Visual merchandising

VISUAL MEANING
Relating to the sense of sight.
MERCHANDISING MEANING
Merchandising is a marketing
practice in which the brand or
image from one product or
service is used to sell another

• Coordination of physical elements
in place of business, so that its project the right
image to its customers
• Change a “passive looker into active buyers”
• Responsible for total merchandise
• Overall business image
• Placements of design elements

It is the activity and profession of developing
the floor plans and three dimensional displays
in order to maximize their sales
The display of products which makes them
appealing and attractive
It utilizes displays, colors, lighting ,smells and
sounds
Contd……..

PURPOSE OF
VISUAL MERCHANDISING

The purpose is to attract ,engage,
motivate the customers towards making a
purchase
Both goods and services can be displayed to
highlight their features and benefits

PRINCIPLES OF

Make it easier for the customer to
locate the desired category and merchandise
Make it easier to self select
Make it possible to coordinate and accessorize

Educate about the product in an effective and
creative way
Make proper arrangements in such a way to
increase the sale of unsought goods

IMPORTANCE OF

Purposes are to sell products and
promote store image
Should always try to be different,
new, and creative
Change a “passive looker” into an “active buyer”
Enhances brand image
Generates impulse sales
Overall business image

SUCCESS FACTORS

ERRORS TO AVOID IN

Too much signage
Confusing traffic patterns
Too much propping
Disconnection between exterior
window and store contents
Poor lighting
No point of view
Inconsistency in visual
executions

OBJECTIVES OF A
GOOD STORE DESIGN

Design should:
be consistent with image and strategy
positively influence consumer
behavior
consider costs versus value
be flexible
recognize the needs of the disabled –
The Americans with Disabilities Act

OBJECTIVES OF THE
STORE ENVIRONMENT

 Get customers into the store
 Serves a critical role in the store
selection process
 Important criteria include cleanliness, labeled prices,
accurate and pleasant checkout clerks, and well-
stocked shelves
 The store itself makes the most significant and last
impression
 Once they are inside the store, convert them into
customers buying merchandise
 The more merchandise customers are exposed to that
is presented in an orderly manner, the more they tend
to buy

APPAREL WALL
PRESENTATION
OF THE MERCHANDISE

Fashion apparel wall presentation. In the
correct example, formal balance is achieved
by creating a mirror image of garment on
both sides of a center line. This does not
occur in the incorrect example

In this, Informal balance is achieved because
an equal amount of space is filled on either
side of a centre line. This does not occur in
the incorrect example.

The ways goods are hung,
placed on shelves, or
otherwise made available
to customers
Shoulder-out
Only one side shows
Face-forward
Hanging garment so
full front faces viewer

Shelving
Hanging
Folding
Pegging
Dumping

SHELVING
FOLDING
HANGING
DUMPING
PEGGING

 Should be current
 Represent styles and lines
 Should be well stocked
 In demand
 New (inform customers of what
is available)
 Encourage additional purchases
 Promote current theme
 Look good on display
Displayed MERCHANDISE

ELEMENTS IN

ELEMENTS
STORE
FRONT
STORE
INTERIOR
MERCHANDISE
DISPLAY
STORE
LAYOUT
STORE
SPACE

1. STORE FRONT
The exterior of a business. It includes:
1. Signs
2. Marquee
3. Entrances
4. Window Display

SIGNS
There are four different types of
signs are:
1.Promotional Signs
2.Location signs
3.Institutional signs
4.Informational signs

PROMOTIONAL SIGNS
For off-price events or specials.

LOCATION SIGNS
For direction to specific departments

INSTITUTIONAL SIGNS
Signs for the store policies

INFORMATIONAL SIGNS
For product related benefits/
features/ prices etc.

