Visual merchandising is the practice in the retail industry of optimizing the presentation of products and services to better highlight their features and benefits. The purpose of such visual merchandising is to attract, engage, and motivate the customer towards making a purchase.
Visual merchandising traditionally occurs in brick and mortar stores using a blend of lighting, color combinations, and articles of decor to stimulate an observer and generate interest.
History When giant 19th century dry goods establishments like Marshall Field & Co. shifted their business from wholesale to retail, the visual display of goods became necessary to attract consumers. Store windows were often used to attractively display the store's merchandise. Over time, the design aesthetic used in window displays moved indoors and became part of the overall interior store design, eventually reducing the use of display windows in many suburban malls.
In the 20th century, well-known artists such as Salvador Dalí and Andy Warhol"Andy Warhol, 'Window Display for the Bonwit Teller Department Store', New York, 1960 " Photograph by Mike Kelley, http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/kelley-andy-warhol-window-display-for-the-bonwit-teller-deprtment-store-new-york-1960-l02640"Andy Warhol" Gagosian Gallery, retrieved 5 December 2013, http://www.gagosian.com/artists/andy-warhol/ created window displays.
In the beginning of 21st century, visual merchandising was becoming a science. Currently, visual merchandising has become a major tool of business promotion which is widely used to attract customers and increase sales.
WindowsWear is a community and database of visual merchandising from around the world.
Contribution to retail brand strategy Visual merchandising contributes to a brand's personality and the characteristics associated with the brand. The design of the store should reflect this as part of their retail brand strategy. This includes the in-store environment and brand communications used, such as signage and images displayed in-store. These visual elements play a part in building a retail brand and therefore they help a brand differentiate itself from its competitors, create brand loyalty, and allows for a brand to place premium pricing on their products. Part of the brand strategy used in visual merchandising is research into the brand's target market to find out what their customers' values and self-images are. This information can allow the retailer to cater the design of a store and their advertising to match their consumers.
Methodology
Techniques Visual merchandising supports retail sales by creating an environment for the customer. It supports company growth and profit by educating the customer through strategic product placement that highlights and reinforces the brand image. Detail is retail.
For retailers to gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace, visual merchandising is an important factor and an effective way of adding value to their brand. Visual merchandising communicates with customers through elements that stimulate their senses, such as lighting, music, aromas, and television screens.Monash University. (2002). The Power of In-store Music and its Influence on International Retail Brands and Shopper Behaviour: A Multi-Case Study Approach. Retrieved from http://www.semus.lt/medziaga/1.pdf . The environment in which a consumer is in can influence the purchasing decisions they make. Research shows that stores that do not communicate well with their customers, such as the retail store having a poor layout, can cause customers to incur psychic costs, and may lead to customers being deterred from shopping again as overall shopping pleasure has been reduced. The physical environment is a primary objective in communicating with customers in retail. Research from Thaler shows that consumers are more willing to pay a higher price for a product if the product is purchased in a more favourable environment. This makes customers become more accepting of the higher price, rather than if it were to be sold in an old rundown store. Customers can form an important bias of the merchandise quality based on the retail store design environment, and even factors such as employee's interpersonal skills and how they are treated.
Visual merchandising builds upon or augments the retail design of a store. It is one of the final stages in setting out a store in a way customers find attractive and appealing.
Many elements can be used by visual merchandisers in creating displays including color, lighting, space, product information, sensory inputs (such as smell, touch, and sound), as well as technologies such as digital displays and interactive installations.
Store design consists of mainly two techniques: interior and exterior displays, also known as in-store design and window design. The goal of these two techniques is to attract the attention of consumers, entice them into the store, to keep them in the store as long as possible, and influence purchasing decisions. A recent study has found that these two techniques have the greatest effect on impulse buying; therefore, they are important aspects for the retailer. In-store design and window display techniques can be used to enhance the store environment, influencing consumer behaviour and purchasing decisions. In-store design is a technique, which can be used to enhance the atmosphere of the store and the overall store environment. Having a visually appealing store design can simulate the representation of the brand and attract customers. Efficient, customer-friendly environment makes shopping easier for consumers, which encourages buying and, most importantly, reassures repeat purchasing. The window design technique is a method of communicating with customers, which uses a combination of lighting, colours, props, text, and graphic design to display goods, attract the attention of the customer, and sustain a brand image. The overall goal of the window display for the retailer is to entice the customer to enter the store and motivate purchasing.
