This essay is written by Sunita Kumar and Syed Saniat Amin.

Strong visual merchandising has a massive impact on customer experience in your store. Whether we are revamping our retail displays or creating new ones, use these five strategies to help us achieve more impactful and memorable visual merchandising and put more money in our pocket this year.  

Remember That Color Is King: Color is powerful, and it can make or break our visual display. A retailer might create an erratic display, but if the colors coordinate well, the display can still be successful. (Luong, 2012) Consider using contrasting colors, like black and white, and monochromatic colors-both creating intriguing, eye-catching displays. 

Too many times, we lose sight of the power of color and its ability to attract the eye. Consider our home. We probably have a solid grey or brown couch, but there is a “pop” of color from the throw pillows we place on the edges. It is the same principle. Wherever the eyes go, the feet will follow. (Luong, 2012) So, we must use color to catch the eyes of our customers and draw them to our displays. 

Create a Visual Marketing Focal Point: Where does the viewer’s eye focus on our display? Do their eyes move toward a specific location on the display? Or are they confused about where to look? Create a hotspot–or focal point. Why? Because hotspots can increase sales by 229 percent. 

Examine our display from the customer’s point of view the top, the floor, and both sides. Often the focal point is positioned too high for the customer to see. Always check our displays to ensure customers can easily view the hotspots and merchandise. (Luong, 2012) 

The hotspot is the product, not a visual element we use to add to the story. For example, if we put sand and seashells on the table as part of our candle collection, we must ensure that the candles are the focal point, not the sand.  

Merchandising Tells a Story: What’s in it for customers? Tell them. Use powerful, sales-enabling signage to display the advantages of buying the product. Present three bullet points that tell customers why they need the product or how their life will become easier because of the product. Remember, we’re not writing an essay but rather a headline, powerful bullet points, and possibly a price proposition. By telling a story, we help the customer better understand the product and enable the buying decision. (Bemporat, 2022) A display may lack a worded sign or an educational sign. That’s fine; If there is still a story, the sign can speak for itself. For example, lifestyle graphics are immensely popular in telling the story. 

No words, but the image speaks volumes. Expose Customers to the Maximum Amount of Merchandise: A well-designed, impactful display exposes the customer to as much merchandise as the more products customers see, the more they buy, possible while avoiding a sloppy mess.  

The consider using a circular store layout, which many retailers use, it’s powerful because it exposes Consider using are merchandise than traditional aisles. When we look at the production aisles, we place as a display in the dead center, so customers are forced to stop by. Have a place possible but clean and sharp, aisles to prevent deterring customers from products. displays as possible, and present as much merchandise and ensuring tables from World Market to create a visual impact got many Coinphones on these. We used dining bad bold. It caught a customer’s eye for the aisles as opposed compliments other display tables since the tables were unique and display pieces stores use. (Luong, 2012) A story in themselves, the most and to the traditional section between the displayed merchandise and the ceiling. 

Use Empty Space Wisely: If there’s an empty space, we need to start using it. You can use this space for many different things, like signage providing information about products or brands. You can also display customer testimonials with the customer’s name and a picture or profile of a designer or supplier. (Luong, 2012) 

We could also display lifestyle graphics that help customers make associations with your products. For example, a furniture store could display an image of a family cozied up on a couch, emitting those warm, fuzzy feelings that put shoppers in a good mood. A jewelry store could display a woman at a fine dining restaurant wearing a bracelet, creating an association between the store’s jewelry and a luxurious lifestyle. 

Visual merchandising is multifaceted, and retailers can choose from hundreds of ideas when designing displays. But these tips return the biggest bang for your buck. Use them to make your store as memorable as possible. 

A visual merchandiser must work with various elements of VM to bring about the desired action (purchase) and reaction (satisfaction, to return for another purchase at a future date) from the  

customers. These elements are as follow: 

(a) Store front 

(b) Store layout 

(c) Store interior 

(d) Interior display (Bemporat, 2022.) 

let us learn them in detail: 

Store Front: The exterior of a business comprises the following: 

Marquee: It is a sign that is used to display the store name 12 Visual Merchandising and Store Management 

Entrances: These are designed with customer convenience and store security in mind. There are several types of entrances each portraying a certain image Revolving upscale stores Push-Pull, full-service stores often with fancy handles Electronic – Self-serve stores, with carts such as Wal-Mart, Kroger etc. Climate Controlled – shopping malls. 

