Introduction to Visual

merchandising
Visual merchandising, until recently called simply
merchandising, is the activity of promoting the sale of
goods, especially by their
presentation in retail outlets.
This includes combining
product, environment, and
space into a stimulating and
engaging display to encourage
the sale of a product or service.
It has become an important
element in retailing that is a
team effort involving senior management, architects,
merchandising managers, buyers, the visual
merchandising director, designers, and staff. Visual
merchandising starts with the store building itself. The
management decides on the store design to reflect the
products the store is going to sell and how to create a
warm, friendly, and approachable atmosphere for its
potential customers.
Many elements can be used by visual merchandisers in
creating displays, including colour, lighting, space,
product information, sensory inputs such as smell, touch,
and sound as well as technologies such as digital displays
and interactive installations.
Visual merchandising is not a science; there are no
absolute rules. It is more like an art in the sense that there
are implicit rules but that these also exist to be broken for
striking effects. The main principle of visual
merchandising is that it is intended to increase sales,
which is not the case with a "real" art.
Visual merchandising is one of the final stages in trying to
set out a store in a way that customers will find attractive
and appealing and it should follow and reflect the
principles that underpin the store’s image. Visual
merchandising is the way one displays 'goods for sale' in
the most attractive manner with the end purpose of
making a sale. "If it does not sell, it is not visual
merchandising."
Especially in today’s challenging economy, people may
avoid designers/ visual merchandisers because they fear
unmanageable costs. But in reality, visual merchandisers
can help economise by avoiding costly mistakes. With
guidance of a professional, retailer can eliminate errors,
saving time and money. It is important to understand that
the visual merchandiser is there, not to impose ideas, but
to help clients articulate their own personal style.
Visual merchandising is the art of implementing effective
design ideas to increase store traffic and sales volume.
VM is an art and science of displaying merchandise to
enable maximum sale. VM is a tool to achieve sales and
targets, a tool to enhance merchandise on the floor, and a
mechanism to communicate to a customer and influence
his decision to buy. VM uses season based displays to
introduce new arrivals to customers, and thus increase
conversions through a planned and systematic approach
by displaying stocks available.
Recently visual merchandising has gained in importance
as a quick and cost effective way to revamp retail stores.
A close sister to visual merchandising is "retail
experience". "Customer experience" looks at the same
issues around product presentation but from the customer
perspective, rather than the retailer perspective. In optimal
retail environments such as the Apple Retail Stores, the
visual merchandising, customer experience, and store
design are all in synch creating amazing environments and
unbelievable sales.

Selling a product (convenient/shopping/specialty) is

incomplete without communicating its image. To build
long term brand loyalty, in addition to the quality of the
product, right image is very much needed. To attain this,
many companies invest huge money the promotions. But
many businesses neglect the retail front which is the face
of the brands. In other words, the way the products are
displayed at the retail shelves, the way the sales people
communicate to the consumer etc. are the some of the
issues, which if not handles well can be a great threat to
the brands image.
Visual merchandising is the art of presentation, which
puts the merchandiser in focus. It educates the customers,
creates desire and finally augments the selling process.
This is an area where the Indian business people lack
adequate knowledge and expertise. This inadequacy is
best reflected in poor presentation/display and
communication the various national and international
exhibitions with phasing out of quantitative restrictions
after the year 2004, the textile industry will have to
compete purely on the competitive edge of the products
and visual merchandising will be helpful for the
projecting the uniqueness of the products and thereby
increasing the market access and sales.
It is high time that the Indian textile and clothing industry
should understand and adopts the scientific and
professional system of visual merchandising rather than
the traditional practices of display of products and
communication.

Purpose
Retail professionals display to make the shopping
experience more comfortable, convenient and customer
friendly by:
Making it easier for the shopper to locate the desired
category and merchandise.
Making it easier for the shopper to self-select.
Making it possible for the shopper to co-ordinate &
accessorize.
Providing information on sizes, colours & prices.
Informing about the latest fashion trends by highlighting
them at strategic locations.
Merchandise presentation refers to most basic ways of
presenting merchandise in an orderly, understandable,
’easy to shop’ and ‘find the product’ format. This easier
format is especially implemented in fast fashion retailers such
as Forever 21 and H&M.

VM helps in:
♣ educating the customers about the product/service in an
effective and creative way.
establishing a creative medium to present merchandise in
3D
♣ environment, thereby enabling long lasting impact and
recall value.
♣ setting the company apart in an exclusive position.
♣ establishing linkage between fashion, product design
and marketing by keeping the product in prime focus.
♣ combining the creative, technical and operational
aspects of a product and the business.
drawing the attention of the customer to enable him to
take
♣ purchase decision within shortest possible time, and
thus augmenting the selling process.
History

Every shopkeeper and merchant's primary objective is to

sell merchandise. When the giant nineteenth century dry
goods establishments like Marshall Field & Co. shifted
their business from wholesale to retail the visual display
of goods became necessary to attract the retail customer.
The store windows no longer simply allowed natural light
to shine in the building or act as storage space for stock;
they became important venues to attractively display the
store's merchandise. Gradually, the design aesthetic used
in window displays moved indoors and became part of the
overall interior store design, eventually displacing the
importance windows altogether in suburban malls.
Museums and department stores in America have a shared
history of displaying their products, both having come of
age in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. Like
world's fairs, department stores and museums crowded
everything together on shelves or in display cases. Today
displays in museums are referred to as exhibitions, while
displays in stores are referred to as "Visual
Merchandising. Essentially, visual merchandising is the
selling of a store's goods through visual means,
incorporating advertising, and window displays, and
interior sales floor design and display. Throughout the
twentieth century, well-known artists such as Salvador
Dalí and Andy Warhol created window displays, while
other artists who are lesser known were commissioned to
design unique objects specifically for visual
merchandising purposes.

1. Sell by showing and promoting.

2. Create an emotional connect beween the viewer and
the display.
3. Encourage the shopper to enter the store.
4. Get the customer to pause and “shop” the selling floor.
5. Establish, promote, and enhance the store’s visual
image.
6. Entertain customers and enhance their shopping
experience.
7. Introduce and explain new products.

Selling a product (convenient/shopping/specialty) is

incomplete without communicating its image. To build
long term brand loyalty, in addition to the quality of the
product, right image is very much needed. To attain this,
many companies invest huge money the promotions. But
many businesses neglect the retail front which is the face
of the brands. In other words, the way the products are
displayed at the retail shelves, the way the sales people
communicate to the consumer etc. are the some of the
issues, which if not handles well can be a great threat to
the brands image. Visual merchandising is the art of
presentation, which puts the merchandiser in focus. It
educates the customers, creates desire and finally
augments the selling process. This is an area where the
Indian business people lack adequate knowledge and
expertise. This inadequacy is best reflected in poor
presentation/display and communication the various
national and international exhibitions with phasing out of
quantitative restrictions after the year 2004, the textile
industry will have to compete purely on the competitive
edge of the products and visual merchandising will be
helpful for the projecting the uniqueness of the products
and thereby increasing the market access and sales. It is
high time that the Indian textile and clothing industry
should understand and adopts the scientific and
professional system of visual merchandising rather than
the traditional practices of display of products and
communication.
Visual Merchandising Concepts
The retail visual merchandising shares many of the same
principles as advertising, graphic design, and interior
design -- the purpose of visual merchandising is to create
a logical and visually pleasing environment that will grab
attention and translate into increased sales.

The basics are pretty easy to understand - a clean store,

well lit, with merchandise displayed in neat groupings,
but as an industry, visual merchandising delves a lot
deeper, focusing on the psychology and motivations of the
target customer. Some of the top five tips for retail visual
merchandising, Entice - Visual merchandising actually
starts on the street outside the store. The creative and
interesting window displays will catch the eye of people
walking by and will draw them into the store.
Numerous store owners make the mistake of cramming in
lots of merchandise to indicate the variety of items they
might carry, but the most successful window designs
create a theme, mood, or "lifestyle" that piques curiosity,
change the window displays with the seasons, and always
reflect your newest or best-selling items, Impact - We've
all done it - you walk into a store, take a lap around, and
leave, maybe you were "just looking" -- more than likely,
though, something about the store or the merchandise
displays turned you off.
The state of visiting an establishment should be as rich as
is appropriate -- any prospective customer should be able
to walk in and feel respected and comfortable, whether it's
music, product displays, lighting, or even the climate
control, everything in the store can impact the shopping
experience,
Inspire - Create product displays that will show the
customer how an item might fit into their everyday life. In
a home store, that might mean a sofa-chair grouping or a
complete table setting. In a clothing store it might mean
dressing mannequins -- whatever the store type, customers
are more likely to purchase if they can imagine
themselves using/wearing the product,
Identify - these days, many shoppers are busy people,
perhaps they're popping in on the way home from work,
or on the way to the party -- whatever the case may be,
shoppers are more likely to purchase if they can find what
they are looking for, easily identify the price, and then
find the register and check out.
Equipment should be organized in logical groupings --
whether by item type, color, or some other characteristic,
and signage and product descriptions should be clear and
easy to read. The Point-of-sale add-ons (also known as
"impulse buys") can generate extra dollars in sales. Do
think of small items that people usually forget -- batteries,
light bulbs, gift wrapping, etc -- these small items can be
placed near or at the register as a gentle reminder to the
customer.
ROLE OF VISUAL MERCHANDISING

Visual merchandising is an artistic method to ensure that

retailers merchandise moves off the shelves faster. It's a
tool to appeal to the visual sensory elements of the
customer. Visual merchandising is an unknown skill
which is fastly becoming popular nowadays with the
introduction of self service in retail stores in recent years
and the number of changes taking place in super market
merchandising methods, there has been increased
emphasis on the kind of store layout, store building,
fixtures, and equipment, color displays, silent
communication tools, window display and finally opinion
building through in store displays which has taken the art
of retailing the higher applications frames.

Customer expects to spend less time for shopping and

prefers one step multi brand retail formats and hence
significance of visual merchandising is on increase. As
per the opinion of Hemendra Mathur, senior consultant of
KSA technopark based on the third annual consumer
outlook study that the consumer is getting time saved and
the time spent on shoppin (both grocery and non grocery)
has come down. Further the study reveals that are increase
in the impulse and unplanned purchases in the certain
categories. Visual merchandising helps in the increase of
impulse buying.
The practice of a visual merchandising is negligible in
durables and home textiles and in the apparel and foot
wear it is 20%. Many people experience in organized
retailing are of the opinion that innovative application for
effective retail presents and brand buildings are being
used aggressively by companies in retail merchandising.
Brands like Reebok spent 25% of their advertising spent
on point of sale merchandising. The brand managers of
Reebok feel that 80% of the buyers are influenced by the
3 feet experience i.e, point of sales material and visual
merchandising are more effective than outdoor displays
and advertising.
Market analysis feel that most companies are
unfortunately not spending as much time and money as
they should on POS (point of sales) visual merchandising
as a strategic tool for brand building, indiscriminately
"displaying everything rather than displaying selectively
and effectively to assist consumer in taking decisions.
About Visual Merchandising

Significance
Visual merchandising is an important part of product and
brand management, as well as marketing. It involves
attracting customers to retail stores and presenting
merchandise in a manner that will appeal to
consumers. Manufacturing companies invest significant resources in
researching and developing products that meet consumer
needs. When products are brought to market, they must be
displayed effectively so that they will be noticed and
purchased by target consumers.

Function
The process of determining how to merchandise products
involves figuring out how to create and arrange visual
displays so they are likely to appeal to customers.
Professionals who understand what appeals to consumers
and what types of displays are likely to induce buying
behavior design and execute complex visual
merchandising plans for the purpose of maximizing sales.

