why is visual merchandising important essay

What Is Visual Merchandising? – Importance, Elements, & Examples

Visual merchandising is what one sees when walking into a retail space. It is the presentation and organisation of products in both the store and on display to arouse customer interest and convince them to buy and return to the store.

It is a well-defined strategy that aims to influence customer decisions inside a store; thus, it is crucial for retail marketing.

But what exactly is visual merchanding, why is it important, and how it works? Here’s a guide explaining everything.

What Is Visual Merchandising?

Visual merchandising is a practice of optimising retail store presentation and displaying goods to highlight their features and benefits better and encourage customer interest.

To make this visual merchandising definition simpler, divide it into three parts –

• It’s a practice of optimising retail store presentation: Visual merchandising is an intentional practice to optimise the space and layout of the store to present the inventory in the best possible way. 
• It focuses on highlighting product’s features and benefits: Marketers plan, design, and display products with an aim to highlight their features and benefits.
• It aims to encourage customer interest: Visual merchandising aims to influence customers and encourage them to purchase goods and return to the store in the future.

Visual merchandising is an important aspect of retail marketing. It does not only include displays for merchandise on display but also includes store layout, greeter design, floor plan, signage, fixtures, and lighting.

It includes shaping customer experience inside a retail space through presentation and advertising. Therefore, it is an important tool that retail marketers use to influence consumer behaviour and thus fulfil their marketing goals – sales and repeat visits.

Importance Of Visual Merchandising

A good looking and well strategised retail space is essential to meeting a business’s sales and marketing goals. Visual merchandising helps retailers –

• Improve customer experience : Customer experience is vital to running a successful business and visual merchandising is a very important part of it. It helps to organise the retail space and help customers find what they’re looking for easily – thus improving their experience while shopping in your store. Moreover, it helps to attract, engage, and inform customers better with carefully designed displays.
• Sell targeted items: Some items bring in more profits than others, and sellers want to sell more of these. Visual merchandising helps highlight these targeted items and thus help sell them more.
• Influence Buyer decisions: Visual merchandising also involves using neuromarketing techniques to influence buyers’ decisions by appealing to their unconscious minds. This involves strategic product placement (profitable items are kept at the eye level), store paint (to set the mood), fragrance (to make you want more), and music (to influence you subconsciously).
• Meet sales goals: Visual merchandising is the salesperson that persuades the customer to purchase intended products subconsciously. Marketers do this by strategically placing profitable items, making them noticeable and tempting people to buy them.
• Market retail stores: A memorable store is what stands out in the crowd of boring retail stores. Visual merchandising aims to make the store stand out and find a place in the customers’ minds. This is done by using visual cues, positioning, and aesthetics, making them stop and look and, sometimes, even take photos or spread the word organically.

Objectives Of Visual Merchandising

Customers enter a store by seeing two things – the brand and the store design. Visual merchandising aims to influence customers by directing their attention towards the store and then to certain areas inside the store, creating a positive first impression.

Besides bringing in more customers, the process of visual merchandising aims to –

• Creating a good customer experience,
• Make the retail space visitor engage with space with all the senses (hearing, sight, touch, smell, and taste)
• Increase sales
• Develop store design to target the right audience
• Use store resources to get the most out of marketing ROI
• Give a reason to customers to come back
• Make the most out of promotional space.

Elements Of Visual Merchandising

Visual merchandising involves six distinct elements that work in conjunction to help retailers create a unique experience for shoppers. They are –

Store Layout

It is the organised arrangement of retail space that helps customers find what they’re looking for quickly. It includes store greeter, entry point, focal point, shopping flow, signage, and display fixtures.

