contrast.

What any store can apply tomorrow

• Review the window with one question: who does not see themselves reflected here?
• Make a moodboard before the next window change.
• Walk the store in a wheelchair, with a pushchair or in low light, and note every obstacle.
• Connect physical and digital: a QR code in the window leading to the sizes or colours that do not fit in the store.

Thank you to AMAPE, the Diputación de Cádiz and Barbate Town Council, and above all to the shop owners who gave up their Sunday to rethink their stores.

Would you like training like this for your team or association?

I adapt the content to the type of store, the size of the team and the time available, as a hands-on workshop. See the In-Company Workshop or book a 20-minute diagnosis and we can talk it through.