Types
One type of visual merchandising involves setting up
visual displays in the windows of upscale retail
establishments. This type of merchandising is usually
carried out by store employees, who select products to
feature and then design themed displays around the
chosen items. The idea behind this type of merchandising
is to increase traffic to the store and to promote sales.

Visual merchandising also involves arranging and keeping

shelf and hanging rack displays full and in good order.
Many manufacturers employ merchandising contractors to
set up and maintain their product displays in department
stores. Realizing that stores are concerned with overall
sales, companies that want to maximize sales of their own
product lines recognize the benefits of having
merchandisers who work specifically with their product
lines.

Time Frame
Maintaining effective visual merchandising is an ongoing
process. It's important to update product displays
regularly. Consumer behavior and product needs change
with the seasons, so displays need to change several times
each year. When new products are shipped to retailers,
manufacturers and merchandising contractors also send
detailed diagrams that show how the displays should be
set up. These diagrams are called plan-o-grams, and they
show where and how merchandise should be arranged.

Considerations
When deciding how to merchandise products, it's
important to consider how potential customers respond to
the visual elements of displays. For example, it's
important not to crowd too many items onto shelves or
hooks. It's also necessary to keep like items together,
arranging colors so that the light colors are on the left side
of the display with darker colors on the opposite side.
 Visual merchandising trends
Visual Merchandising means different things to different
retailers. So, lets start with a definition from Wikipedia:
“Visual Merchandising is creating visual displays and
arranging merchandise assortments within a store to
improve the layout and presentation and to increase traffic
and sales.” and “Visual merchandising is the art of
displaying merchandise in a manner that is appealing to
the eyes of the customer.” Now having said those things,
lets discuss the trends of visual merchandising today.
Visual merchandising trends are constantly fluctuating
because retail is always changing. The challenge for
retailers is to react to the evolving needs and wants of
their customers.

Visual elements in a retail store have always been very

important in attracting and keeping consumers. But in the
past, visual merchandising trends dictated that featured
merchandising be used primarily to promote sale prices.
End caps were and still are, used for this purpose.
However, twenty years ago the visual merchandising
trend was to bulk stack end caps promoting prices on
single items. Today retailers often use end caps to
promote new items and to inform customers of those
items’ specific purposes or benefits.

End caps today are also more attractive. The visual

merchandising trends of today find retailers using end cap
fixtures, lighting and color to highlight featured products.
Visual merchandising trends have also influenced the
way store aisles are merchandised. Focal points are often
developed in the middle of categories or aisle runs. This
is referred to as Micro merchandising. Sections of
particular groups or products are featured by changing the
type or color of fixture on which those products reside.

Visual merchandising trends have also led retailers to

sometimes include radius shelving in their product sets.
Radii shelving are shelves with rounded front edges.
When used as feature elements, they extend past the
straight front of neighboring shelf sections. Product
visuals are improved and the items featured have an
distinct advantage over products that are adjacent and not
featured.

Current visual merchandising trends have seen overall

fixture heights drop in many stores. By dropping fixture
heights customers can be enticed visually to explore other
areas of the store. Today, retailers use visual cues to
guide customers through their stores for the purpose of
increasing unplanned purchases.
New store layouts not only use visuals to plan fixture
placement, they also use visual merchandising techniques
to design store décor. Visual merchandising trends have
definitely influenced store signage. Retail store signs
have gone from Styrofoam letters glued to a wall to
colorful high impact three dimensional graphics.
Even now we are seeing a shift in visual décor. Visual
merchandising in stores is going digital. Flat screen TV’s
are being utilized everywhere, not only presenting
products in full color, but also communicating and in a
very literal sense, selling. These digital signs are like
having another salesperson on the floor.

Visual merchandising trends have led to merchandising

that improves profitability and exposes shoppers to more
key elements within a store. Visual merchandising is just
one of the essential elements of the discovery process. In
the book Discovery-Based Retail, you will be encouraged
to analyze every part of your store. The more you
discover, the more effective you’ll become.
Big Bazaar – India’s Real Retail
Story

Big Bazaar is a chain of hypermarkets in India, with more

than 100 stores in operation. It is a subsidiary of
Pantaloon Retail India Ltd's, Future Group, and follows
the business model of United States-based Wal-Mart.
Big Bazaar, the flagship retail chain of the Future Group,
is on the verge of achieving a unique milestone in the
History of World Retail – by being the first hypermarket
format in the globe to rollout fastest 101 stores in a short
span of seven years.

Currently, Big Bazaar has 98 stores in the country,

including the recently opened store in Mysore on
September 26th 2008. Further to this, Big Bazaar will be
opening three more stores in a single day – i.e.
30th September 2008, which will take the eventual count
to 101 stores in the country. These three stores opening
shortly in Pune (Kalyani Nagar), Cuttack (Darga Bazaar)
and Delhi (RajouriGarden).
Big Bazaar’s journey began in October 2001, when the
young, first generation entrepreneur Kishore
Biyani opened the country’s first hypermarket retail outlet
in Kolkatta (then Calcutta). In the same month, two more
stores were added – one each in Hyderabad and Mumbai,
thus starting on a successful sojourn which began the
chapter of organized retailing in India.

Speaking on this momentous occasion and remembering

the days of conceptualising the hypermarket idea
Mr. Kishore Biyani said, “We initially decided to name
the format as “Bazaar” because we had designed the store
keeping the Indian mandi style in mind. Since the size of
the hypermarket was big than an average mandis, the
thought came to name it as “Big Bazaar”. However, we
had freezed on the punch line “Isse Se Sasta Aur Achha
Kahi Nahi” much before we met the creative agency to
design the final logo of Big Bazaar.”

Though, Big Bazaar was started purely as a fashion

format including apparel, cosmetics, accessory and
general merchandise, the first Food Bazaar format was
added as Shop-In-Shop within Big Bazaar in the year
2002. Today, Big Bazaar, with its wide range of products
and service offering, reflects the aspirations of millions of
Indians.
The journey of Big Bazaar can be divided into two phases
– one pre and the other post January 26th, 2005, when the
company rewrote the retail chapter in India, with the
introduction of a never-before sales campaign “Sasbe
Sasta Din”. In just one day, almost the whole
of India descended at various Big Bazaar stores in the
country to shop at their favourite shopping destination.

Further, what followed was the time and again rewriting

of the Indian Retail experience, wherein understanding of
the Indian consumers reflected in the products and
services offered, creating innovative deals, expanding in
the tier II and tier III towns, tying up with branded
merchandise to offer exclusive products and services to its
customers.

Big Bazaar is present today in 59 cities and occupying

over 5 million sq.ft. retail space and driving over 110
million footfalls into its stores. The format is expecting
the number of footfall in the stores to increase by over
140 million by this financial year. Over the years, Mr.
Biyani for his vision and leadership, and Big Bazaar for
its unique proposition to its customers’, have received
every prestigious consumer awards both nationally and
internationally.

Says Rajan Malhotra, President, Strategy & Convergence,

Big Bazaar, “What is important in our journey is not the
number of stores, but the customers’ faith in us. It’s
the India and the Indians, which have helped us, reach this
feat in such a short time span and today our country is
creating a history in the World organized Retail.

Rajan Malhotra, who is also the first employee of Big

Bazaar, joining the organization in early 2001 adds,
“Since beginning, we have kept Big Bazaar as a soft
brand, which reflects the India and the Indianess. We
believed in growing with the society, participating and
celebrating all regional and local community festivals,
giving customers preferences above everything else.”

Every Big Bazaar is a small family by its own and the

head of the family – Karta – is the store manager. Kishore
Biyani, the CEO of the Future Group, has a vast
understanding of the consumer’s insight, has inculcated
the habit of ‘observing, understanding customers’
behaviour’, in every employee of the group.

Future Group is confident of the Indian Retail Story. The

Group has not slowed down its expansion plans despite
the fiscal woes in the economy present today. Future
Group plans to have 300 stores and is expecting revenues
of Rs 13,000 crore by year 2011.

The company’s leading formats include Pantaloons, a

chain of fashion outlets, Big Bazaar, a uniquely Indian
hypermarket chain, Food Bazaar, a supermarket chain,
blends the look, touch and feel of Indian bazaars with aspects
of modern retail like choice, convenience and quality and
Central, a chain of seamless destination malls. Some of its
other formats include, Depot, Shoe Factory, Brand
Factory, Blue Sky, Fashion Station, aLL, Top 10,
mBazaar and Star and Sitara. The company also operates
an online portal, futurebazaar.com.

Big Bazaar is a chain of hypermarket in India, which

caters to every family’s needs and requirements. This
retail store is a subsidiary of Future group, Pantaloons
Retail India Ltd. and is an answer to the United States’
Wal-Mart. Big Bazaar has released the doors for the
fashion world, general merchandise like sports goods,
cutlery, crockery, utensils, and home furnishings etc. at
best economical prices.
Big Bazaar group offers more than 100 stores all over the
country with an amalgamation of Indian bazaars’ feel and
touch with a convenience and choice of the modern retail
facilities. The retail format of the Big Bazaar group
includes Aadhar, Rural & Home-Town retail chain, Ezone
home-improvement chain, sportswear retailer, depot and
music chain is few among others.

History of Big Bazaar

The worldwide country chain, Big Bazaar, is formed by
CEO of Future Group, Mr. Kishore Biyani. The group do
not promises more than what it delivers. Their basic
attraction associated with reasonable prices is their
Unique Selling Price.

Though, the products Big Bazaar stores stocks might not

be advanced, but the customers are assured to avail the
worth of the money spent by them. In 2001, the group
opened its first store on the VIP Road, Calcutta, which
was the primary departmental store offering regulated
services of parking, steel vessels, apparel, electronics etc
under the one roof at the competitive prices.
Big Bazaar has become a massive hit with lower middle-
class and middle class people as a major client base.
At present, the Future Group comprises various formats
and brands like Pantaloons, F123, Copper Chimney,
Etam, Staples, One Mobile, Urbana, Brand Factory,
LootMart, HomeTown and Central. The Big Bazaar has
several stores located all over the India, among that
Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Kolkata,
Pune, Mumbai and Delhi is those metro cities where the
stores of Big Bazaars are located.

Facilities offered by Big Bazaar

Online shopping: Big Bazaar has an official website,
FutureBazaar.com, which is one of the most favorite sites
among people of India for online shopping. FutureBazaar
is an online business venture of Future Group, which sells
an assortment of products such as fashion, which includes
merchandise for men and women, mobile accessories,
mobile handsets and electronics like home theatres, video
cameras, digital camera, LCD TVs, kitchen appliances
and many more.

Discounts: “Hfte ka sabse sasta din was introduced by the

Big Bazaar, wherein extra and special discounts were
offered on Wednesday every week, to attract the potential
buyers into their store.

