Fashion Promotion Visual Merchandising

Objectives: Explain the importance of visual merchandising Describe the two main areas of store layout Summarize the aspects of merchandise presentation Describe the components of in-store displays List the advantages, disadvantages, and types of window displays

The Importance of Visual Merchandising Visual merchandising is the physical display of products in the most attractive and appealing ways Purposes are to sell products and promote store image Should always try to be different, new, and creative

The Importance of Visual Merchandising Provides information Gains attention 3 dimensional & real The extra $ spent on visual merchandising is usually quickly returned in additional sales.

Store Layout interior arrangement of retail facilities Selling areas (75%-80%) Where merchandise is displayed and customers interact with salespeople aisles, counters, fitting rooms, merchandise fixtures, displays Sales support areas Customer services and all other operations restrooms, cashiers, gift wrapping Selling areas have. Sales support areas – Floor Plan – drawn to show selling floor vs sales support areas

Store Layout Grid layout See handout One or more main aisles with secondary aisles intersecting Efficient use of space, good sight, security, uninteresting atmosphere Maze layout Free-flowing, unbalanced placement of fixtures; allows shoppers to weave through displayed merchandise Interesting but selling space is lost See handout

Merchandise Presentation 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

Types of Fixtures Most common types of fixtures Showcase Bins C-rack or half-circle Four-way, quad, or four-arm Rounder Showcase T-stand, two-arm, or two-way Wall-standards and brackets waterfall Showcase

Interior Displays Displays should: Stimulate product interest Provide information Suggest merchandise coordination Generate traffic flow Remind customers of planned purchases Create impulse sales Enhance the store’s visual image

Interior Display Locations 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 At ends of aisles Open-to-mall areas

Displayed Merchandise 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

Grouping Displays One-category groupings Related groupings Highlight a specific kind of item Skirts, children’s dresses, holiday sweaters, shoes Line-of-goods displays, “vendor statement” Related groupings Ensembles or coordinates Showing customers that more than the feature item is needed Tennis outfit + visor + racquet + balls + bag Theme groupings Particular setting, event, holiday What is the difference between one-category grouping & theme grouping?? What would be in one and not the other Variety or assortment Unrelated items all sold in the store Lower-priced retailers

Lighting Overlighting – washed out Underlighting – not effective Floodlighting – ceiling lights to direct light over an entire wide display area Spotlighting – focuses on a specific area, targeting items Pinpointing – narrow beam on a specific item

Props Functional props physically support or hold merchandise Mannequins, stands, pedestals, screens, panels, or forms Decorative props Used for mood or attractive setting Artifical flowers, bicycles, seashells Structural props support and change displays Boxes, cylinders (usually hidden) Decorative and functional prop

Signage Variety of signs may be used to inform customers Counter signs Posters Hanging signs Banners Flags Elevator cards Easels Might include prices, sizes, styles, features, store logo, etc.

Display Evaluation Effective sales appeal? Coordinated with store ads? Help to locate goods? Signage legible and easy to understand? Signage gives best selling points? Draw customer through store? Clean and neat? Changed frequently?

Window Displays First contact customer has with store Can stimulate curiosity More opportunities to sell merchandise Can be expensive to design, set up, and maintain; need props, staff, and space Another problem can be glare of glass

Types of Display Windows Enclosed Full background Ramped, elevated, or shadowbox Semi-enclosed Partial background Open No background, open to store interior Island 4-sided glass, often in lobbies Enclosed window; full background

Do You Know . . . How might displays in a discount store differ from the displays in a more expensive apparel store? What criteria would you use to select merchandise for display in an island window? PICK ME!!!

Things you should know.. Most aisles are 3 feet a part. In more expensive stores, they may be 4 feet a part. The DownShift Factor The faster you walk, the more your peripheral vision narrows and the longer it takes to slow down your shopping speed

What we know… Humans walk like they drive. Decompression Zone-empty area inside the store. Never put anything of value in that zone.

Invariant Right Theory Upon entering a store the shopper will invariably and reflexively turn to the right. What we should do… Customer interaction with any product or promotion displays in the Decompression Zone will increase by at least 30% once it’s moved to the back of this zone, and even more if it place to the right.

Butt Brush Theory “Brush, bump or jostle a woman on the behind when she stopped to look at an item and she will bolt.” Malcom Gladwell of Paco Underhill’s Butt-Brush Theory. What we should do is wide the aisles.

Getting your Customer to Buy More.. The chances that shoppers will buy something are directly related to how long they spend shopping. How long they spend shopping is directly related to how deep they get pulled into the store.

What you should do… Place destination categories in the rear of your store. This forces the customer to go deeper into the store.

Tables Invite Touching which leads to unplanned buying.

Keys to Increasing Impulse Items Sales… Adjacent to register and “within reach” Adjacent to destination products Flexibility to change the mix of impulse items frequently