Purpose and Aim

This article is for Visual Merchandising specialists. It is about following guidelines for dressing in-store and window displays in ways that promote sales.

It involves making judgments about how to achieve the best Visual effect needed, while working within the company’s policy for visual design. It is also about evaluating finished displays and sorting out any problems that customer identifies.

Introduction

Visual merchandisers are responsible for the conception and execution of a visual display that advertises and enhances a retail outlet’s wares.

The concept of visual merchandising

The basic concept of visual merchandising is communicating with the target audience in windows and stores by attracting, connecting, and engaging with customer’s through window design and product presentations to maximize sales for the store.

Presentation of your store plays a really vital role in increasing sales of your store and has the potential to make your one time visitor as your loyal customer.

You never get a second chance to make a first impression.

In modern retailing, attaining leadership and building an image in the customer’s mind requires a great deal of skill and planning. AI Rise and Jack Trout long ago talked about positioning as being a ‘battle of the mind’.

Even today this holds true: a store brand has to break through the clutter and make an impression on the customer’s mind to eventually convert the coordinated entity of the store that’s in the customer’s mind into a particular image.

Image can be described as the overall look of a store and the series of mental pictures and feelings it evokes in the beholder. For the retailer, developing a powerful image provides the opportunity to embody a single message, stand out from the competition and be remembered.

Image is the foundation of all retailing efforts. While store layout, presentation, signage, displays and events can all change to reflect newness and excitement from one season to the next, they must always remain true to the underlying store image.

Studies indicate that a retailer has roughly seven seconds to capture the attention of a passing customer. The following elements combine to form a distinctive image that not only reaches out and grabs the customer’s attention, but also makes a positive impression in those precious few seconds.

It is important that for good sales you need to have good presentation of your store. Products placed carelessly, improper furniture, lack of cleanliness are some of the many negative factors which can send a bad image to your customer which makes it less likely for them to come back to you unless you have monopoly over your product.

Importance of Visual merchandising

Visual merchandising, also known as the ‘Silent Salesman’, is the science and art of suggestive selling by display and presentation.

Visual merchandising focal points are located strategically to engage the customer in the store, and to communicate the features and benefits of the merchandise besides the in-store promotion in vogue.

This is done by converting a passerby to a browser with an effective window display > a browser to a spender through the process of ‘conversation’ >> a spender to a big spender by increasing the ‘ticket size’ assisted by the process of cross-merchandising.

Retailers also use the space in the non-trading common areas in addition to the merchandise presentation space for brand promotions paid for by companies owning the brands. In the

FMCG category, dealer signboards, windows and in-store space of outlets like chemists and grocers are used as point of purchase promotional areas.

In the fashion retailing category, space in common areas like the building’s facade, staircase landings and columns are gain to brands on hire at a price. This adds to the revenue generated from the space and also adds value to the store ambiance.

Visual Merchandising Enhances the Shopping Experience

Visual merchandising enhances the shopping experience by providing the right ambiance, besides creating an image of the store in the minds of the customers. Such an enjoyable ambiance is created through a combination of colors, display presentations, graphics, lighting, forms n fixtures.

If done by the store in an exciting and dynamic fashion, the shopping experience would be pleasurable for the consumer and make him come reputedly.

Visual Merchandising as a Communication Tool

Visual merchandising communicates to customers the right message about the merchandise by projecting the latest trends, colors and fashion in apparel retailing. In retailing other merchandise, such effective visual merchandising often communicates the latest arrivals in the store. Visual merchandising, by creating basic forms, mannequins and fixtures around the merchandise, often tells the story to the customers.

Visual displays are the perfect communication vehicle, and provide an opportunity for retailers to sell a variety of merchandise.

Presentation in Visual Merchandising

Elegantly presented in a well-defined area and with the right fixtures, an open display provides an environment where the customer can be around an array of merchandise. It silently extends an invitation to him/her to see and touch the goods. A theme display, which is based on a season or an event, is used to promote an appropriate product range.

Lifestyle displays are more subtle, not necessarily aimed at selling a particular product, but an image which has corresponding activity. Coordinated displays, which contain items that are normally used together, are a way of increasing multiple purchases; besides subtly educating or informing the customer of what can be coordinated with what. Classification dominant displays, which contain all varieties of one product, are used to convey the impression of a wide is displayed sometimes in non-standard fixtures that express the mood and its relevant psycho graphics to the customer.

Visual Merchandising Helps Customers Make Buying Decisions

Visual merchandising helps influence buying decisions a great deal, Sometimes, mere presentation creates an impact on the customer, who then decides to buy the product. For instance, in apparel retailing, customers often ask for the whole set of outfits shown on display.