• Store design: It is the physical look of the store that can be seen by anybody walking into it. It includes vinyl graphics, store fixtures, paint colour themes, lighting sources, and display fixtures.
• Interior design: The interior layout of the retail store that customers cannot see from the outside – it involves showroom floor covers, countertops colours, merchandising fixtures.
• Merchandise presentation: Product categories that are displayed together (by size or type), linear vs non-linear displays (merchandise arranged in a way that they have a path). It also includes decisions about which type of merchandise is suitable for the location and how to use the space effectively.
• Focal Point: A display is incomplete without a focal point where the attention is directed. This can be displays like mannequins, art pieces, themed decorations (like Christmas), lighting fixtures, etc.
• Empty Space: There is always a certain amount of empty space in the store to improve the visual appearance, the flow of foot traffic , and breathing room. It is used as an additional display area for merchandise.
• Display fixtures: A store fixture is anything installed within the retail space to display items, such as rotating racks, shelves, or tables.
• Signage: Store signage helps customers navigate to the right area, locate a product, special offers, and wayfinding. It can be in-store signs at entrances and exits, backroom information boards, shelf edge panels, window decals/signage.
• Marketing collaterals /POP displays: Store brochures, price tags, product cards, table-top visuals, floor decals and aisle signs are used to spread the store’s message.
• Promotional space: It includes backdrops for events and samples, popcorn machines etc. They can be used to entice customers into the store or encourage them to try something new.
• Mannequins: Mannequins are full-scale, detailed figures that are used as life-sized models to display clothing. Besides clothing, they can also be used to display props like jewellery and scarves.
• Brand elements: It includes any unique aspect that customers identify with a brand. This can be packaging, logos, or mascot figure that promote the brand and its visual identity .

Store Ambience

Store ambience creates a sensory experience by using lighting, music, colours or scents, which are all designed to enhance the overall customer experience. The store ambience directly affects other items in visual merchandising – it can change the perception of merchandise based on how customers perceive it. It includes:

• Colour: It is used to draw attention to certain items, create a mood or theme. Colour is also an important element in retail marketing because it will increase sales if marketers choose a colour that matches their target audience’s colour preferences.
• Lighting: The right lighting setting changes the ambience of any space. It creates shadows with no visible distractions, gives the merchandise a spotlight, and makes all colours brighter.
• Music: It can be used to create a positive atmosphere that increases sales because of the moods it arouses. Music also affects shoppers’ emotions – happy music will make shoppers cheerful, so they spend more freely. Sad music makes people feel less energetic, so they don’t spend as much.
• Scent: It can be used to create a certain mood – it increases the perceived value of products and makes customers more comfortable, relaxed, and willing to make purchases.

Store Narrative

The narrative is the story that the retail space tells. It can be based on the brand’s history and personality, the brand’s theme, the products sold there, or any other popular story that communicates an interesting message. The narrative creates a memorable experience for customers based on how it is presented – every element of visual merchandising has to be reflected in it. It includes:

• Store Theme: The store’s theme aims to create the mood marketers want their customers to associate with their products. The theme may be displayed through interior design, brand elements, or product selection. For example, a chocolate store may use warm colours, creamy pastel hues, and soft music to promote the ‘chocolate experience’. The store theme may be based on a certain season, event, holiday or trend. The theme will change with the seasons to match the latest fashion trends.
• Store Atmosphere: It combines store ambience with visual merchandising elements that are used to convey a certain message about the brand or product. For example, lighting can be used to create a calm atmosphere for relaxation, while colours and music can help customers feel energised. Buyers will associate these feelings with the brand or product and come back for more in future purchases.
• Storytelling: The retail space can be designed to tell a story about the brand’s history, products, theme, or any other idea that matches its business objectives. The narrative is displayed through all visual elements in the store – interior design, product selection, and merchandising methods have to complement it.