Security check: At each exit of Big Bazaar, they use alarm

systems or Electronic Article Surveillance system, which
detects the products that has attached tags or not.
Big Bazaar-A paradigm shift to the Modern
Retail Bazaar

Big Bazaar PRIL’s Hypermarket format that truly

heighten up the expectation of value concisious Indian
customer to a new level ever before. It has changed the
customer’s perception to that extent that they have already
started to realize that Big Bazaar can provide real value
for their money. The first store opened in Kolkata in 2001
at VIP and was followed by stores in Hyderabad and
Bangalore in short span of 22 days. These stores
contributed over Rs.43 crores to the company’s business
and over Rs. 2.89 crores to the PBDIT in first year it self.
 Sabse Sasta 3 din
Science, 2006 Republic day’s mega sale of Big Bazaar
has been generating a unprecedented response from
customer. Its now been extended for three days .In the
2007 customer had spent Rs. 125 cores and in 2008 it has
made a sale of whopping Rs.300 cores
During our project period, we had specifically studied
those three days of Mega sale at Big Bazaar. We noticed
several scope of improvement in the Big Bazaar store
(Lee Road, Kolkata) like customer handling, stock
replenishments and customer satisfaction.
We have found that few areas need some attention from
the management side. We realized that customer is
somewhat willing to forgive a bit despite their
inconvenience because of the understanding of difficulties
of store personals and management people. But, if we will
take care of those areas and fix them as soon as possible
then overall profitability of the store and customer’s
shopping experience would be definitely better than
before.
Components of visual merchandising

A Planogram allows planning of the arrangement of

merchandise on a given fixture configuration to support
sales through proper placement of merchandise by Style,
Option, Size, Price points, etc. It also enables the chain of
chairs to have the same merchandise displayed in a
coherent and similar manner across all the stores.
The main purpose is to support ease of applicability to the
merchandiser while also increasing selection & enhancing
the merchandise display in a neat and organized manner.

Window Displays
A window display is also a "visiting card" for the store.
Windows are the most important factor within the
store/shop front as they can communicate style, content,
and price point. They can be seductive and exciting, based
on emotional stimulus, or price-based (when they clearly
emphasize value for money with easy and obvious
ticketing). For the retailer, the window is among the most
controllable elements in relation to image and to what is
happening inside the store, and there are number of
decisions to be made about a how these effects are
achieved.
The best store windows can generate great excitement and
talking point for an entire city. They contribute to the
environment by entertaining pedestrians, while
simultaneously communicating the products and services
on offer.
 For a retailer willing to exploit the full
potential that a window gives, the image-building process
can be exciting and have enormous potential. A fashion
retailer, for instance, will often change a window weekly
to show the latest items on offer. A glance into a shop's
window by a passerby establishes the time of the year
and, very likely, a timely contemporary event. It might
combine seasonal and festive points of the year such as
Back-to-school, Spring, Summer, Easter, Christmas, New
Year approaching, Diwali, Valentine's Day, Mother's Day
etc. At other times the propping may be based on color
schemes, materials or cultural themes - the possibilities
for innovative ideas around such themes are endless.
Visual Merchandising is the art of displaying merchandise
in a manner that is appealing to the eyes of the customer.
It sets the context of the merchandise in an aesthetically
pleasing fashion, presenting them in a way that would
convert the window shoppers into prospects and
ultimately buyers of the product. A creative and talented
retailer can use this upcoming art to breathe in new life
into his store products. Passion for design and creativity
are essential to be a good visual merchandiser. A perfect
design process and the ability to create ideas that are
different are required. Awareness of happenings in
fashion world is needed so as to keep up-to-date with the
dynamics of the market constantly.

Visual merchandising includes window displays, signs,

interior displays, cosmetic promotions and any other
special sales promotions taking place.

Components of Visual Merchandising:

There are certain things which a retailer needs to take care

while proceeding with the process of displaying his
products. These components when combined together in a
proper ratio will make a successful outcome.

Make merchandise the focal point:

The main goal of display is to showcase the products

within the overall display area. Customers give three to
five seconds of their attention to window display. The
retailers visual message should be conveyed to the
customer in that short period of time. It should not be like
an unsuccessful TV advertisement, where the product is
forgotten altogether and only the concept of the
commercial remains in the mind of the viewer. The
arrangement of window display should go with the
product and should not suppress them to make it
discernable to the eye.

Right choice of colors is vital:

Color is one of the most

powerful tools in the Visual
Merchandising segment. It is a
visual perceptual property.
Colors can be associated with
emotions, special occasions
and gender. It attracts attention and pulls more customers
into the store. A retailer has to focus on the right choice of
color that would match with the theme of display. It is not
possible to satisfy everyone all the time, but it is possible
to cultivate the taste of customers gradually and
purposefully. A right choice of colors in the display items
can turn walkers into stoppers and significantly convert
them into customers. It is therefore mandatory to choose
the right color for the right theme of display. A Halloween
display would require black color in the display theme.
Valentines theme should be ruled by red color
supplemented with pink and white. A display of babys
accessories should reflect light shades of pink and blue
colors. A Christmas display should contain colors of red,
green, gold and silver.

Display themes to appropriately support

the product:

A theme is a display of sale

items of similar categories e.g.
a display of kitchen
accessories. Its essential to
have themes for all retail
displays. They can be
romantic, wild, or capricious, and capture peoples
imaginations.

A good theme will lure the customer with a shopping

mood into the store. Themes mainly depend upon the
retailers imagination and creativity. Focusing on the right
theme rather than creating a display with expensive raw
materials is the key to successful window display. A shoe
store theme can be a group of elves buying shoes. A
theme for display of casual wears can be a group of
mannequins sitting casually at a get together in different
poses. Related themes will tug the heartstring of the
customers and will pay off.
Display should complement the retailers
other strategies:
The content of the display should complement the in store
environment and other marketing strategies of the retailer.
If the retailer has a specific logo, the colors of the display
can reflect the same color of the logo. For e.g.
MacDonalds display, the clown is of the same color, red
and yellow as in their logo.

Cleanliness:
Neat and clean arrangement is the foundation of an
inviting a successful visual display. A beautiful display
can be ruined by a cracked sign holder or an unclean
display environment. Effective cleaning schedule of
showcases and display fixtures is required.
Change the display settings in frequent
intervals:

Changing the arrangement of the displays in regular

intervals will initiate new interest about the products in
the minds of the customer. By designing a plan-o-gram
and activating changes frequently one can thus be a
proactive retailer.

With globalization and the retail boom, visual

merchandising is growing in leaps and bounds. It is not
simply concerned about decorating a store beautifully; but
must also symbolise the brand keeping the target audience
in mind.

Visual Merchandising—the fine art of presentation and

display—is one of the most important pieces in running a
retail store, yet it is often one of the most neglected.
Visual Merchandising is an art, but it is also a science
with specific, easy to implement formulas to help you sell
more merchandise.

A little store planning

Your first mission is to set your fixtures in a pattern that
allows for maximum traffic flow. Your store layout will
determine how customers will shop the store, and it very
often is affected by the shape and size of your sales floor.
Three of the most popular are the Grid layout, the Loop or
Race Track layout, and the Free Flow layout. Grid layouts
are commonly used in grocery stores. In a Grid layout the
fixtures run parallel to the walls, so customers typically
grab a shopping cart, start in a front corner and walk each
and every aisle. Grid layouts are easy to shop because
they offer clean sight lines throughout the entire store.
Another advantage of the Grid layout is that it allows for
maximum End Cap exposure.

And we all know that the job of an end cap is to

encourage impulse purchases.
Use your ends to display promotional, and high impulse
items never use them to house basic merchandise. You
will find Loop—or Race Track—layouts in a variety of
stores including many Target Stores. This layout offers a
clearly defined main aisle which circles through the store
like a race track.

Fixture placement in a Loop layout differs in different

parts of the store: The perimeter fixtures run
perpendicular to the wall, and the fixtures in the center of
the loop run parallel to the side walls.

In a Loop layout customers typically flow to the right and

move up and down the aisles in a serpentine manner. In a
Loop layout, perimeter walls are just as important as end
caps
because the layout leads customers to the wall each time
they go down an aisle. This means that walls need to be
merchandised with particular care.

A favorite choice of specialty retailers, such as

scrapbooking and gift stores, is the Free Flow layout. This
layout offers multiple opportunities to highlight
merchandise and create display vignettes that make the
merchandise more romantic. But unlike the Grid and
Loop layouts, the Free Flow doesn’t allow you to
maximize inventory per square foot.
In a Free Flow layout there are no set aisles, so customers
roam the store freely. Fixtures are not placed in straight
lines; rather they are angled to easily move customers
throughout the store, exposing them to merchandise
displays at every turn. You may already have a blue print
that will help you visualize the entire store to determine
choice of layout and appropriate locations for
merchandise departments. If you don’t, measure your
store and draw a rough blueprint of your own.
Add in all the columns, doors, bathrooms, and other
nuances, and hire an architectural student from your local
college to create a blueprint for you. In either case, make
a copy of your blue print, mount it to a piece of foam core
board, and overlay it with tissue paper. That way you will
be able to merchandise and re-merchandise your sales
floor on paper before you ever touch
a fixture. This will save you loads of time and aggravation
when contemplating floor moves.

Regardless of the layout you choose, the placement of

your Check Out Counters will have a big effect on
business. We Americans tend to shop the way that we
drive: we drive on the right side of the road, so we
generally stick to the right when entering a store. Watch
your customers—you’ll find that 99% of them will do
this! This makes the front right of your store prime real
estate; definitely not the place for the check out counter.
A better choice is to place the check out counter on the
front left side of the store where it becomes a natural end
to the shopping experience.

A few more tips for your check out counters: First, make
sure that they provide enough space for customers to
complete their transaction. There is nothing more
annoying than having to juggle change, keys, purchase,
and kids with one hand while trying to get out of the way
of the next customer. Second, stock your check out
counters with fun items customers can pick up on
impulse, such as “shut-up toys” mom can buy to keep the
kids quiet, and those items customers most frequently
forget. And make sure that you set interesting displays
behind the check out counters so that customers are
constantly thinking about the merchandise that you sell in
your store.

On the outside looking in

Even with the perfect floor plan, it’s important to note that
Visual Merchandising begins even before the customer
enters your front door. Stand outside your front door—are
your windows a good representation of what the customer
will find inside?

We once sent a group of women into what we considered

to be a beautifully merchandised store. We asked them to
take a look around and report back on what they saw. We
anticipated that we would hear only good things. Boy,
were we wrong. One woman was particularly annoyed by
the dead flies she saw in the front window. Now, dead
bugs in your windows are a fact of life—
every store window in the world has a few—but this
woman equated the fly carcasses to poor attention to
detail. She felt that if the store didn’t sweat the small
stuff, then it probably wouldn’t go the extra mile for its
customers. We thought that was a stretch, yet we couldn’t
disagree, because this was her opinion—her perception—
and perception is what counts with customers.

Front windows must be clean, uncluttered, and have a

simple message. They are not meant to be an historical
museum of signs for community events that have already
taken place. Customers will typically take just a five
second glance at what’s in your windows, so if yours are
filled with complicated displays, or too many signs, then
most customers will never see your message.

The first 10 seconds inside the store You may have heard
us say before that there is no reality in retailing, only
perception, and the customer’s perception of your store is
the only one that counts. First impressions—first
perceptions—are formed within the customer’s first 10
seconds inside your store. How does yours stack up?
What does it say to customers? Customers enter the store
at the same speed they had in the parking lot. This means
that many customers are rushed and distracted when they
walk in your door, so you need to offer them the
opportunity to slow down from walking speed to
shopping speed. That’s the job of the Decompression
Zone.

The Decompression Zone

The Decompression Zone is generally the first 5’ to 15’
(the amount of space depends on the size of your store)
just inside the store. This area needs to be uncluttered,
inviting and easy to navigate. This means that shopping
carts and baskets and floor signs need to be placed at the
end of the Decompression Zone or customers will walk
right by them. Why not station a Greeter, ala Wal-Mart, in
your Decompression Zone on busy days? The mere
presence of the Greeter will delight most customers. The
Greeter can offer a cart or a basket—a good thing studies
show that customers with shopping carts spend 25% more
in the store, and up to 15 minutes longer browsing. The
Greeter can also tell customers about things in the store
that they won’t want to miss.