They buying process initiated by visual merchandising starts with the act of grabbing the attention of the customer. Then the presentation creates in the them the interest to buy, the story-telling in visual merchandising generates the desire in the customers. The final action of buying is triggered by the visual merchandising and displays communicating one message – the merchandise is ‘for you’.

Benefits of Visual Merchandising

• Visual merchandising is both a science and an art; it requires conceptual, aesthetic and analytical skills to create footfalls into the store, guide buyers, influence buying decisions and motivate customers to come to the store again. It is the essence of retailing and can induce the prospective customer to stop, look, and buy.

• Through their visual merchandising efforts, successful retailers try to create an exclusive tangible visual identity that is synonymous with the store brand so that customers can identify with it easily.

• Visual merchandising and displays help the store cross-merchandise to create a lifestyle or to suggest complementary items, thus serving as silent salesperson.

• A store that is ill-presented, with its visual merchandising and displays speaking for it, creates the right impact on the customer keeping the cash registers ringing all the time.

Guidelines for Good Visual Merchandising

Today’s world of visual merchandising is as varied as the retailers who use these display techniques to sell their merchandise. Good visual merchandising today runs the gamut from boldly hued, avant-garde displays to tasteful monochromatic vignettes.

No matter what their themes, good visual merchandising displays have one thing in common: They don the jobs of selling merchandise educating customers and reinforcing their stores’ images.

Too many displays fall down on the job because they’re poorly planned and executed. For instance, the displays may contain too much or too little merchandise or props. They may lack a theme or may ignore good design and display principles. Sometimes displays may be poorly lit or they may not be regularly maintained.

Displays may not be changed at the required intervals and this may allow them to become obsolete and not current with the times. Where would the customer prefer to shop – at a store that has vibrant, frequently changing displays appearing in crystal clean windows or at a store where the sun-faded display hasn’t been changed in 3 years and can barely be seen through the dirty window littered with a plethora of outdated fliers?

Visual Merchandising Themes

All effective visual merchandising displays have themes that pull the items on display together. The sore’s Visual Merchandising team may have a plethora of themes at their disposal.

• Holidays Seasons

• Back-to-school

• Festivals

• Sports

• National “months” or “weeks”

• Gift-giving occasions, such as birthdays or Mother’s Day

The store’s merchandise mix may also provide valuable theme inspiration. If your shop stocks a selection of, say, rabbit-adorned items, then one may come up with a bunny theme for visual displays. The store can either develop a display that features an ample supply of identical items to create visual impact or one that includes a selection of complementary items, which gives consumers clues about how they can incorporate your merchandise into their own homes.

The Uses of Props in Visual Merchandising

Other critical components that can either make or break the store’s display’s effectiveness are its props, which are defined as the items that go display’s effectiveness are its props, which are defined as the items that go into a display but aren’t being sold.

The key to using props in displays is to avoid having the props overshadow the items the store is trying to sell. One must also use props that enhance the merchandise rather than detract from it.

Props can be anything from simple, colorful foam-board cut-outs, to antique furniture to children’s toys. The Visual merchandising team needn’t spend thousands of dollars on props. They can go to garage sales, antique shops and flea markets for interesting items.

Retail organizations may even work with non-competing retailers in the area to share props, which can rotate among the cooperating retailers in the area to share props, which can rotate among the cooperating stores. One must remember, almost anything can be a prop – a rock, a tree branch, a child’s red wagon, a lacy tablecloth or even bale of hay.

The team can visit fabric stores to seek out inexpensive material to drape tables, create swags or staple on backdrops. The Visual merchandising team of the store can even stock up inexpensive fabrics, such as tulle and burlap, both of which add instant texture and visual interest to displays.

The Role of Visual Merchandisers in Retailing

Visual merchandisers play a major role in enhancing sales and the customer experience. Depending on where they work, visual merchandisers’ duties include:

• Planning the Visual merchandising theme and creating displays.

• Arranging props for displays.

• Arranging display fixtures and lighting.

• Setting up stores before openings.

• Working with floor plans and store requirements.

• Training personnel on the sales floor to create displays.

• Organizing merchandising units such as racks and shelves.

Visual Merchandising and Displays in Fashion Retailing

Visual merchandising is part of the language the store speaks with its customers. Visual merchandising is part of the language the store speaks with its customers. Fashion retailers use a variety of visual merchandising and display techniques.

Visual merchandising begins as a theme that runs all through the store, giving people an idea of what the theme is all about. This is coordinated more often with the merchandise offerings, the presentation underlining the relevance of the theme, its applicability to the offerings and thus the reasons for consumers to buy. Retailers try to carry the theme from the window to the interior. Therefore the window display is vital in attracting customers to the store.

The retail visual merchandising theme is usually lifestyle-based, in accordance with the research done on the target market. Lifestyle coordination is not just about the actual lifestyle of customers; it focuses on the ambitions and aspirations of the group.