Benefits Of A Good Visual Merchandising Strategy

A good visual merchandising strategy may prove to be a game-changer for your business. Here are a few benefits you can get from implementing it –

• Increases store traffic: Through strategic placement of products and displays, retail marketers attract potential buyers. Once the customer is inside the store, retailers make them wander around and lose themselves in a maze of merchandising displays, all intended to direct their attention towards certain areas. Ikea is a perfect example of a store that makes people travel around the space to find products, creating an exciting and memorable shopping experience.
• Increases sales: Right placements with complementary visual elements draw buyers’ attention to a certain area. Retailers make sure that the attention is not only drawn to a single product, but also to related products or complementary items. The process of making people wander around in a store also encourages them to discover new things and be open for impulse buying – whether it is an extra item they had not planned on purchasing or bought because it was on sale. All this leads to more sales.
• Leads to more repeat customers: A good store narrative is a great way to retain customers because the experience they get from it will be memorable and unique. They will associate that experience with your brand or product and become more likely to choose them again in future purchases.
• Aids retail store marketing: Sometimes, good visual merchandising leads to word of mouth marketing – customers will recommend your store to their friends because of the shopping experience they had. The narrative you’ve created for them has become unforgettable, making it easier to market to past and future customers. The store can also get organic Instagram and Pinterest exposure for free , which is essential in the age of social media.

Visual Merchandising Examples

Visual merchandising can be seen at every retail store. The idea is to grab the attention of potential customers through strategic placement of products and visual elements, so they are drawn to certain areas in the store. Here are a few examples of visually merchandised stores –

IKEA is a great example of a company that uses visual merchandising to create a memorable shopping experience. The products are displayed in a way that makes people wander around the store, discover new things and be open to buying an extra product or two – all this leads to more impulse purchases. Ikea also does storytelling through its interior design, choosing colours and furniture styles that reflect the brand’s theme or idea.

The company also has a well-established online presence that attracts buyers with attractive merchandising displays. The icons in the main categories are presented in a neat grid.

Zara is a perfect example of a company that does storytelling with its visual merchandising. The clothing and accessories displayed in the store tell stories about certain themes or characters, like this one:

The brand also employs a full-time team of architects and visual-merchandising experts to make sure Zara stores not only have the perfect narrative, ambience, and layout but that they have almost identical scenes all over the world.

The store plan is placed in the middle of the store. The products are displayed at the end of long aisles that make you walk around in them, increasing your chances to discover other items that might interest you.

The brand uses a wall-mounted display rack in all its stores, showcasing a complete outfit. This interactive feature has become popular among shoppers, who share photos of themselves in Zara outfits on social media.

Zara also uses complementary colours and lighting effects to direct attention towards certain areas in the store.

Bottom-Line?

Visual merchandising is a key marketing tool that can make or break a retail store. It helps marketers connect with customers, create a memorable experience for them, market to past and future customers, and increase sales. It should be an integral part of every retail marketing plan.

Go On, Tell Us What You Think!

Did we miss something?  Come on! Tell us what you think about our article on  visual merchandising  in the comments section.

A startup consultant, digital marketer, traveller, and philomath. Aashish has worked with over 20 startups and successfully helped them ideate, raise money, and succeed. When not working, he can be found hiking, camping, and stargazing.

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Visual merchandising: The What, Why, and How

by Ivana Sarandeska | July 18, 2024

While it's often said that we shouldn't "judge a book by its cover," our initial visual impressions inevitably shape our perceptions and shopping preferences. 

This is precisely why retail spaces are so meticulously designed, from the layout of the floor to the arrangement of displays, creating an inviting and visually appealing atmosphere. But effective visual merchandising becomes equally crucial for the online shopping experience. It extends the brand’s image and narrative, ensuring that every online interaction reflects the aesthetic and ethos of the physical experience.

What is visual merchandising?

Visual merchandising is more than just the art of displaying products; it's a critical component of the marketing strategy for engaging customers and enhancing the retail experience. When implemented efficiently, it can increase store traffic, boost sales, and build customer loyalty. 

Successful visual merchandising takes care of everything from the store layout and product placement to the lighting and decor. It combines strategy and creativity with visual marketing to present products in a way that creates interest and stimulates customers to make a purchase. 

In physical stores, visual merchandising aims to make your store aesthetically pleasing while improving the shopping experience for customers, and encouraging repeat visits. It allows visual merchandisers to effectively convey your brand's story and values, and strengthen brand image and recognition without saying a word.