Window Display: Window displays act as an introduction to what will be found inside the store. Given the fact that a pedestrian takes only a few seconds to consider a store window, a window display should be well planned to make the most impact. Main intension should be to capture the attention of the passersby. (Bemporat, 2022) It begins with the selling process even before the customer enters the store and suggests the type of merchandise carried in the store. 

Store Layout: Store layout describes the overall look and feel of the interior of a retail store, including the placement of fixtures and products within the store. It is an important part of implementing retail store strategy. Effective layouts are designed to expose customers to the most products possible given the amount of floor space available. (Bemporat, 2022) It refers to the way the floor space is allocated. It is of four types. Selling Space: It includes Interior displays, Sales demonstration areas, Sales transaction areas (wrap desk) 

Merchandise Space: It is allocated to items kept in inventory, Selling floor, and Stock room area. 

Personnel Space: It refers to space for employees, break rooms, lockers, and restrooms.  

Customer Space: It refers to the space meant for comfort and convenience of customers. It includes Restaurants, Dressing rooms, Lounges, Restrooms, and Recreation area for children. c) Store Interior: In-store displays should be in line with the window display in terms of theme and props. 

In-store displays can be further categorized into: 

(i) High points: When a display is placed above eye level to be viewed from a distance it is called a high point. They are usually on the top shelf of the wall’s fixtures featuring the merchandise stacked/hung on that wall. They are used to demonstrate the use of this merchandise and inspire fashion trends. They can also be used to cross merchandise. 

(ii) Focal points: Focal points are dedicated areas within the store for displays. They display the merchandise stacked around that area which may be from different departments. They are useful sources to encourage cross merchandising. It affects the store’s image and includes items such as: Floor & wall coverings, Lighting, Colors, and Fixtures. It is important to create a relaxing, comfortable place for customers to shop. (Bemporat, 2022.) 

Interior Display: These are part of the general store interior. It helps the customer to make a selection without personal assistance. Interior displays use fixtures and props to highlight merchandise. Props are classified as decorative or functional. Functional Props refers to practical items for holding merchandise such as mannequins and shirt forms whereas the purpose of Decorative Props is to enhance merchandise items such as trees, tables, cars. Interior display may be of different types. 

Closed display: Examples are Look but don’t touch, require salesperson assistance, Examples are to handle merchandise without a salesperson, Self-service, Expensive or fragile merchandise, and Jewelry cases. 

Open Display: Architectural Display: Examples are: Actual room setting and Furniture Store Decorations: It refers to decorations for holidays such as Christmas, Halloween. We have already learnt about trends, objectives, importance, and elements of visual merchandising. Let us now discuss diverse ways through which one can make visual merchandising more effective into retail merchandising. (Bemporat, 2022) 

Customers entering is a huge component influenced by the visual information they gather Visual impact in the first split a store ate great of second. One simple visual element such as color, can catch a shopper’s attention and affect their mood. In today’s ultimate competitive marketplace, merchandising is of paramount importance that retailers understand the basics. 

Display product: When building a product display look for producer add-ons some steps that help you to maximize the positive results grocery store: an end cap spend A great visual merchandising tip for a on tomato soup then place a shelf at eye level displaying brightly colored soup bowls as an add-on main product soup, but don’t just stop with the soup, get creative. (Bemporat, 2022) Merchandise the entire end cap tomato Visually the display would have a repeating label accented by one ribbon shelf of bowls. Th geoducks Customers are drawn to light. Lighting can make products shine and bring colors, good visual merchandising practice and great way to increase margin, size accent lighting to feat Using this visual merchandising tip to wash a display wall with light will enhance any product. Acom lighting creates visual interest for shoppers, and magically puts products in their sight. 

This visual merchandising tip will impact your customers’ impression of their shopping experience and your profits. Change displays weekly: This visual merchandising tip reminds us that customers want to see new and various products. There is an aspect of entertainment and education customers appreciate when stores change their displays. Stores that don’t change their displays well will have customers simply walking past the displays thinking that products 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 creative, changing their visuals, there is a good chance shoppers will gravitate to that store. (Bemporat, 2022) Colour matters: Colour can demand a shopper’s attention, evoke emotion and influence. Our merchandising plan should include bright colours not only for displays or end caps, but also the middle of aisle runs. Visually painting your store with colorful focal points will help draw shopper’s attraction.   