Speed Bumps
The Decompression Zone refocuses the customer to a
shopping pace, but strategically placed Speed Bumps get
them shopping. Speed bumps are displays that work much
the same way as speed bumps in parking lots: they slow
customers down so they do not miss important
merchandise in the front of the store. Your Speed Bumps
can be merchandise displayed on tables, dumped in bins,
or stacked on pallets. As long as the product is interesting
or a good value, it will make for a perfect Speed Bump.

Power Walls

Just inside the store and to the right is a key wall. It’s one
of the first things customers see as they turn right, and in
too many stores it’s just another wall used to house basic
merchandise. Use this highly visible space to showcase
new items, to tell product stories, and to display high-
demand, high-profit items. You may even want to use this
area for demonstrations, “make-it-and-take-its” events and
other high traffic times.

Merchandise Outposts

Have you ever noticed tables of product near the aisles in

stores? These are called Merchandise Outposts and their
purpose is to entice customers to pick up product on
impulse.
You may recall walking through the deli department of
your favorite grocery store on your way to the butcher
shop only to pass display after display of items that make
you think, “I need that, too.” That’s the power of a
Merchandise Outpost: present customers with a cross
section of merchandise while they are in a buying mood.
Use Outposts throughout your store to cross-merchandise;
as a magnet to draw customers through the store; to
introduce a new department or merchandise story; and to
feature top sellers and other highly profitable
merchandise. But make sure to keep a selection of the
product in its rightful department, where customers expect
to find it. Even basic merchandise that is typically
displayed on gondolas can be set to help you sell more.
Here are the tricks every retailer needs to know:
There are two ways to merchandise product placed on
shelves: Horizontal and Vertical. A Vertical Presentation
is almost always your best bet. For the sake of
demonstration, let’s say that you have a 2.5’ section of
gondola with four shelves, and you have four different
products to
display in this space. If you choose a horizontal
presentation, placing just one product per shelf, then you
severely limit the amount of items a customer is likely to
see as she scans a shelf. If she only glances at the second
shelf, she will only see that particular product.

In almost all presentations, Vertical Merchandising is a

better choice. Any time you display product vertically,
you expose the customer to a greater variety of the
assortment at any eye level. And since we are naturally
inclined to read from left to right, Vertical Merchandising
encourages purchases because customers will see your
entire selection of merchandise wherever they look.

Color Ribboning versus Color Blocking

A word about color: we are attracted by color, so any time

you can make an impact displaying product by color, do
so and sales will increase. When you merchandise colors
vertically, customers will be exposed to your full color
assortment. Visualize the silk flowers in the floral aisles,
or a display of scrapbooks presented face out. Vertical use
of color is called Color Ribboning, and it’s always a better
choice over Color Blocking, the horizontal use of color.

Small Sizes on the Left, Large on the Right

Stores that sell similar items in various sizes obviously
profit from selling the largest size because it’s likely to be
the higher priced item. When displaying similar items in
various sizes, always place the small size of the product
on the left, and the larger size on the right. This trick
works because most customers are right handed, and will
often unconsciously reach for the item closest to their
right hand, rather than reach across their body or shopping
cart. This trick can be used in many areas of your store
including your paint and medium departments

Place larger items to the right. Shoppers tend to reach for

the item farthest to the right.

“Hot Spot Cross” Merchandising

Every section of every fixture has what’s called a “Hot

Spot Cross”—the part of the fi xture that sells the best.
This is a good thing, because customers have a tendency
to stop at the center of the category, so the Hot Spot
silently points out important merchandise.
To locate the Hot Spot in any fi xture, simply draw an
imaginary cross through the center of a fixture.
Incidentally, fi xtures such as gondolas with many
sections will have a Hot Spot in each one of the sections.

Remember this: “Hot Spot and one to the right.” Since

most customers will reach for product with their right
hand, the position just to the right of the center of the
cross is an equally hot display area. Use this space to
display new items, and to energize classic product that
might be suffering from sagging sales.

Variety of Shelf Heights

Is the shelving on all of your gondolas set at the same

height? If they are then you are likely putting customers to
sleep! Vary the shelf heights on longer gondola runs to
highlight product and get the customers attention. In
addition to exposing customers to more of your product
assortment, a variety of heights will help you better
manage your display space.

Visual Curve Merchandising

Visual Curve Merchandising involves the use of slanted
shelves to increase the
customer’s strike zone—the amount of product the
customer sees in just one glance.
Look at the different areas of your store. Do you have
interesting product laying flat on straight shelves? That’s
too bad, because most customers will miss it as they
peruse
the aisles. Call your favorite fixture company and invest
in inexpensive plastic “fencing”
that will hold the product in place and allow you to slant
your shelves. You will be amazed at the difference it will
make in presentation and in sales.

Cross-Merchandising

Cross-merchandising is a very under-utilized technique

that mixes different product categories together:
customers see and buy more because they can easily
visualize how the items will work together.

Exterior presentation
The quality of a store is a major determinant for a
customer, particularly a new customer, and should not be
underestimated. The exterior appearance of one store, a
block of business or a cluster, silently announce what
customers can expect inside. Good exterior visual
merchandising attracts attention, creates interest and
invites the customer to the business. The exterior
presentation can offer a conservative, progressive, lavish
or dis ount image to the customer.

How a store visually welcomes customers has a lot to do

with whether or not they enter the store. Although good
prices and positive word of mouth advertising is
important, it is hard to overcome the negative image of a
poor store exterior.

Exterior Signs
A sign is a silent salesperson, and part of a shopper’s first
impression of a store. In less than 10 seconds the sign
must attract attention, tell who the business is and what it
has to sell. An effective sign will communicate what type
of business is being conducted.
Off-premise signs provide information and direction,
especially for travelers and new residents. Signs can also
help effectively communicate a poor location. A sign’s
design conveys a great deal about the business inside. A
stark design and limited materials may suggest discount
prices and no frills. Elegant and expensive signs materials
suggest luxury goods and services. Signs may also be
used to target a specific market segment such as youth,
women, senior citizens, singles, etc.

Marquees
This special type of sign is used to display the name of a
store. An effective marquee must stand out from the other
business attract attention. It can be used to announce a
change in seasons, a special event or a promotion.

Banners
Banners are used increasingly as an inexpensive but
colorful, eye catching means of promotion. A new and
interesting appearance can be offered by changing the
banners frequently. The design concept used on the
banners will be more effective if an attempt is made to
carry the colors and graphics throughout the store, and on
promotional materials and newspaper ads.
Awnings
Color and appeal can be added to a store’s exterior with
the use of awnings. They provide the customer with the
protection from weather and makes viewing the window
display more pleasant as it reduces heat, cuts down on
glare and reflection, and prevents fading of the
merchandise from exposure to the sun.

Walks and entries

Approximately 75% of first time customers remember a
store’s entrance, which provides the first and last view of
the store’s interior. Picture walking up to an expanse of
wall whose flat surface is pierced only by a plain glass
door, as opposed to the protective feelings offered by
walking under a porch or canopy.
A properly designed canopy of porch not only protects the
customer in bad weather, but can add to the aesthetics of
the building. When adding an entryway, be sure it is
designed to blend or be consistent with the architecture of
the building.
A cluttered entryway causes shoppers to indefinitely
postpone entering a store, while an attractive, well-
designed entrance inviting to the customer. Entrances that
allow shoppers to come into a store without being aware
of their entering, is also becoming more popular.

Landscaping
Landscaping should lead the customer’s eye to the focal
point using color and texture to provide contrast and
harmony. The focal point is the business sign and or the
business itself. Landscaping can also screen undesirable
sights such as garbage receptacles, power transformers
and refrigeration equipment.
Planters, flower boxes and plants used in front of a store
add to the general appearance, regardless of what of
merchandise is being sold.
Well designed and sturdy benches for resting and relaxing
can be a part of the landscape and may encourage
customers to stay longer.
Window displays
Special emphasis should be placed on a store’s window
display because they are the information link to the
potential customer. Window displays can be as important,
if not more important, than advertising. As many as one in
every four sales could be the result of a good window
display.
Window displays should attract attention, create interest
and invite people into the store to purchase goods.
Shoppers also lose interest when the same window
display is left up too long. It is especially important to
frequently change window displays in small towns where
customers pass by several times a week. Properly lighted
window displays can help sell specific products or ideas
that promote a store’s image.

Props, fixtures and signage

Props
A prop is something used with a product in a display that
clarifies the function of the merchandise being sold or the
story being told. Props are an integral part of a display.
They are used in VM to tell a story about the product, the
merchandise concept or the story itself. A display prop is
something that is not for sale, such as floor coverings,
wall treatments, backgrounds, mannequins, shelves and
steps.
The merchandise in a display should always be the
dominant element. The prop is there to complement or
highlight the salable merchandise and add visual
excitement to the surrounding area.

Merchandise and Fixture Display

Recommendations
Goods can be effectively displayed on a variety of fixtures
such as gondolas, tables, cubes, mannequins, waterfalls
and other racks, display cases and manufacturer point of
purchase displays. A fixture should not only complement
the merchandise, but also the atmosphere created in the
store. Each fixture should present the merchandise to the
public and thereby act as a silent salesperson.
One of the most common fixtures in stores are gondolas,
movalble shelving approachable from all sides used in
self-service stores to display merchandise. Related
merchandise should be grouped in together on the end-cap
and gondola sides. The end-cap should indicate the type
of related merchandise on the gondola sides.
CRITICAL ISSUES OF VISUAL
MERCHANDISING

Retailing them itself has transformed the way business is

done and the so called merchandisers of disposition of
store inventory. There are many ways and standard
procedures to ignite sales, increase profits and maximize
the net worth of the business. Visual merchandising helps
in this respect. This calls for a concerted industry efforts
to approximately value the importance of quality retail
coverage such as self-integrity in store advertising, price
verification, stock rotations, new item-cut and other
related activities.
To make effective the retail business one has to focus on
the following critical issues of visual merchandising.
a) Graphics and signage: attention grabbing yet clear
graphics by way to visually communicate the brand
and these graphics when compiled with the right
signage become the stalls complete instruction
manual.
b) Trends and moot boards: This is misunderstood by
many as mere decorations for the stall. The brand sources
and moot boards convey the source, in fact the mere need
of the product for the consumer to the buyer. A good trend
story board display can exhibit a thought process nursing
for the inspirations (research, to swatch development of
the final usage of the product.
c) Space management: Most displays concentrate on the
floor management of space. In order to create a complete
desired ambience the ceiling space should also be given
enough attention. Walls are not elastic space should be
allocated to the available products as per the expectation
of the customers to deliver best results. The major issues
of space management are:
1. How do we want our ranges to look?
2. Hanging/stocked/customers etc.
3. What stock density do you want to achieve?
Generally, the more options/units you can hold for a given
amount of space, the higher the potential returns. Space
landing systems can be split into two types
Numeric and visuals: Numeric planning system simply
allow users to account of space available and to calculate
the ratios like returns on space. Visual systems allow
users to create three dimensional walk through models of
the stores and to preview the look of a store once ranging
decisions have been made.
d) Dresiforms and mannequins: The dresiforms
communicate the 3 dimensional form of the product.
Along with the fit a good mannequin can also be
customized to communicate a character, for example,
special kids wear mannequins with caricatured faces
convey the playful mood of the collections.
e) Synergy among the different stalls: A stall look should
compliment the mood the whole fair too. So some visual
elements from the fair, be it a color scheme or some
material used should also be incorporated in the stall.
f) Out of the box thinking: With so many stalls around, it
sometimes focus some stock value to grab the attention of
the buyers. Innovative ideas in displaying the
mannequins, swatches etc can invite many more people to
the stall.
g) Merchandise planning: The first function of
merchandising planning is making a strategic plan, which
is normally for a five years or more and is used to set the
critical success factors for merchandising in terms of
sales, margins and stocks.
Next in a channel sales budget to take into account the
effect of the new channels, new stores, closures, and
refits. In simple words merchandising planning is a
systematic approach and aiming at maximizing return on
investment, through planning sales and inventory in order
to increase profitability. It does think by maximization
sales potential and minimizing losses from marked down
and stock cuts.
h) Range planning: Begin with assortment plan. In
assortment plan, the goal of merchandise plan are divided
into specific lines and such a way that the division results
in the increase of overall marginal mix. Then a
distributions planning in done. The link between available
physical space and ranging done here is a key determinant
of merchandising performance.
Basic Tips for Better Visual
Merchandising

Great store presentation and product merchandising is like

a good book. It’s got an alluring cover to entice, an
interesting first chapter to tell the reader they’ve made the
right choice, and a satisfying conclusion to get the
audience to want more. The tools used to achieve these
attributes are based on creating the most satisfying
experience for the shopper, turning browsers into buyers.