For large retail chains, implementing the same visual merchandising elements and store layouts in their retail space—product showcasing and store layout—is crucial for creating an informed shopping experience that reflects the brand's identity throughout all their locations.  This consistency sets the tone for the customer’s journey, making your brand memorable and positively influencing consumer behavior. 

But as customers’ preferences continue to evolve, leveraging various visual merchandising tools becomes increasingly important for creating shopping experiences that resonate with diverse customers globally.

Elements of visual merchandising

Visual merchandising is made up of several key elements and components. Put together, they create an inviting and efficient shopping environment. Then combined, these elements entice customers to make a purchase. Understanding the role of each element in the overall shopping experience can significantly enhance brand image and recognition, and influence sales.

Window display

Window displays are the storefront's visual entry point, designed to grab the attention of passersby. These displays can set the tone for the brand, have consistent themes, and follow important trends in the target market. And oftentimes, the store window is the determining component that entices customers to enter the store and explore further.

Store layout and design

The store layout and design are crucial as they help guide the customer journey. It involves sectioning the store, aisle arrangements, and merchandise organization, to lead product discovery and smooth flow through the store. Effective store design is intuitive and aligns with natural shopping behaviors, encouraging interaction with products. 

Product display

Product displays are used to strategically place and highlight key merchandise, such as new arrivals and best-sellers. Good product placement ensures high visibility for promotional items on sales floor and can influence buying decisions. Techniques like  creating displays, grouping complementary products and using signage can guide customers and provide information that enhances the buying experience.

Seasonal displays

Arranging displays according to seasonal themes can refresh the store environment. It creates a more dynamic experience, aligned with upcoming holidays, consumer moods, and trends. Seasonal displays can transform the shopping atmosphere, making it more dynamic, visually appealing, and strategically effective, which in turn can boost seasonal sales.

Visual merchandising strategies

A robust visual merchandising strategy employs visual stimuli and a variety of techniques to attract customers, maintain interest, and engage shoppers. It combines aesthetics and functionality to engage customers and promote brand loyalty.

Merchandising techniques

Effective merchandising is more than just displaying products. It’s about using visual storytelling to create a connection with shoppers. By utilizing a mix of colors, lighting, different props, and incorporating sensory elements like scents and sounds, brands can create a strong impact, to further attract customers and enhance the retail space. 

Brand visuals

Maintaining a consistent visual style throughout the store, the online store, and across all marketing channels helps reinforce brand identity and fosters customer loyalty. Well-chosen visuals can communicate brand values and identity, enhancing brand recognition, and creating a deeper connection with customers.

Customer engagement

Modern merchandising techniques focus on engaging customers through interactive and immersive in-store experiences . For example, using interactive digital displays and 3D visualization software can turn shopping into an enjoyable personalized experience, encouraging longer visits and increased sales.

Online visual merchandising

Just like in-store visual merchandising, online visual merchandising is a combination of visual marketing and strategic arrangement and presentation of products on e-commerce platforms. It plays a critical role in keeping customers interested and engaged, adapting to preferences that favor convenience, speed, and visual appeal.

What makes it incredibly important and powerful is that it can be personalized. A prime example is a furniture business that uses 3D product visualization to enhance its online merchandising, offering customers an immersive shopping experience that closely mimics in-store interactions.

Online visual merchandising techniques

Effective online visual merchandising employs various techniques to captivate and engage online shoppers, ensuring that each digital interaction mirrors the allure, store design, and persuasiveness of physical shopping.

Product visuals on the home page

In retail, first impressions are crucial. While in physical stores, visual merchandising starts with the window display, in online stores it starts with the home page. High-quality images on the homepage serve as the initial touchpoint for visitors, setting the tone for the browsing experience. 

For instance, Yardbird uses a combination of static and dynamic content, to prominently display the products on the home page. The images show the products in realistic settings to immediately draw attention and engage potential buyers.

Visually consistent product feed

Just like you would keep a consistent store layout in a physical store to establish trust,  creating a visually consistent product feed and a clean website layout are essential for ensuring ease of navigation and a smooth shopping experience. Having all product images follow a uniform style and quality is just one way to enhance the overall aesthetic of the site.