MARQUEE
The sign that is used to display the store name

Designed with customer
convenience and store security in
mind.
There are several types of
entrances each portraying a certain
image
ENTRANCES

Revolving – up scale stores
Push-Pull – full service stores often with
fancy handles
Electronic – Self-serve stores, with carts
such as Wal-Mart, Meijer, Kroger.
Climate Controlled – shopping malls.
TYPES OF ENTRANCES

The store’s FIRST IMPRESSION with
the customer.
Begin the selling process even before
the customer enters the store.
Suggests the type of merchandise
carried in the store
WINDOW DISPLAYS

1. Promotional – promote the sale of
one or more items by using special
lighting and /or props.
Skiwear with fake snow for accents
TYPES OF WINDOW DISPLAYS

2. Institutional – promote store
image rather than specific items.
Designed to build customer good
will, show that the business is
interested in the community
TYPES OF WINDOW DISPLAYS

Affects the store’s image
Includes items such as:
Floor & wall coverings
Lighting
Colors
Fixtures
STORE INTERIOR

It is important to create a relaxing,
comfortable place for customers to
shop
Customers shop longer & are more
relaxed and spend more when they
are not pressed by crowds, delays &
long lines

Used to direct customer’s attention
to the display and creates mood.
-Use more light for dark colors, less light for light
colors .
-Beam spread; the diameter of the circle of light.

Flood lightning
Spot lightning
Pinpointing
BEAM SPREAD TECHNIQUES

FLOOD LIGHTING
Ceiling lights to direct lights over an
entire wide display area.

SPOT LIGHTING
Focuses attention on specific areas
or targeted items of merchandise

PINPOINTING
focuses a narrow beam of light on
a specific item

Color selection
should be perfect.
Help to make
merchandise look more
interesting.
Color schemes help to
create moods.
Capture shoppers
attention.
COLOURS

Example: in Christmas displays only
complementary color scheme i.e. reds and
greens are placed next to each other in setting
as no other scheme can accomplish this

STORE FIXTURES
To make store’s wall merchandisable, wall usually
covered with a skin that is fitted with vertical columns of
notches.

 Most common types of
fixtures:
 Stands
Platforms and Elevations
Round rack
Bin
T-Stand
Four way faceout
TYPES OF FIXTURES

Used in a variety
or assortment
window- from
glass line to the
back of the display
window
STANDS

Platforms or Elevations can be tables and other
pieces of furniture that can be used to raise up a
mannequin, a form or arrangement of merchandise
PLATFORMS & ELEVATIONS

Circular racks on which garments are
hung around the entire circumference
ROUND RACKS

A rimmed table or bin used to hold sale or special
merchandise on the sales floor, especially in discount
operations; it has no formal arrangement
BIN

Freestanding, two-way stand in the shape of
a T, that holds clothes on hangers, sometimes
with one straight Arm and one waterfall
T-STAND

A fixture with four extended arms, that permits
accessibility to hanging merchandise all the way
around
FOUR -WAY STAND

 The way the floor space is
used to facilitate and promote
sales and best serve the
customer
2. STORE LAYOUT

1. Selling Space
2. Merchandising Space
3. Personnel Space
4. Customer Space
TYPES OF FLOOR SPACE

Includes:
Interior displays
Sales demonstration areas
Sales transaction areas
(wrap desk)
SELLING SPACE

Allocated to items that are kept
in inventory
Selling floor
Stock room area
MERCHANDISE SPACE

PERSONNEL
SPACESpace for employees:
break rooms
lockers
restrooms

CUSTOMER SPACE
Comfort and convenience of
customers:
Restaurants
Dressing rooms
Lounges
Restrooms
Recreation area for children
Stores are competing more & more in these
areas
Allocating more dollars and space for
customer convenience than ever before

 Once the floor space has been
allocated, management & visual
personnel spend a lot of time
planning the effective use of the
space.

What product are to go where
Agencies – what products should be next
to each other
Where to put seasonal merchandise such
as coats, swimwear and Christmas items
Traffic patterns
VISUAL DECISIONS

STRAIGHT FLOOR
LAYOUT
( GRID DESIGN)Best used in retail environments in
which majority of customers shop the
entire store
Can be confusing and frustrating as it
is difficult to see over the fixtures to
other merchandise

STRAIGHT FLOOR
LAYOUT ( GRID DESIGN)
Forcing customers to back of large store
may frustrate and cause them to look
elsewhere
Most familiar examples for
supermarkets and drugstores

DIAGONAL FLOOR LAYOUT
Good store layout for self-service type
retail stores
Offers excellent visibility for cashier
and customers
Movement and traffic flow in the
store is smooth

ANGULAR FLOOR LAYOUT
( CURVING/LOOP –
RACETRACK DESIGN)
Best used for high-end stores
Curves and angles of fixtures and walls
makes for more expensive store design
Soft angles create better traffic flow
throughout the retail store

GEOMETRIC FLOOR
LAYOUT (SPINE DESIGN)
Is a suitable store design for clothing and
apparel shops.
Uses racks and fixtures to create
interesting and out- of- the – ordinary type
of store design without a high cost.