Identity and First Impressions

Let’s start at the beginning. An important element in any
store design is the look of the storefront. Accomplished
successfully, the entrance reflects the personality of the
store and gives a glimpse of the merchandise available
inside.
Design a distinctive store logo that communicates your
mission. Not only will you use this as a storefront sign,
but it could also be painted or applied with special
graphics film on the floor as a welcome mat or maybe on
the wall behind the cashwrap. And you’ll want it printed
on merchandise, hangtags, and point of sale signage.
The way merchandise is displayed in show windows also
has a lot to do with enticing the guests into the store.
Whether you have a store in the mall or on the street, the
customer has only a few seconds to view and be attracted
by your displays. Your visual philosophy should replicate
a billboard: make it bold, colorful, and simple. Baby
shops often put one of everything into the window . . . and
customer miss it all because they can’t focus.

Store Layout
In developing an effective store design, a most critical
element is how the store is organized for a logical
unfolding or discovery of merchandise by the browser. Is
your store easy to shop?
There are several approaches to retail store organization
and merchandise display. The first and most common is to
display similar merchandise all in the same area. If your
store presents merchandise in this way, you’ll probably
have a stroller wall, a book section, fixtures for toys and
novelties, and special cases for smaller or secured
merchandise.
You might, however, want to consider as an alternate
presentation method, Lifestyle Merchandising. With this
method, diverse products like apparel, books, lamps,
furniture, etc., which all reflect the same theme, are
displayed together in a room setting. Having spent my
formative years in the furniture business, it became
evident early on that helping customers to visualize how
merchandise would look in their homes was a major
contributing factor in affecting a sale.
As a more thematic interpretation of ‘cross
merchandising’, presenting products in this manner can
also increase the perceived value of items that normally
would seem unconnected with any other merchandise.
Hence a simple “Star” motif decorative pillow is elevated
to a desirable collectible as it completes a total look for a
celestial themed baby room.
Finally, you may find that a combination of the two
merchandising styles may best be suited to your market
area or target customer. Similar to the new wave of home
furnishings stores that have divided their stores into
lifestyles sections of the home, i.e., The Living Room,
The Dining Room, Outdoor Living, these stores also have
departments in which products are presented en mase
(e.g., glassware, cookware, home electronics, etc.). The
same is true for apparel retailers like the Gap, Banana
Republic, or Old Navy. While they give you dressing
suggestions with coordinated look mannequin
presentations, you can also find your favorite fit from
their large selection of jeans on the denim walls.
Creating room settings in highly visible focal areas of
your store and positioning commodity products in
convenient locations that make it easy for the customer to
stock up achieve the best of both methods of display.
Organizing the store in either way presents a logical
arrangement that helps the guest to browse, look through
the merchandise offering, and determine which items
would help complete the mind-picture they have for their
or the baby’s lifestyle.
Once the store is set, don’t think you’re done, however.
Walk your store on a daily basis, reviewing the
merchandise presentation and display as the prospective
customer would. Face merchandise toward the main
traffic aisle, reorganize those lifestyle settings, and make
sure all signs are in good condition. “If I were shopping in
this store, would I be enticed to buy?”

Promotional Activity
“What is my marketing plan?” The business press is filled
with articles on major retailers’ recent new focus on child
and baby furnishings for the home. Crate & Barrel, Pier 1
Imports, Bombay, Co., and Williams-Sonoma have plans
to enter or expand into the market. These retailers will
probably offer national branded products and be very
competitively priced in order to make their presence
known to shoppers.
How will the independent Baby Shop retailer compete?
Once again, good visual merchandising and store planning
will play an important part. Maintaining a store
presentation of desirable products that are clean, orderly,
easy to find, and easy to buy will provide a great service
to the parent or grandparent looking for something
special. Good in-store signage is the important final
element of store presentation and promotions.
Category signage that helps to guide the customer through
your store is essential. In addition, creating a professional
looking graphics package that displays price and features
and benefits messages clearly communicates the value of
your offer.
It may be difficult to compete with the larger national
chains’ prices, but displaying current, fashionable
merchandise, sold by knowledgeable sales personnel and
priced within a consistent value range will establish your
business as a viable alternative to those stores.
curb appeal: developing a powerful store image through
effective visual merchandising
"you never get a second chance to make a first
impression."

Even though there are many influences at work in the

shopping experience, the look of a store holds the most
sway in enticing us through the doors. We even tend to
sum up that initial in-store encounter in visual terms: a
store is exciting, clean or well-organized or, at the other
end of the scale, boring, messy, or overwhelming.

It is not enough anymore for a store to just look good

from a merchandising or display standpoint. Who can
afford to spend quantum amounts of time or money on
improving a store's look without being assured of a
healthy return on investment? Today, a store not only
must perform by exciting and encouraging the customer to
buy, but from the retailer's point of view, it must perform
profitably.

Visual merchandising is comprised of six components:

image, layout, presentation, signing, display and events.
This article will focus on the component that lays the
groundwork for all the other components— image.
Everything you do within the store— how you develop
your layout, your presentation, your signing, your
displays and your events —must fit into the image you
choose to create.

Why Start With Store Image?

Image can be described as the overall look of a store and
the series of mental pictures and feelings it evokes within
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.

As a rule, image is the foundation of all retailing efforts.

While store layout, presentation, signing, displays and
events can all change to reflect newness and excitement
from week to week, season to season, 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 makes a positive impression within those
precious few seconds.
The Image-makers:
An Identifiable Store Name
A Powerful Visual Trademark
An Unmistakable Storefront
An Inviting Entrance
A Consistent and Compelling Store Look and Hook

1. Identifiable Store Names

What's in a Name?

An effective store name sets the tone and provides a

store's identification by conjuring up an image in the
customer's mind. An effective name is consistent with
both the product mix and the store atmosphere.

Your store name should be easy to say and remember,

indicative of the images and feelings you want the
customer to retain and unlikely to sound dated in a few
years.

2. Powerful Visual
Trademarks On Your Mark

An identifiable trademark adds a visual image to the

memory recall of a store name, by combining words and
pictures, colour, shape, typeface, texture and/or style to
make it stand out. Identifiable even in the absence of the
store name, a successful trademark should be unique to
you, indicative of your products and services, consistent
with the overall impression you want to leave customers
and be professional and well-designed.

You can set the tone for all of your retailing efforts by
creating a trademark that is whimsical, sophisticated,
humourous or totally "off the wall".

3.Unmistakable Storefronts

Traffic-Stoppers

Customers simply don't have the time to "read" into the

store, so just as your store name and trademark—the title
of your ÒbookÓ—must provide instant recognition and
recall, your exterior storefront—the cover of your
ÒbookÓ—must project a welcoming, clear and concise
image of what's in-store.

Traffic-stopping storefronts use a thoughtful combination

of exterior architecture, signing and window displays to
ensure a powerful first impression.

Exterior Architecture

A store's exterior look is often referred to as the

architecture, and comprises aspects such as building
materials, architectural style and detail, colours and
textures. A store in a Victorian brownstone building, for
example, will exude images associated with the building's
architectural era, such as cozy, tastefully cluttered and
comfortable. Such an image would be very appropriate for
a neighborhood book store, but not likely as suitable for a
high tech kitchen retailer.

If your exterior architecture is not projecting the right

image, consider painting or re-facing the storefront,
adding or removing some architectural elements in
keeping with your image, or consulting a designer to
totally re-engineer the storefront.

The Store Sign

The store sign is a vital element of the storefront,

identifying your store and beckoning the customer to take
notice and stop. In realizing the value of a strong
storefront sign, many retailers are employing new design
techniques which include projecting or cantilevering the
store sign beyond the lease line, adding motion, or using
three-dimensional lettering and unique lighting
applications to add depth to the sign.

If your storefront sign is losing the battle for visual

dominance among neighboring stores, consider re-
painting it or adding more colour, making it bigger and
bolder, incorporating your trademark, using new, more
contemporary materials to create your sign, and/or adding
motion or lighting.

Display Windows

A store's exterior windows or glass storefront

provide an additional opportunity to reach out
and grab the passing customer. Windows are
integral in creating a positive impression
since they offer an opportunity to begin
telling your store's unique merchandise story
immediately.

Many retailers underestimate the powerful pull of an

effective window, treating the area more as additional
stock space than the true image-maker and magnet it can
be. This prime real estate should be approached as a
showcase for the newest seasonal merchandise dramatized
with props and themes in keeping with your store image.

The Customer's Vantage Point

In planning your storefront, utmost consideration must be

given to the customer's vantage point. Place yourself in
the customer's shoes in considering their reverie—the
speed at which they are traveling, their preoccupation-
levels and the chances of getting them to stop. The more
hurried and distracted a customer is, the less chance there
is of getting their attention.

Often, plans that look good on paper fail miserably

because they are developed from the retailer's vantage
point, not the customer's. Many retailers plan their
storefronts based on a "head-on" perspective, which
entails a direct 90 degree-angle approach. But is that the
customer's vantage? Not typically. Usually, the direction
of customer traffic flow is influenced Òby the location of
a parking lot, a public transportation terminus or some
other physical feature...displays canted or slanted to that
dominant direction of traffic will get more serious
attention." (Display and Design Ideas, Making First
Impressions Count, by Paco Underhill)
To increase the chances of customers noticing your store,
consider the following:

What direction and angle is the customer coming from?

Is your exterior sign visible and legible from a distance?
Is the traffic predominantly drive by or walk by?
Are there any discernible traffic patterns and at what
speed are they moving at various timesof the day?
Are your store windows easy to read from the distance the
customer will first notice them?

4. The Store Entrance

Rolling Out the Red Carpet

The entrance to the store is the division between the

outside and inside environments. Mall retailers have an
easier chance of luring customers into the store with a
wide, open entrance, creating a seamless entry from the
mall to the store. Retailers who depend largely on impulse
traffic should try to create an open storefront, either by
removing storefront barriers completely or by creating an
unobstructed view into the store with a glass frontage.

Street retailers and some mall tenants who require portals

due to climate control or a need for intimacy or security,
have less opportunity to give customers a tantalizing taste
of the interior, therefore have a greater challenge of
persuading them through the door. For these retailer, an
unobstructed and welcoming doorway combined with a
great window display can provide the lure.

In all types of store entrances, customer's need to get the

impression that they (and perhaps their children) will be
comfortable and welcome. Obstacle courses, visual clutter
and "Do Not" signs on the doors are negative turn-offs
that often result in a negative first impression and a lost
customer.