A great example of this is &Tradition’s product page where website visitors can take a look at all products available for purchase, along with brief product information, including name, type, designer, and variants, and apply filters to view only the products they are interested in.

Engaging product details page

A product details page should allow visitors to learn everything they can about a product. Providing detailed descriptions, high-resolution images, zoom capabilities, 360 views, and lifestyle imagery allows customers to explore products thoroughly. But the ability to see the product in different colors or fabrics does not give the full picture when shopping for furniture.

That’s why the Canadian furniture store EQ3 takes its product pages to the next level by implementing augmented reality . By using their phones, perspective shoppers can get a realistic view of how a product, a table, or sofa would look in their own space. All of this takes out the guesswork and makes choosing the right product easier and more enjoyable.

Relevant product recommendations

Smartly integrated product recommendations can enhance the shopping experience by suggesting relevant products or accessories, shown through engaging visuals and links that encourage further exploration. Another more advanced technique available in online stores could be a personalized layout based on who is visiting. Depending on where the visitor is in their buyer journey, product recommendations can change or the other elements of content can be reordered.

This will make product discovery easier, while gently nudging the visitor to a cross-sell or upsell. For example, Knoll, a furniture retailer, strategically places product recommendations in the middle of their product pages with sections like “You may also need” and “You may also like”. These recommendations showcase combinations of products that complement the one currently open, making it easier for visitors to envision ideas and create product combinations.

Seamless checkout experience

A seamless checkout process is vital for conversion. When customers encounter a streamlined, intuitive checkout, they are more likely to complete the purchase. Transparent pricing, high-quality thumbnails, and smart recommendations at the checkout can reaffirm buyer decisions and potentially increase average order value.

Guest checkout, progress indicators, and one-page checkout can further decrease cart abandonment rates, increase trust, and ensure a smooth and appealing end to the shopping journey. Take, for instance, Monte’s checkout page—a simple design that eliminates guesswork for the next steps. Additionally, product recommendations at the bottom make it fast and easy to add related items to the cart.

Impact of visual merchandising

Visual merchandising significantly shapes the retail business landscape by influencing consumer behavior and driving business growth. It shapes the aesthetic appeal of a brand and its stores, while strongly influencing customer behavior and sales performance. 

Through a skillful combination of design elements, like light, color, layout, and display, good visual merchandising can help businesses create an environment that both entices and guides the customer journey. But the impact of great visual merchandising also extends beyond immediate consumer interactions.

It also helps in building brand loyalty and identity, ultimately influencing long-term business growth and market competitiveness. Due to its ability to affect both, the psychological and behavioral responses of shoppers, visual merchandising is an essential tool for achieving sustained retail success.

Consumer purchase behavior

Visual merchandising directly impacts the customer's attention. It influences how consumers perceive and interact with products, and make purchasing decisions. Effective visual cues can enhance product appeal and create a sense of urgency, motivating customers to act quickly and decisively.

Additionally, well-placed visual cues can guide consumers toward featured products and promotions in the retail and department stores, significantly boosting the likelihood of impulse buys and increasing overall customer engagement within the store.

Sales and business growth

Strategic visual merchandising with well-organized and appealing layouts, regularly stocked shelves, and front-facing inventory enhances the shopping experience, leading to increased retail sales. It can also help companies gather data and track the correlation between display techniques and sales outcomes, enabling them to fine-tune strategies for maximal impact.

Best practices for efficient visual merchandising

Implementing best practices in visual merchandising ensures maximal impact with cost efficiency. These practices include a range of strategies, including maintaining visual consistency, optimizing resources to align with customer preferences, and more. 

Implementing these techniques not only enhances the aesthetic appeal of the store but also helps attract customers, and improves the overall experience, driving higher engagement and more sales.

Cohesive and visually appealing store environment

A unified aesthetic that reflects the brand’s identity appeals directly to the same target customer and audience, enhancing customer experience. Consistency across all visual elements—such as color schemes, signage, window displays, display fixtures, and lighting—ensures that every part of the retail store communicates the same brand message.