Interior displays In-store visual merchandising can be used to capture the attention of consumers while they are in the store, an essential component in the buying decision-making process. To capture the attention of the customer, the retailer must lookout the customer's needs during this process. Factors that contribute to the overall in-store design include the store layout, store design, point of purchases displays, item display, assortment display, and signage. When applied successfully to a store, these factors can meet the needs of the consumer and provide a positive in-store purchasing environment.
Store layout The layout of a store is a significant factor for the maintenance of a thriving business, which can help advance sales and profitability. An effective store layout encourages consumers to shop the entire store and view an extensive assortment of merchandise. The most common forms of store layouts include grid layout, racetrack layout and free form layout. Choosing a store layout depends on the type of store and the nature of the product sold. A grid layout is generally organized in a rectangular shape, which allows customers to shop quickly and maximize shop floor space, ideal for a supermarket or hardware store. A racetrack layout ensures that the consumer only follows one path when browsing the store. This is beneficial in the sense that the consumer will come into contact with every product on the shelf. However, this can irritate customers. Customers may feel that they are being forced to follow a certain path, and can be frustrating when trying to make a quick purchase. Free form layout is a suitable layout for a store that encourages browsing. This type of layout is more relaxed in its structure, which leaves the customer feeling less rushed. The entrance of the store, otherwise known as the transition zone, is an important area in the store. The term "transition zone" was first coined by retail anthropologist Paco Underhill. This is an area where all shoppers pass on entry into store, and is significant as this zone is where consumers can observe the stimuli and sense the general vibe of the store. Therefore, thoughts and representations a consumer has about the store and the brand depend on this area. When customers enter the transition zone they need time to adjust to the new environment including the lighting, the temperature and other sights and sounds. Higher profit margin items are not recommended to be placed in that area because customers do not notice it while they are preoccupied with adjusting to the new environmental stimuli. Spatial design of a retail store is a key aspect when it comes to creating an enjoyable experience, and is also an effective way of communicating with customers. Colour can be considered one of the most important variables when it comes to ambiance in retail. (Van Rom pay, Tania-Dijkstra, Verhoeven, & van Es, 2011). Certain colours that can be considered highly arousing can encourage customers to make purchases out of impulse. Warm colors such and orange, red, and yellow give consumers a sense of excitement, but also provide a sense of anxiety and create a distraction. Recreational shoppers that enjoy a sense of excitement may prefer these high arousal colors. (Van Rompay et al.,. 2011). In general, people prefer cool colours such as green and blue and associate these colours with a sense of calmness and security. Shoppers that are more task oriented are more likely to prefer these cool colours as they bring this calming effect and are also less likely to distract them from the task at hand. The way the furniture such as shelves and racks and seating are set up is a tangible element in store design. A store layout with a higher regard for space can increase customer pleasure, and a store filled with clutter can have the opposite effect. (Van Rompay et al.,. 2011). When It comes to a simple well-spaced layout in a store, task oriented customers find this type of layout to be the most effective, as they can easily locate the items they want without the unnecessary clutter and obstacles in their way. These simple factors can encourage customers to stay in the store longer and in turn spend more. (Van Rompay et al.,. 2011).
Mannequins Mannequins are used by apparel retailers to display their products in-store and in the window display. They are a tool used to show consumers what their products look like on a person. The mannequins will commonly be styled to match trends as well display the latest products available. A study found that retailers projected an ideal image to consumers with the size and proportions of the mannequins. This is used to further reinforce the characteristics of their target market. However, consumers found the size of mannequins to be unrealistic but would give a favorable response to the mannequins when they were headless. This was because the participants in the study found the faces of the mannequins unrealistic and could not relate to them. Therefore, it is important for retailers to understand the thoughts and opinions of consumers on visual stimuli such as mannequins so they can create a more desirable shopping environment for the consumers.
Point of purchase display