Therefore the products consumers buy are for who they see themselves as being or aspire to be this is normally different from whom they actually are. The types of lifestyle images presented to customers depend on the type of merchandise offerings. They create a more modern image than the traditional use of mannequins, and save on valuable sales space, without an overcrowded look.

In the fashion retailing industry, thematic visual merchandising involves placing garments along with the relevant accessories (cross-merchandising) so that shoppers treat them as an entire outfit, thus increasing multiple purchases. Classification-dominant displays are sometimes used in large, low-priced retailers as it enables them to present vast amounts of stock. However, this can lead to a rather cluttered image and may not be suitable for many types of fashion retailers.

A store’s exterior or glass storefront provides an additional opportunity to reach out and grab the passing customer. Windows are integral in creating a positive impression before the customer enters the store, and many retailers use them effectively.

Principles of Good Design

No matter what the theme and type of product being sold, your store needs to be visually appealing to the masses and hence good knowledge of design principles play a crucial role.

To determine good visual displays, your graphic should embody 5 design principles:

(A) Balance

(B) Harmony

(C) Proportion

(D) Emphasis

(E) Rhythm.

Here’s a brief look at each principle:

Balance – Displaying merchandise in a way that results in a pleasing distribution of visual weight within the display. This aspect is one of the most neglected aspects by people. Balancing of visual weight should be given utmost care.

Emphasis – Having a dominant point of interest in the display area, similar to a floral arrangement’s focal point.

Harmony– Harmony in anything visual is desirable. your setting and arrangement of the various elements of a display, including the merchandise, props, signage and lighting, as well as colour and texture, should produce a pleasing effect.

Proportion – Keeping the ratio of one aspect of a display in relationship to the others. For example, one item shouldn’t seem to be too large or small in portion to other items in the display.

Rhythm – Creating a path the eyes will follow once they’ve made initial contact with the item of emphasis. A display with good rhythm leads consumers’ eyes throughout the entire display.

The Use of Color

Good visual merchandising also uses color to maximum effect to attract passerby’s attention. As the florist is a master at using color harmonies, the same the principles for visual merchandising. For example, visual displays will use a monochromatic, analogous, Adriatic, complementary, split complementary, double complementary or tone-on-tone color scheme. As regards the display’s components, the visual merchandiser shall keep in mind the merchandise and the shop’s image along with the customer’s like and dislikes when working with color schemes.

Dismantle and Store the Visual Merchandising displays:

This part is for visual merchandising specialists. It is about dismantling displays and deciding what to do with the display parts. This involves returning borrowed merchandise, disposing of unwanted materials and cleaning the display sites and parts. It also involves storing equipment, props and graphics carefully so that these remain in good condition and can easily be found again when needed.

Store the equipment, props and graphics for retail display for future use dismantling the display

• Be able to dismantle visual merchandising displays

• Be able to store props and graphics from dismantled visual merchandising displays

• Understand the importance of storing props and graphics for future use in visual Merchandising displays

Display Maintenance & Dismantling Procedures:

Individual businesses have different policies regarding the duration of displays. Most businesses, however, observe the same general rules for display maintenance:

• Displays should be checked daily for damage or displacement caused by customer handling.

• Missing merchandise should be replaced immediately.

• Lights should be checked periodically and replaced as necessary.

• Display units and props should be cleaned and merchandise dusted on a regular basis. Proper display maintenance can keep the merchandise fresh and attractive in the eyes of customers.

• Poor maintenance, on the other hand, can create a negative image not only of the merchandise but of the store as well.

Dismantling the visual Merchandising Display

1. Dismantle displays using working practices that:

• comply with organizational health and safety requirements
• attempt to protect the components of the display from being damaged

2. Return merchandise to the designated places in line with organisational procedures.

3. Dispose of unwanted items from the dismantled display in line with organisational procedures

4. Keep records of the movement and disposal of items from dismantled displays in line with organisational procedures

5. Clean display sites and components used in the display

Storing the dismantled visual merchandising display

While storing the dismantled items you need to

• Assess the space required for props and graphics that are to be put into storage

• Pack and label them properly for future use.

• Store props and graphics in the storage area specified for each item. It should be kept in a place which is secure and easily accessible and at the same time does not post any health and safety risks to the people in the store.

• It should be protected from all weather conditions and from pests.

Dismantling Procedures for Displays

Specific procedures for dismantling displays also vary with each business. Answering yes to the following list of questions ensures that materials, merchandise, fixtures, backgrounds, and props remain in good condition after display use.

• Were the proper tools gathered before the display was dismantled?

• Was the display dismantled safely?

• Was the merchandise removed without damage?

• Was the merchandise checked for problems before it was returned to stock?

• Was damaged merchandise properly recorded?

• Was the merchandise returned to stock or to the selling area?

• Was the background removed without damage?

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