Multiplying Positive Impressions

Creating a consistent positive impression is important—

particularly so if you have more than one store. Customers
should be able to recognize and identify with your store,
whether it is in Vancouver or Miami. Even if your
multiple locations differ in size, shape, design and even
merchandise mix, you can create continuity of image by
having common elements throughout the chain. Consider
applying the same store trademark to all of your
marketing, storefront and in-store applications, extending
some common exterior elements to all of your stores
and/or using similar props, treatments and themes in your
store windows.
5. By Look or by Hook

Getting the Customer In

Within the first few seconds of catching their interest, the

customer's focus moves beyond the store's exterior for a
visual scan of the interior while they mull over whether to
enter or not. Getting a customer through the door is
indeed a victory.

In most instances, customers are either on a mission to

make a planned purchase (the Seekers), or are shopping
for amusement, entertainment or ideas (the Browsers).

Seekers may plan a trip to your store to make a

premeditated purchase or may decide to enter because
they are comparison shopping for something specific. For
the seeker, a deeper look into the store must reinforce
their confidence that the store will have what they are
seeking and that they can get in and out easily and
quickly.

Browsers are more inclined to enter a store impulsively,

drawn by the overall impression that a store has
something they should check out. For the browser, a
further look into the store must plant a seed of interest and
hook them in.

For both seekers and browsers, the deeper glance into the
store and the resulting decision—to enter, or not—is often
attributed to the overall store look and a compelling hook.

A Visual Look

An inviting entrance is crucial in stopping the customer

and establishing a positive first impression, but if the
inside store messages create feelings of inconsistency or
confusion, all is lost. For example, a clear and well-
articulated store entrance that is followed up with a
barrage of inconsistent aisle patterns, sloppy
merchandising and confusing signs signals to the
customer that the exterior image will not be fulfilled on
the inside. Truly impressive stores are consistent in all
efforts from the storefront right through to the stock room.

A Visual Hook

Visual hooks are a call to action that diverts a customer's

attention to your store with a "Stop—there's something
here for you!" Powerful visual hooks are created by
marrying other visual merchandising components for a
more memorable first impression. An exciting entrance
presentation, an effectively signed promotional offering, a
powerful interior display, in-store animation or events all
serve as magnets to draw the customer in.

Audio Appeal When effectively delivered, music can have

an audible effect on creating the desired mood and image,
putting customers in a buying mood and providing a
stimulating environment. In fact, extensive studies on the
affects of environmental music in the retail industry reveal
that when stores play music customers perceive that time
in line ups is shorter, customer service is perceived to be
friendlier and customers spend more time shopping in the
store.

A positive and persuasive first impression is formed in a

few brief seconds. The combined efforts of store name,
exterior signing, architecture, window displays and the
entrance to the store set the tone and create an image of
mental pictures in the customer's subconscious.

Take time to plan the display. Consider what you want to

accomplish, develop a budget and determine a central
theme. You may even want to sketch your display on
paper. Gather your visual display tool box, the
merchandise and any props. Make sure all materials and
location (tables, windows, racks) are clean. Choose a slow
time of the day or build the display after hours.
Elements of Effective Visual
Merchandising

Balance: Asymmetrical rather than symmetrical balance

with the display.
Size of Objects: Place the largest object into display first.
Color: Helps set mood and feelings.
Focal Point: Where product and props/signage and
background come together.
Lighting: Should accent focal point, if possible.
Simplicity: Less is more so know when to stop and don't
add too many items.
Once the display is finished, add appropriate signage.
Take photos of the display and keep record of the product
sales during the display's existence. Save your
information in a file folder for easy reference. By
documenting its success, you can re-create the display
next year or if it flops, you can make sure you don't repeat
the same mistakes.

Big Bazaar and its Visual

merchandising
 Retailers look to sell
via visual
merchandising

With the retail sector becoming popular by the day,

companies are now looking at visual merchandising (VM)
to better sell their products. VM is the art of presenting
merchandise, putting the product into focus.

“VM is becoming a part and parcel of the retail sector. The

idea is to show more in order to sell more,” said Jaideep
Banerjee, AGM-operations, Piramyd Mega Store. VM
helps us in promoting new European trends in the Indian
markets, Banerjee said. We also focuss on theme based
presentations,” he added.

Shibani Shourie, senior manager of planning and

communications, Pantaloons said, “Though at a nascent
stage, retail merchandising in the country is slowly
catching on with so many malls mushrooming across the
country. Some years ago only a few companies had a
separate post for VM.”

The company has a team of trend watchers who closely

observe fashions in various parts of the country. “The idea
of VM is to minimise human intervention as much as
possible at the point of purchase,” Shourie said.

They focus on styling and try to give a fresher and newer

look, she further said. The Pantaloon group, with Big
Bazaar, Food Bazaar and the larger lifestyle stores, has
roped in over 150 visual merchandisers, the highest in the
country. The VMs are generally selected from design
schools like NID and Nift or from fine arts or other
designing institutions.

The displays are usually changed every 4-6 weeks. VM is

not only restricted to a presentation wall or display point
but has travelled farther to ceilings and floors. Also a 2-6
week training programme is given to freshers to tap their
potentials. The inadequacy reflected in poor presentation
or displays can also hamper the sale of a product hence
utmost care it taken to turn it into a suitable visuale
presentation.

According to Manish Saksena, product head, buying and

design of Lifestyle, a subsidy of the Dubai-based
Paramound group, “This trend came to India 10 years ago
as international brands wanted to present themselves
differently from the way we did.”

“It has become almost impossible for stores to exist

without VM. The larger the setup the more is the
requirement for visual merchandisers,” Saksena said.

“Internationally there are institutes that have proper

dedicated coursed for VM which is still to happen
effectively in India,” he added.

Recently, Retailers Association of India (RAI), and Mudra

Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad, (MICA) have
joined hands to launch a six month Professional
Programme in Visual Merchandising & Creative
Communications for the first time in India.

“Although VM contributes 40-60 per cent of the total

promotion in retail it is not very well studied and also
lacks professionalism,” said Hemant Trivedi, head-retail
academic area, MICA. Currently there is a lot of
outsourcing happening, he added.

Talking about employment generation Trivedi said, “As

much as 10-15 per cent of total employment in retail will
be from VM directly or indirectly.”

From the personal survey and research

on Big Bazaar’s Visual Merchandising:

Big bazaar has been adopting some really good visual

merchandising techniques. The following are the main
observations that are made from the target company are:-
Walkway and exterior layout

Big Bazaar has a wonderful and spacious walkway layout

with a considerably large parking area for the customers
who visit the store. Since it is located mostly in the central
and major areas of the cities, it has access to all types of
customers, each belonging to various economic classes.
It has some good landscaping as well as the exterior signs
are quiet attractive to the customer’s eye!
Interior layout

Big Bazaar has made good use of props and fixtures.

These differ from product to product that they offer for
sale. The entire shop is strategically designed in such a
way that all the basic need are met in the first floor of the
store followed by various other products in the other
floors. Each floor is exclusively designed for a particular
kind of product line. For instance, it has a separate for all
children clothes, toys and kids accessories.
 A separate floor is maintained
for clothing for the youth, women and men. Another floor
is dedicated to all household commodities and another for
all food items.
Mannequins for clothing and gondolas in case of grocery
are some of the props and fixtures that Big Bazaar has
used. Even though window display do no play a major
role in this particular store, they made proper use of
lighting and color sequences throughout the store; both
interior as well as exterior.

All the items are placed in a very neat manner and

constant assistance is provided to the customers and this
attracts a great deal of potential buyers to the store,
making them to visit the store on a regular basis. Flow of
product offerings are blended in a logical progression.
Visual merchandising tips.
Visual impact is a huge component of retail
merchandising. Customers entering a store are greatly
influenced by the visual information they gather in the
first split second. One simple visual element, such as
color, can catch a shopper’s attention and also greatly
affect their mood. In today’s ultra competitive market
place it is of paramount importance that retailers
understand the basics of visual merchandising. Here are 5
visual merchandising tips to help you maximize your
efforts.

1. Display sale products in a creative way. When building

a product display look for products that are natural add-
ons to the main product featured. A great visual
merchandising tip for a grocery store: Build an end cap
special on tomato soup, but don’t just stop with the soup,
get creative. Merchandise the entire end cap with tomato
soup then place a shelf at eye level displaying brightly
colored soup bowls as an add-on sale item. Visually the
display would have a repeating label accented by one
ribbon shelf of bowls. This is good visual merchandising
practice and great way to increase margin.

2. Use accent lighting to feature products. Customers are

drawn to light. Lighting can make products shine and
bring colors to life. Using this visual merchandising tip to
wash a display wall with light will enhance any product.
Accent lighting creates visual interest for shoppers, and
magically puts products in their sight. Once a product has
captured a customer’s attention the odds are increased that
a purchase is at hand. This visual merchandising tip will
impact your customers’ impression of their shopping
experience and your profits.

3. Change displays weekly. This visual merchandising tip

reminds us that customers want to see new and different
products. There is an aspect of entertainment and
education that customers appreciate when stores change
their displays. Stores that don’t change their displays
weekly will have customers simply walking past displays
that are no longer fresh. If the customers have seen the
same end cap for the last six weeks, the displays are no
longer new or relevant to them. These stores will not reap
the potential rewards of incremental or add-on sales and
can lose out to their competition. If the competitor down
the street is constantly and creatively changing their
visuals, there is a good chance shoppers will gravitate to
that store.
4 Color matters. Visual merchandising tips like this one
. are at the core of any solid merchandising plan. Color
can demand a shopper’s attention, evoke emotion and
influence decisions. Your merchandising plan should
include bright colors not only for displays or end caps,
but also for the middle of aisle runs. Visually painting
 your store with colorful focal points will help draw
shoppers to those key areas.

4 Merchandising themes Themes group products together

. for a powerful visual message. Theme merchandising is
a fun way to communicate seasonal activities or other
information. If your store is a hardware store, use
garden gloves, flower bulbs, decorative pots, hand
gardening tools, and potting soil to get your sales started
for spring. Outdoor grilling displays are great themes
for grocery stores and home centers. Backyard chefs
will be attracted to every item in your display. Themes
connect customers to projects or activities, and as a
result, connect their spending to your profits.

Maximizing your Visual

Merchandising Potential

The Goals of Visual Merchandising

Visual merchandising can metaphorically be considered
your “silent salesperson,” achieving the following goals:
Improving service

Educating the customer

Increasing productivity levels

Reinforcing store image

Visibility, simplicity, originality, cleanliness, and
timeliness are the “Golden Rules” of effective visual
merchandising presentations.

Proper Placement and Presentation

Virtually every area of your practice holds the potential

for effective merchandising. From windows and walls ...
to ceilings and countertops ... opportunities abound for
quick identification of frames and lenses, for focusing
attention on a favorite brand, or for communicating a
desired message.

Window Presentations: Windows are a magnetic draw

that can convert the potential passerby into real patient
profitability. Focus attention on one or two important
themes - be it an artful arrangement of the hottest designer
frames ... or a well done vignette featuring your newest
sunwear introductions. Too much unrelated material
confuses rather than enhances your presentation.

Lease Line (entryway) Opportunities: Here’s the place to

introduce a special promotion ... announce an event ... or
elicit inquiries concerning a new product or service. Floor
standing sign holders with back-to-back signage that can
be read from either direction ... overhead banners that
deliver a stand-out message ... or a floor-standing fixture
enhanced with promotional graphics … all offer the
potential to pique patient curiosity as they enter your
practice.

Waiting Room Materials: What a perfect opportunity to

present patients with a quick read or a take-home
pamphlet on the vital importance of vision care for the
whole family ... or the quality differences among different
brands of sunwear or eyewear... or the hottest new lens
options and frame materials. Displaying and
disseminating these materials emphasize your
commitment toward the delivery of quality care and
materials.
Wall-mounted Displays: Use your wall space to create
attractive and functional visual merchandising systems
tailored to your dispensing area. From convenient slat
wall displays to high-impact light boxes featuring
beautiful back lit graphics (duratrans), high visibility
walls offer maximum impact in merchandising and
marketing your best selling brands. Be sure to intersperse
your frame offerings with logos, lifestyle graphics, and
brief “sound bites” of product information.

