About Visual Merchandising

The way that departments, product displays and window exhibits are set up in retail establishments is not left up to chance. Any company that manufactures or markets products through retail establishments must utilize effective visual merchandising techniques in order to win the battle for market share.

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.

Resources

• National Association for Retail Marketing Services