This unified look and feel makes the store more attractive while building brand recognition and loyalty. When customers feel a connection with the brand through a visually consistent shopping experience, they are more likely to return and make repeat purchases.

Optimizing resources for cost-effective implementation

Maximizing visual impact without overspending involves strategic use of resources. For example, using versatile fixtures and modular display systems allows for easy reconfiguration, enabling the store to update its look frequently without making additional expenses.

Moreover, sourcing materials and props by partnering with local suppliers or repurposing existing elements, can reduce costs. Digital tools and software can also aid in planning and visualizing the store displays and layouts before actual implementation, saving time and minimizing errors.

Aligning visual merchandising with target audience preferences

Taking into consideration and implementing these preferences enhances engagement and satisfaction. Following relevant retail industry trends and staying up-to-date with your customers’ shopping preferences provide valuable guidance and take out the guesswork on what your next upgrades should be.

Free report: The profile of a modern furniture shopper

Creating a delightful shopping experience online and in-store

An engaging shopping experience across all channels of the retail store, that seamlessly moves from online to in-store and vice versa, is crucial for modern retailing. In-store, interactive displays and immersive environments can enhance the merchandising space and shopping experience, making it more enjoyable. 

On the other hand, the use of dynamic banners and advanced technologies such as 3D product visualizations or augmented reality on your website provides lifelike views, allowing customers to explore products in detail just as they would be able to do in-store.  Providing a cohesive and engaging experience across all touchpoints helps build a stronger connection and a more memorable interaction. It can also be a significant competitive advantage.

Regular updates to keep displays fresh and engaging

Frequent updates to visual merchandising elements, like your window displays, keep the experience fresh and relevant. Reflecting seasonal changes and current trends helps maintain continual customer interest and engagement.

Additionally, creating promotional campaigns that follow holidays, seasonal events, sales events, and new product launches keeps the store more dynamic and engages customers. Planning ahead and scheduling these updates can help visual merchandisers manage their efforts more efficiently.

Real-world example of visual merchandising success

Visual merchandising is a powerful tool that can significantly enhance customer engagement and drive sales.  

One standout example is Heal’s , a renowned furniture retailer with over 200 years of tradition. Heal’s partnered with Cylindo to improve their visual merchandising, integrating high-definition 3D product visualization both online and in-store.

Heal’s utilized Cylindo’s technology to showcase various finishes and upholstery options, allowing customers to visualize and interact with products in a detailed and immersive way. They are also using Cylindo to populate product imagery across the website and in print materials. 

The implementation of advanced visual merchandising techniques had a notable impact on Heal’s business. The use of Cylindo’s 3D visualization technology resulted in increased conversion rates and reduced product returns.

Customers were able to see realistic representations of products, which minimized the likelihood of returns due to mismatched expectations. Additionally, the consistent visual experience across online and in-store platforms reinforced brand loyalty and enhanced customer satisfaction.

Heal’s stands out as an excellent case of a successful combination of traditional retail strategies with cutting-edge technology for visual merchandising success. By implementing 3D product visualization, Heal’s significantly improved their online presence and created a consistent and engaging customer experience across all touchpoints. This approach highlights the potential benefits of visual merchandising used to drive business growth and improve overall customer satisfaction.

Transform your furniture business with visual merchandising

Effective visual merchandising is a vital component of retail success, combining strategy and creativity to enhance customer experience, both online and in-store, and drive sales. When done correctly, visual merchandising significantly boosts engagement and builds customer loyalty. 

Staying competitive involves adopting the latest trends, like integrating advanced technologies such as 3D visualization, to transform traditional merchandising approaches and yield substantial benefits for repeat business. To explore how to use Cylindo as part of your visual merchandising strategy, book a demo today and discover the possibilities for your business.

What is the difference between traditional visual merchandising and online visual merchandising?