Countertop Merchandising: While countertop space is

often limited, you can optimize your counter space with
small, space-saving frame or lens displays positioned
adjacent to appropriate lifestyle and promotional
countercards. Wherever space permits, you might
consider featuring ‘Informational Countercards’
addressing such topics as the importance of maximum sun
protection, the concept of prescription sunwear, or an
eyewear or lens offering’s unique points of difference.

In Case Presentations: Tent logos, couvettes, and in-case

signage are but a few of the wide variety of
merchandising opportunities designed to enhance your
under-glass presentations. Eyewear presented under glass
often conveys an upscale image – the feeling of a
treasured collectable or an important piece of jewelry.

Your Patient Population

Who are your patients and what do they want most? From
kids to tweens and teens . . . from baby boomers to
matures … each group forms a unique marketing niche of
similar opinions, common needs, similar buying instincts
and motives. Tracking and knowing your demographics
and their lifestyles gives you the power to communicate to
your target customers in so many ways:

In Communicating to Children ... Here is your chance to

design and create a fantasy presentation that brings fun
and excitement to children and communicates factual
information and a sense of quality to the adult.
When Talking To Tweens and Teens ... If you talk in a
language that’s purely visual and give them the attitudes
and values that mean the most, like truth, fun and
independence, they’ll listen. Say it all in graphics and
quick sound bites.
Though Boomers are, perhaps, your Busiest Demographic
... they want all the facts. Put them in control by giving
them what’s real and true ... all the information they need
to judge a product and to make an educated buying
decision.
Because Matures are Loyal … brand names and logos are
an extremely powerful merchandising force. Speak to
them clearly about quality and value – these are essential
elements to matures – vital to making a purchasing
decision.
Establishing Your Identity In Fashion Eyewear
Combining your professional recommendations with the
power of popular designer and brand name frames can
translate to big business for your practice. Creating high
visibility vignettes of your most prestigious and popular
collections can quickly identify you as a Fashion Eyewear

Professional:
In creating a designer vignette, it is vital that you be
consistent with a designer’s image and philosophy. Your
vignette should always reflect the unique and personal
approach to style established by the designer. If possible,
visit a designer’s own boutique to see, first hand, how
fashions and accessories are presented.
Always use professional, vendor supplied materials in a
vignette. These have been created in conjunction with the
designer and his team to ensure consistency of design
philosophy and image.
Update promotional materials and frames regularly to
enforce your fashion savvy, showing patients you are
right on top the latest and greatest in designer frames.
Cross-promote your key brands throughout your practice
via logos, graphics and signage in the window … in the
waiting room . . . and in your dispensing area … clearly
identifying and communicating their availability in your
practice.
Powerful visual merchandising offers you unlimited
marketing potential. It is an ideal way to strengthen your
practice’s unique identity at every turn. From dazzling
your patients with designer logos . . . to intriguing them
with posters, and patient-focused signage that speaks to
their special lifestyle . . . effective product presentation
and appropriate, well placed merchandising materials
delivers the marketing magic that can increase sales – and
your bottom line.
Basic Tips for Better Visual
Merchandising

Great store presentation and product merchandising is like

a good book. Its got an alluring cover to entice, an
interesting first chapter to tell the reader theyve made the
right choice, and a satisfying conclusion to get the
audience to want more. The tools used to achieve these
attributes are based on creating the most satisfying
experience for the shopper, turning browsers into buyers.

Storefront Identity and First Impressions:

Lets start at the beginning. An important element in any

store design is the look of the storefront. Accomplished
successfully, the entrance reflects the personality of the
store and gives a glimpse of the merchandise available
inside.

Design a distinctive store logo that communicates your

mission. Not only will you use this as a storefront sign,
but it could also be painted or applied with special
graphics film on the floor as a welcome mat or maybe on
the wall behind the cash wrap. And you’ll want it printed
on merchandise, hangtags, and point of sale signage.
The way merchandise is displayed in show windows also
has a lot to do with enticing the guests into the store.
Whether you have a store in the mall or on the street, the
customer has only a few seconds to view and be attracted
by your displays. Your visual philosophy should replicate
a billboard: make it bold, colorful, and simple. Baby
shops often put one of everything into the window . . . and
customer miss it all because they cant focus.

Store Layout:

In developing an effective store design, a most critical

element is how the store is organized for a logical
unfolding or discovery of merchandise by the browser. Is
your store easy to shop?

There are several approaches to retail store organization

and merchandise display. The first and most common is to
display similar merchandise all in the same area. If your
store presents merchandise in this way, youll probably
have a stroller wall, a book section, fixtures for toys and
novelties, and special cases for smaller or secured
merchandise.

You might, however, want to consider as an alternate

presentation method, Lifestyle Merchandising. With this
method, diverse products like apparel, books, lamps,
furniture, etc., which all reflect the same theme, are
displayed together in a room setting. Having spent my
formative years in the furniture business, it became
evident early on that helping customers to visualize how
merchandise would look in their homes was a major
contributing factor in affecting a sale.

As a more thematic interpretation of cross merchandising,

presenting products in this manner can also increase the
perceived value of items that normally would seem
unconnected with any other merchandise. Hence a simple
Star motif decorative pillow is elevated to a desirable
collectible as it completes a total look for a celestial
themed baby room.

Finally, you may find that a combination of the two

merchandising styles may best be suited to your market
area or target customer. Similar to the new wave of home
furnishings stores that have divided their stores into
lifestyles sections of the home, i.e., The Living Room,
The Dining Room, Outdoor Living, these stores also have
departments in which products are presented en mase
(e.g., glassware, cookware, home electronics, etc.). The
same is true for apparel retailers like the Gap, Banana
Republic, or Old Navy. While they give you dressing
suggestions with coordinated look mannequin
presentations, you can also find your favorite fit from
their large selection of jeans on the denim walls.

Creating room settings in highly visible focal areas of

your store and positioning commodity products in
convenient locations that make it easy for the customer to
stock up achieve the best of both methods of display.
Organizing the store in either way presents a logical
arrangement that helps the guest to browse, look through
the merchandise offering, and determine which items
would help complete the mind-picture they have for their
or the babys lifestyle.

Once the store is set, dont think youre done, however.

Walk your store on a daily basis, reviewing the
merchandise presentation and display as the prospective
customer would. Face merchandise toward the main
traffic aisle, reorganize those lifestyle settings, and make
sure all signs are in good condition. If I were shopping in
this store, would I be enticed to buy?

Promotional Activity:

What is my marketing plan? The business press is filled

with articles on major retailers recent new focus on child
and baby furnishings for the home. Crate & Barrel, Pier 1
Imports, Bombay, Co., and Williams-Sonoma have plans
to enter or expand into the market. These retailers will
probably offer national branded products and be very
competitively priced in order to make their presence
known to shoppers.
How will the independent Baby Shop retailer compete?
Once again, good visual merchandising and store planning
will play an important part. Maintaining a store
presentation of desirable products that are clean, orderly,
easy to find, and easy to buy will provide a great service
to the parent or grandparent looking for something
special. Good in-store signage is the important final
element of store presentation and promotions. Category
signage that helps to guide the customer through your
store is essential. In addition, creating a professional
looking graphics package that displays price and features
and benefits messages clearly communicates the value of
your offer.

It may be difficult to compete with the larger national

chains prices, but displaying current, fashionable
merchandise, sold by knowledgeable sales personnel and
priced within a consistent value range will establish your
business as a viable alternative to those stores.

Visual impact is a huge component of retail

merchandising. Customers entering a store are greatly
influenced by the visual information they gather in the
first split second. One simple visual element, such as
color, can catch a shopper's attention and also greatly
affect their mood. In today's ultra competitive market
place it is of paramount importance that retailers
understand the basics of visual merchandising. Here are 5
visual merchandising tips to help you maximize your
efforts.

1. Display sale products in a creative way. When building

a product display look for products that are natural add-
ons to the main product featured. A great visual
merchandising tip for a grocery store: Build an end cap
special on tomato soup, but don't just stop with the soup,
get creative. Merchandise the entire end cap with tomato
soup then place a shelf at eye level displaying brightly
colored soup bowls as an add-on sale item. Visually the
display would have a repeating label accented by one
ribbon shelf of bowls. This is good visual merchandising
practice and great way to increase margin.

2. Use accent lighting to feature products. Customers are

drawn to light. Lighting can make products shine and
bring colors to life. Using this visual merchandising tip to
wash a display wall with light will enhance any product.
Accent lighting creates visual interest for shoppers, and
magically puts products in their sight. Once a product has
captured a customer's attention the odds are increased that
a purchase is at hand. This visual merchandising tip will
impact your customers and your profits.

3. Change displays weekly. This visual merchandising tip

reminds us that customers want to see new and different
products. There is an aspect of entertainment and
education that customers appreciate when stores change
their displays. Stores that don't change their displays
weekly will have customers simply walking past displays
that are no longer fresh. If the customers have seen the
same end cap for the last six weeks, the displays are no
longer new or relevant to them. These stores will not reap
the potential rewards of incremental or add-on sales and
can lose out to their competition. If the competitor down
the street is constantly and creatively changing their
visuals, there is a good chance shoppers will gravitate to
that store.

4. Color matters. Visual merchandising tips like this one

are at the core of any solid merchandising plan. Color can
demand a shopper's attention, evoke emotion and
influence decisions. Your merchandising plan should
include bright colors not only for displays or end caps, but
also for the middle of aisle runs. Visually painting your
store with colorful focal points will help draw shoppers to
those key areas.

5. Merchandising themes Themes group products together

for a powerful visual message. Theme merchandising is a
fun way to communicate seasonal activities or other
information. If your store is a hardware store, use garden
gloves, flower bulbs, decorative pots, hand gardening
tools, and potting soil to get your sales started for spring.
Outdoor grilling displays are great themes for grocery
stores and home centers. Backyard chefs will be attracted
to every item in your display. Themes connect customers
to projects or activities, and as a result, connect their
spending to your profits.

Top tips for store merchandising

1. Merchandise with your customer in mind

Any merchandising plan will only be successful if you are
able to satisfy your customer's primary shopping mission.
The first step, therefore, is to understand why your
customer shops in your store. Does she shop for separates
or a complete outfit? Is she looking for casual wear or
something for a special occasion? And are there specific
categories she tends to focus on? Create a clear pathway
through store and use signage or bold displays to highlight
the products she is looking for.
The next step then is to identify your customer's ‘decision
tree', i.e. how she shops in any given category. Is design
or price the main driver to making a purchase? And at
what stage does she consider other factors, such as colour
and size? Use your customer's decision tree to lead your
visual merchandising; segment your product range
accordingly. For example, if you know that your
customer buys jeans primarily on the basis style, ensure
that your jeans are displayed first and foremost by style.
A power wall of jeans showing the full range of styles
creates maximum impact and speeds up your customer's
decision making process. Colour, size and any other
factors can follow.

2. Maximise the potential for cross selling

Successful merchandising also expands your customer's
shopping mission and exposes her to other products
within the store. Inspire your customer with new ideas by
displaying entire outfits complete with shoes and
jewellery. Or use logical adjacencies to increase the sale
of accessories, for instance by placing sun hats next to
summer dresses or a relevant collection of belts next to
jeans.