MIXED FLOOR
LAYOUT
(FREE FLOW DESIGN)
Incorporates the straight, diagonal
and angular plans
Helps generates the most functional
store design
Layout moves traffic towards walls
and back of the store

Storage, Receiving, Marketing
Underwear
Dressing Rooms
Checkout counter
Clearance Items
Feature Feature
JeansCasualWearStockings
AccessoriesPants
TopsTops
SkirtsandDressesHatsandHandbags
Open Display Window Open Display Window

They are part of the general store interior
Displays generate 1 out of 4 sales
They enable the customer to make a selection
without personal assistance
3. MERCHANDISE DISPLAYS

1. Closed Displays
2. Open Displays
3. Architectural Display
4. Point-of-Purchase
5. Store Decorations
KINDS OF DISPLAYS

Look but don’t touch
Require sales person assistance
Expensive or fragile merchandise
Jewellery cases
CLOSED DISPLAYS

Handle merchandise without a
salesperson
Self-service
Used for most clothing
OPEN DISPLAY

Actual room setting
Furniture
ARCHITECTURAL
DISPLAYS

Promote impulse buying
Items at the register
Batteries
Candy
Magazines
POINT-OF-PURCHASE

STORE
DECORATIONS
 Decorations for holidays such as
Christmas, Halloween and
Valentine’s Day

Interior displays use fixtures
and props to showcase
merchandise
Props are generally
classified as decorative or
functional

PROPS
Objects added that
support the theme
of the display

Functional Props - practical items for holding
merchandise such as mannequins and shirt
forms
Decorative Props -Only purpose is to enhance
merchandise. Items such as trees, tables, cars.
Structural Props -used to support functional
and decorative props and change the physical
makeup of displays. (boxes, rods, stands,
stairways, etc)
TYPES OF PROPS

Show the customer what’s new
Show customer how to put together a
total look
A good display helps create multiple sales
Customers want to look like the
display
Customers want you to show them
what to wear
IMPORTANCE OF
INTERIOR DISPLAYS

Often convey a common theme
through out the store
Animal prints, patriotic theme
Used to tell a color story
INTERIOR
DISPLAYS

The large display in a store including the
mannequins & wall displays are usually
set up by visual department
Small table displays and fixture top
displays are usually set up & maintained
by the individual department staff
 It is important to change departmental
displays frequently
Contd……..

Should be chosen to maximize
merchandise exposure
Just inside store entrance
At entrances to
departments
Near cash/wrap counter
Next to related items
By elevators and escalators
Open-to-mall areas
INTERIOR DISPLAY LOCATIONS

When new merchandise comes in
Just to change around the pieces of a
group that has been on the floor for
awhile
Gives the group a new look

The same customers walk through
your department every week – you
want it to look fresh
You want to give them a reason to
buy

WHAT TO USE FOR
SUCCESSFUL DISPLAYS?

Mannequins
Alternatives to mannequins
Fixtures
Props

Realistic
Semi realistic
Abstract
Semi-abstract
Headless
TYPES OF
MANNEQUINS

REALISTIC
MANNEQUIN
Resembles the
everyday person
rather than a movie
star.

SEMI REALISTIC
Is like realistic
mannequin,
But its makeup is
more Decorative
& stylized.

ABSTRACT
Is concerned with creating an overall effect
rather than reproducing natural lines and
proportions. Features such as elbows, fingernails
are rarely indicated.

SEMI ABSTRACT
Is more stylized than
the semi-realistic
mannequin and its
feature may be
painted or suggested
rather than defined.

HEADLESS:
Has a full-size or Semi-
realistic body with
Arms and legs but no
Head. It offers no
personality or image.