The key difference between traditional and online visual merchandising is the space where it happens. Traditional merchandising focuses on the physical arrangements of the store like floor design and layout, windows, and product displays. On the other hand, online visual merchandising involves translating these concepts across digital platforms by using streamlined product feeds, high-quality visuals , 3D visualizations, and augmented reality to showcase product details and create an engaging online shopping experience.  

What is the difference between retail and merchandising?

Retail refers to the sale of goods directly to consumers through various channels, such as stores or online platforms. Merchandising involves the activities and strategies to promote and sell products, including product selection, display, pricing, and marketing to maximize sales and improve the customer experience .

How can you improve visual merchandising?

You can improve visual merchandising by creating coordinated and appealing displays throughout the store, using high-quality visuals, incorporating interactive and sensory elements into store windows, regularly updating windows and product displays to reflect trends and seasons, and aligning strategies with customer preferences. Additionally, implementing technologies like augmented reality and 3D visualization can enhance the overall shopping experience, both online and in-store .

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Visual Merchandising: Definition, Elements & Importance

The latest website statistics show that people have a very short attention span. Your first impression determines if a potential customer will move on or slow down to check out a product.

Smart business owners and marketers use visual merchandise to present products in a way that catches attention and entices potential customers.

If you want to improve sales and grow revenue, invest in visual merchandising, which features attractive window displays, captivating store signage, or other attractive displays.

In this article, we will look into the world of visual merchandising. We will explore its principles, impact, and the recent trends that keep it relevant in retail strategy.

What is Visual Merchandising?

Visual Merchandising is the strategic use of design elements and aesthetics to enhance the visual appeal of a retail space. It includes window displays, visual displays, and arrangements that make the retail environment attractive to the customers.

Planning is crucial to make the space within the retail stores visually appealing and functional.

History of Visual Merchandising

Visual merchandising traces its origins to the 1800s. ( BigCommerce ) This period was when retailers began to showcase their products beyond the confines of their shops.

In the late 1800s, department stores became famous because of the inclusion of stunning visual elements. Stores like Macy's, Bloomingdale's, and Marshall Fields contributed to the global evolution of merchandising.

A French retailer named Aristide Boucicaut in 1852 was the person to create the world's first department store called Le Bon Marché. ( Napoleon.org )

The idea was to create a town within a town for goods. The department store became a place to buy goods and enjoy an immersive experience.

Importance of Visual Styling & Merchandising

1. boosts sales and increases traffic.

The goal of visual merchandising is to make as many sales as possible. Using merchandising techniques can increase traffic and create a thriving retail environment. For example, visual merchandising display windows are the fastest way to boost sales by displaying products.

Visual styling and merchandising help capture attention, shape brand identity, influence purchase decisions, and create a memorable and profitable shopping experience.

If you are bent on maximizing sales and encouraging more customers to become loyal to your brand, your best bet is to use interactive displays stylishly.

With visual styling and merchandising, retailers can transform their stores' positive and negative spaces to design an attractive display. This transformation will leave a lasting and memorable impression on customers and increase sales.

2. Captures Attention

When trying to sell to a customer, the first thing to do is to capture shoppers' imagination via stunning product displays. In a retail setting, the visual appeal of the store's ambiance serves as the initial handshake. The easiest way to maximize sales is to pique a customer's interest first.

An example of attracting customer interest is having a store with attractive window displays and creative in-store layouts to encourage purchase.

You can use dark and light tones, allowing creative freedom that results in pleasing and conducive environments that attract and retain the gaze of customers. In addition, marquees, banners, and awnings give off a warm and colorful touch to your in-store visual display.

3. Effective Communication

Visual styling serves as a powerful communication tool. Retailers can effectively convey the brand's identity, values, and critical messages to customers through carefully curated displays and merchandising techniques.

Tools like point-of-sale screens and a light control system help display and communicate with customers compellingly and captivatingly. Displayed merchandise helps create a deeper connection between the brand and its audience.

Ensure you avoid creating overwhelming displays to keep potential on track and communicate the right message, affecting the customer's perception.