Themes: Theme merchandising is a fun way to communicate seasonal activities to those key areas. 

If your store is a hardware store, use garden gloves, flower bulbs, decorative hand gardening tools, and potting soil to get your sales started for spring. Outdoor grilling displays your dishes for grocery stores and home centers. Backyard the spring, outdoor grilling does spend play Themes connect customers to projects or activities, and atta result, connect the to your profits. 

Fetal pursual presentation has always been the primary stimulus accounting for the major share optical displaying merchandise to enhance its sales appeal is called “visual merchandising”. 

The easiest way to have exciting displays that really help to sell frames is to hire a dispensary to benefit from good visual merchandising. 

For a fee, they will bring their own props, and sometimes create special ones just for you. Fraction merchandiser to come in and change your window and showcase displays once every month or which depend on window displays to bring in new patients cannot afford to have anything but the visual merchandiser they can find. A great window display can be a real traffic-stopper and enough to have  

someone on your staff with an artistic bent who has a natural knack for pored However, not every practice can afford the luxury of professional help in this area. (Luong, 2012) You may be lucky enough to have someone on your staff with an artistic bent who has a natural knack for putting together displays. Even if you don’t, that doesn’t mean you can’t have good looking displays.  

If you follow these five basic principles of visual merchandising, you or a staff member can put together effective optical displays whether you have innate talent or not.  

(1) Less Is More: Keep your displays simple. Keep them uncluttered. Leave some space around them. The most common mistake is trying to show too much at the same time. Props should be simple in shape, preferably something that provides a large mass of color or texture, such as blocks, covered boxes or risers. Stay away from things with busy details. such as printed scarves. 

(2) The Pyramid Principle: If you place one frame at the top of the display and let all the other elements “step down” from that point, you’ll have a very effective design. (Bemporat, 2022) It’s that top focal point that attracts attention and makes the display interesting to look at. This principle always works, you really can’t construct a bad pyramid display. 

(3) Odd Rather Than Even: An odd number  

of elements is always more attractive to the eye than an even number. That’s because an asymmetrical arrangement is slightly off balance and keeps the eye moving around to look at each frame. That provides a built-in visual dynamic. On the other hand, a symmetrical, perfectly balanced arrangement stops the eye in its tracks. That’s dull. 

(4) Repetition: Using identical elements and repeating them repeatedly creates a very powerful display. This simple idea can have a lot of punches. For example, line up a series of frames that are all the same style, but different colors. It really doesn’t matter how you support them. Just make sure they’re all positioned in the same way, or the display will lose impact. There’s an additional benefit to this type of display: It reinforces the idea that you have a wide selection of frames.  

(5) Texture: Consider carefully the background material for your display. Texture can complement or contrast with the frames placed on it or around it. For example, never put metal frames on a mirror or other glossy surface. The frames simply get lost in all those reflections. Metal frames need a rich surface like velvet or suede to bring out their jewelry- like quality. However, frames made with special materials such as leather can be emphasized effectively by using a prop made of similar materials. Leather gloves or a leather briefcase can complement a pair of leather-accented frames. (Bemporat, 2022.) 

Good visual merchandising is a mix of art, inspiration and science. While great visuals can sell lousy products, poor visuals can do nothing for great merchandise. “Paco Underhill, Why We Buy Get comfortable with having some empty space in your high fashion displays. Expensive frames must never be crowded together because it reduces their value. They need space around them so they can be seen as something special. Your lowest priced frames should be crowded together so patients will perceive them as lower priced. Keep your use of props and brand display items like logo plaques and show cards to a minimum. Optical industry trade journals and trade shows are an excellent place to find both display ideas and resources for props and display accessories. 

References: 

Loung, I. 2021. What is visual merchandising in retail? Read on 25.1.2024
https://www.magestore.com/blog/what-is-visual-merchandising/  

Bemporat, T. 2022. Visual Merchandising: How to Make Standout Product Displays. Read on 27.1.2024
https://www.lightspeedhq.com/blog/visual-merchandising/