ALTERNATIVES TO
MANNEQUINSThree quarter forms
Articulated artist’s figures
Dress forms and suit forms
Drapers
Hangers
Lay down techniques
Pin up techniques
Flying techniques

THREE-QUARTER
FORMS:
Representation of a
part of the Human
anatomy, such as the
Torso, the bust or the
area from Shoulder
to waist or from hips
to ankles.

ARTICULATED ARTIST’S FIGURES
based on small wooden miniatures used by
artists and designers to get correct
proportions and poses for figure drawing
when live model is not available

INFLATABLES
Are life-sized “balloons”
That stimulate parts of
The human anatomy.
Most resembles the
Lower half of the body &
is used to show jeans &
pants.

DRAPER
Was a simple,
uncomplicated
and often
underused
alternative to
mannequin

HANGERS
Simple hanger can be an
alternative to the mannequin.
Hangers can either be hung by
invisible wire from a ceiling grid
or it can be hung from a look that
extends from a wall or panel.

PINUP TECHNIQUES
Makes use of a panel, wall
Or some vertical surface onto which a Garment can be
pinned, shaped & Dimensional zed.

LAY-DOWN TECHNIQUE
Involves the folding, pleating and placement of garment next
To garment or accessories next to featured garment.

FLYING TECHNIQUES
merchandise is pulled, Stretched or pulled
the garment into abstract Shapes that
present an angular and crisp presentation.

ATMOSPHERICS
The design of an environment via:
visual communications
lighting
color
sound
scent
To stimulate customers’ perceptual and
emotional responses and ultimately
influence their purchase behavior

Name, logo and retail identity
Institutional signage
Directional, departmental and category
signage
Point-of-Sale (POS) Signage
Lifestyle Graphics
VISUAL
COMMUNICATIONS

Coordinate signs and graphics
with store’s image
Inform the customer
Use signs and graphics as props
Keep signs and graphics fresh
Limit sign copy
Use appropriate typefaces on signs
Create theatrical effects
CONTD…..

Sound
Music viewed as valuable marketing tool
Often customized to customer demographics - AIE
(http://www.aeimusic.com)
Can use volume and tempo for crowd control
Scent
Smell has a large impact on our emotions
Victoria Secret, The Magic Kingdom, The Knot Shop
Can be administered through time release
atomizers or via fragrance-soaked pellets placed on
light fixtures
SOUND AND SCENT

Adidas
• Effectiveness : The display of upside down
women signifies the freedom and
independency of women which will motivate
them to walk in the store.
• Why did it work : It forces female customers
to ponder what the store holds for them.

Marks & Spencer
• Clarity of thought : The window display clearly
shows that the sale season is going on for the
apparels and accessories offered by the store.
• Creativity : The red color is used to indicate sale
period which can be discovered from a far
distance. Red colour is psychologically attached to
the customers; it portrays excitement/ impulse
purchase decisions

• Effectiveness : A customer interested would surely
walk-in to avail the discounts as the display is
shouting out for the sale season.
• Why did it work : The entire display used the red
color tints and shades indicating sales period & also
providing an opportunity to avail extra reduction. The
big banners as well as mannequins wearing similar
t-shirts talking about sale are also very helpful

Visual merchandising is first and foremost
strategic activity.
Put your best-selling merchandise in your best-
selling space.
If you only do one thing with your store, make it
professional.
The storefront, tell the right story about what kind
of merchandise is available
Invest proper signage to take your store to the
next level.
CONCLUSION

BIBLOGRAPHY
www.textilescommittee.nic.in
www.google.com
www.wikipedia.com
www.visualstore.com
www.slideshare.com
Fashion: from concept to consumer
1999- frings, gini stephen
Visual merchandising and display fifth
edition – martin

Hamstech offers Certificate
Course in Styling & Visual
Merchandising

Contact for more details
Hamstech Institute of Fashion & Interior Design
II, III & IV Floor, R.K. Plaza, Punjagutta 'X' Road, Punjagutta,
Hyderabad - 82 India
Phone :+91-40-66684994, +91-40-66684995
eMail : info@hamstech.com
www.hamstech.com

Visual merchandising

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