3. Allocate space with care

In retail, the term ‘critical mass' relates to stock density
and the point at which a product is displayed with enough
authority to sell. This means, for example, that a display
of 10 scarves may sell very quickly, but the same scarves
in a display of just two may not sell at all. Maintaining
visual impact is essential but this does not necessarily
mean increasing the amount of available space to display
your product. A display of 30 scarves may not increase
sales further. Learn to recognise the optimum level of
stock for a particular product.

4. Be proud of your best seller

Display your top seller with pride.....in the best place in
store. Don't make the mistake of putting a slow seller in
the top location in the hope of increasing sales. Any
increase in sales will be small in comparison to the results
you could have achieved with your best seller.
And if you've been busy promoting your best seller
through your window display or a press campaign, make
sure the product can be quickly found in store. If your
customer cannot easily find what she is looking for, there
is a real risk she will walk back out again, empty handed.
Visual impact is a huge component of retail
merchandising. Customers entering a store are greatly
influenced by the visual information they gather in the
first split second. One simple visual element, such as
color, can catch a shopper’s attention and also greatly
affect their mood. In today’s ultra competitive market
place it is of paramount importance that retailers
understand the basics of visual merchandising. Here are 5
visual merchandising tips to help you maximize your
efforts.

1. Display sale products in a creative way. When building

a product display look for products that are natural add-
ons to the main product featured. A great visual
merchandising tip for a grocery store: Build an end cap
special on tomato soup, but don’t just stop with the soup,
get creative. Merchandise the entire end cap with tomato
soup then place a shelf at eye level displaying brightly
colored soup bowls as an add-on sale item. Visually the
display would have a repeating label accented by one
ribbon shelf of bowls. This is good visual merchandising
practice and great way to increase margin.

2. Use accent lighting to feature products. Customers are

drawn to light. Lighting can make products shine and
bring colors to life. Using this visual merchandising tip to
wash a display wall with light will enhance any product.
Accent lighting creates visual interest for shoppers, and
magically puts products in their sight. Once a product has
captured a customer’s attention the odds are increased that
a purchase is at hand. This visual merchandising tip will
impact your customers’ impression of their shopping
experience and your profits.

3. Change displays weekly. This visual merchandising tip

reminds us that customers want to see new and different
products. There is an aspect of entertainment and
education that customers appreciate when stores change
their displays. Stores that don’t change their displays
weekly will have customers simply walking past displays
that are no longer fresh. If the customers have seen the
same end cap for the last six weeks, the displays are no
longer new or relevant to them. These stores will not reap
the potential rewards of incremental or add-on sales and
can lose out to their competition. If the competitor down
the street is constantly and creatively changing their
visuals, there is a good chance shoppers will gravitate to
that store.

4. Color matters. Visual merchandising tips like this one

are at the core of any solid merchandising plan. Color can
demand a shopper’s attention, evoke emotion and
influence decisions. Your merchandising plan should
include bright colors not only for displays or end caps, but
also for the middle of aisle runs. Visually painting your
store with colorful focal points will help draw shoppers to
those key areas.

5. Merchandising themes. Themes group products

together for a powerful visual message. Theme
merchandising is a fun way to communicate seasonal
activities or other information. If your store is a hardware
store, use garden gloves, flower bulbs, decorative pots,
hand gardening tools, and potting soil to get your sales
started for spring. Outdoor grilling displays are great
themes for grocery stores and home centers. Backyard
chefs will be attracted to every item in your display.
Themes connect customers to projects or activities, and as
a result, connect their spending to your profits.
Independent Retail Store
Merchandising
As a touch base I will list a few basic principals or ideals
that you should attempt to achieve.
A. Right-hand or Center entry to your store location.
(Street access should avoid left hand turns into parking.)
B. Store displays should start with lowest displays in front
and progress to highest or wall displays in the back.
C. Merchandising should include consideration for lighter
color displays and merchandise in front and darker to the
back.
D. A focal point somewhere the near center of the
backwall should be where the eye is drawn to.
E. A comprehensive collections of presentations should
tell a single story about what your store is about. One
message.
F. Departmental designations should be complimentary to
adjoining areas and a progression of product offerings.
G. "Race tracking" your store can or need not be utilized -
depending upon your tastes and offerings.
H. Signing of displays and offerings that is clear and
concise and precise is appreciated by customers.
I. Pricing of individual items of merchandise is preferable
and at minimum, display or clear bin pricing is a
minimum standard.
J. Flow of product offerings should be blended in some
logical progression if at all possible.
The most important advice one can offer is that you need
to be accomodative at all times toward customer
expectancies. Part of that particular issue is that you need
to attempt to determine what the message that is being
perceived by your customer is the message you intended
to convey and that you really know what they think of
your store or business, in their heart of hearts.

During these particular trying economic times, you need

to be prepared to accept the fact that you did not fail in
your business, that society and the general conditions of
the economy and artificial impositions of government
activities have caused everyone to retrench and re-
evaluate their true shopping needs verses shopping
desires.
To assume that you as an Independent must surrender to
"Big Box" or on-line retail organizations is absolute
nonsense. Your ability to be flexible and quicker at
responding to trends that you recognize in your business
gives you an advantage that they do not enjoy.
Discounting - DEEPLY, may be something that
pragmatism demands. You may even have to close your
business entirely.
If that is the case, I would suggest that you look to a
complete and entire guidance program offered on
Amazon.com titled:
"A Retailer's Guide for Promotion of Your Store: Good
Times or Bad!".
A complete text including a promotional advertising
campaign that can be utilized and adjusted to your
specific needs.
Why Visual Merchandising?
Visual merchandising is a highly effective (and often
underrated) way of getting customers into a store and
spending money. Carol Bagaric offers some insightful
tips…
Visual merchandising as a serious concept first started in
the fashion and homewares industries but take away the
glamour and the concept is the same for any retailer. This
is because customers have several universal expectations
when they shop a store. They want a hassle free and
enjoyable experience; they want a clean and well
merchandised store; they want visible signage that directs
them to the products they wish to purchase; and they
expect to find this product quickly and easily, with an
accurate price.

What is visual merchandising?

Visual merchandising is a concept that works for retailers
of any shape and size. The basic idea is that the retail
space should be presented in the best possible way in
order to maximise sales. However, good visual
merchandising is more than just presenting a good looking
window display. From in-store layout and product
merchandising to housekeeping, lighting, music, price
tickets, posters, window displays and props, right down to
the paint scheme on walls and the types of fixtures… all
these elements and how they are visually organised and
rotated inside a store constitute visual merchandising.
Here are some top visual merchandising tips

Shop your shop

Come in early one morning and spend a few minutes
looking at the outside of your store. Is it time to repaint?
Do you need to remove some overgrown weeds? How
well does your signage hold up? And does the picture that
greets the customer reflect who you are and what you sell?
Make your way inside and note your first impression as
you enter. Are you tripping over stock? Or is there nothing
to be seen?
Make your way up and down the aisles and simply
observe how your products are presented. Are there any
holes on the shelves where stock should be? Is too much
stock jammed onto the one shelf? And how much ‘dust
and dirt’ is on display? This is an important tip because if
you don’t sell it, a customer doesn’t need to see it!
Also pay close attention to your ticketing and signage. Is
the pricing easy to see? It is crucial that you regularly
‘shop your shop’ the way a customer would on. This little
exercise can be done with the shop staff although it must
be done before or after trade so as to avoid disruption. It’s
a good way of getting into the habit of seeing a store like a
customer does and it’s also a great way to quickly act on
merchandising problems.

Zone your store

Most hardware stores carry a large volume of product and
unfortunately this means it is not always easy to manage
and merchandise everything at once. Visual
merchandising can all too often be seen as another burden
on top of the countless every day requirements like
serving customers, organising deliveries, paper work and
so on. A good way to stay on top of visual merchandising
is to divide the store into sections or zones and then
allocate a team member to each one.
Window merchandising
Window displays should be changed over every seven to
fourteen days. Keep it simple and avoid clutter and
excessive merchandising! It only takes a few minutes to
check window displays every morning and this ensures
that everything is in place. Remember that dead flies and
dust balls don’t have very good margins so make sure you
clean them every day too.
Room permitting, think about including large items like
ladders, wheel barrows, outdoor furniture or barbeques.
These items will have a strong visual impact because of
the way they fill the display area.
Visual merchandising ideas
If you are stuck for ideas on a display theme or don’t
know what story to tell in your window or around your
store then there is always a season or promotion on hand
to play on. As you know, the retailing calendar is always
on promotion – Fathers Day, Christmas, Easter, summer
sale, winter sale and many more! Many suppliers are also
more than happy to work on promotions at store level.
 Conclusion
How visual merchandising can
improve retail fortunes
How does VM materialise physically instore?
Another way of thinking about VM is that it provides
‘silent service’ for consumers, helping them to find
products more easily, providing inspiration and solutions,
advising on product information etc., and all without the
help of a sales person.
Therefore, successful VM involves developing all areas of
store presentation to promote the brand and product range
more effectively.
It means getting range segmentation, store layouts and use
of space, merchandising principles and techniques,
window and instore displays right.
And, it includes developing effective POS & POP
solutions, seasonal events and promotions to stimulate
shopping behaviour.
Finally, important operational standards and activities i.e.
replenishment and range fragmentation issues should be
considered for delivery sustainability.
These all help to make stores run more efficiently,
effectively and productively, and importantly in a targeted
way for the brand and its consumers - allowing expensive
staff resources to be deployed on other complimenting
strategies, such as providing better consumer engagement
through customer services.
But having good VM policies is not enough without
effective store communications and retail training in VM
to implement the strategies instore. These are the enablers
(glue) that make the policies stick and become embedded
throughout the organisation.
As a result, retailers benefit from running a more focussed
retail operation and succeed through the increased
capability, productivity, and consistency of delivery, sales
generation and an overall improved commercial
performance.
How does it affect consumers - does it make them buy
more?
Successful VM and brand delivery is all about
understanding and satisfying customer needs. So the more
that a company understands its consumers, brand and
competitors, the better it can define and refine its own
VM practice to deliver better solutions instore to improve
the customer experience.
As they say, whilst the idea may not be ‘rocket science’, it
does require real expertise in store design, space planning
and presentation expertise and a real commitment to
adopting a consumer led approach.
It’s a fact that good VM will get consumers to buy more.
Essentially, VM is a set of practical selling tools (levers)
to influence what, when and how consumers buy – and no
serious 21st century retailer can afford to ignore the
powerful effects and huge commercial potential of
implementing better VM!
Whether this is achieved by increasing the size of spend,
type and number of items that people buy, the frequency
of purchases, the brands and lines that shoppers select and
even down to the stores they choose to shop in.
Practical examples of VM techniques could include
prioritising the location of certain items that are on
promotion to increase the volume and rate of sale.
Grouping different, yet related product items together to
create higher value is also a commonly used technique, as
are all-inclusive solutions such as outfit combinations in
fashion stores, meal suggestions in supermarkets and
project areas in DIY stores to inform, influence and
inspire customer purchases.
Good VM even goes down to the micro-detail of
understanding which shelf positions perform better to
influence what brands people buy and the rate of sale.
And, as the world gets a little smaller everyday and
consumers travel to more global destinations, having a
consistent and recognisable global brand image can help
retailers win out by providing shoppers with the
reassurance, familiarity and trust they expect from the
brand – making the whole selling process much easier.
How does it affect retail teams?
VM offers retail teams more time to concentrate on the
right tasks, i.e. implementing corporate policy - rather
than having to create their own.
It allows the whole company to move forward with the
same selling strategies, components and practice to
maximise opportunities – delivering a consistent
application of company policy instore, which improves
the customer experience and maximises sales
opportunities.
Retail Teams benefit from greater clarity of direction, and
from better information and training to help them perform
role related tasks with an effective integrated approach.