Visual merchandising displays help communicate the message that potential customers will understand without hassle.

4. Encourage Brand Loyalty

Retailers use visual styling and merchandising to present their unique brand message to their target audience . Let’s take the global brand Nike as an example. Nike is popular for its unique tagline, “Just Do It,” and its trademark logo.

Shoppers who enjoy their in-store experience in any Nike shopping outlet will easily remain loyal to the brand because of its unique brand messaging.

Elements of Visual Merchandising

Visual merchandising is a tool retailers use to make their stores more attractive and better. Using visual merchandising helps give customers a memorable experience.

By strategically integrating the interior and exterior elements, businesses can effectively capture the imagination of shoppers and drive customer loyalty.

We will explore the elements of visual merchandising and delve into how each element contributes to the overall success of a store.

Interior Elements of Visual Merchandising

1. store layout & planogram.

The layout and planogram of a store dictate the arrangement of products and displays. Careful consideration is given to strategically placing high-impact displays and merchandise to optimize visibility and accessibility.

By curating a well-executed planogram, retailers ensure that the store tells a compelling story, guiding customers through a curated journey.

2. Store Design

The foundation of a captivating shopping environment lies in store design. Your store designing process involves creating a layout that maximizes space, facilitates a seamless customer journey, and optimizes traffic flow.

Considering factors like product placement, traffic flow, and ambiance, a well-designed store entices customers to explore every corner.

In most cases, your customer journey begins at the visual merchandising display windows where all they can have a sneak peek of the various products. The quality of your store design will increase your chances of closing sales.

3. Display Space

Display space serves as the canvas on which the visual story unfolds. Effective use of display space involves showcasing products in a way that captures attention and highlights their unique features.

Varying heights, groupings, and focal points, retailers create visually appealing displays that invite customers to engage with the merchandise.

The area between where you display your products and the ceiling is usually an empty space in most stores. You can use this area to display visual merchandising and signage to boost your product’s appeal.

4. Lighting

Lighting is vital in influencing the mood and atmosphere of a store. Specific colors and light shades are mood-altering and influence purchase decisions.

Attracting customer interest is one of the advantages of using flashy lights for in-store displays. Strategic lighting draws attention to product attributes and details and influences customers' perception of the store's display.

With bright and warm lighting, you can create an inviting, cozy atmosphere that encourages purchase decisions.

Colors serve as influencers of customer perception and a key brand element for a cohesive identity . A deliberately chosen color palette evokes emotions and reinforces brand identity.

According to branding statistics , color increases brand recognition by 80%. The strategic use of colors in visual merchandising creates a harmonious and visually appealing environment, making the shopping experience more enjoyable.

6. Materials

The choice of materials in visual merchandising contributes to the overall aesthetic and brand image. From fixtures and shelving to the materials used in displays, each element should align with the store's theme and convey a cohesive message to customers.

Signage is a visual communication tool that guides customers and reinforces the store's brand identity. Using concise and aesthetically pleasing signage enhances the overall shopping experience.

Exterior Elements of Visual Merchandising

The window display is the initial contact point between a store and its potential customers. A well-curated display in real-life window settings can capture the imagination of passersby, enticing them to step inside. It acts as a preview of the unique offerings within the store.

2. Store Front

Attention to detail, such as promotional displays and pop-up stores in the front of the stores, can create a dynamic and inviting entrance.

An attractive, well-maintained exterior encourages customers to explore the store's offerings while leaving a lasting impression.

3. Circular Store Layout

Implementing a circular store layout is a fundamental exterior element of visual merchandising that aims to direct customers seamlessly through the retail space. This layout enhances the overall customer experience and encourages exploration and discovery.

4. Installing Digital Screens

Incorporating digital screens on the exterior of the retail space is a strategic move in visual merchandising.

These digital signage elements serve as dynamic tools to illuminate critical attributes of products. With a well put-together-screen, you can communicate promotions and reinforce the unique brand message, contributing to a memorable customer experience.

5. Point of Purchase Displays

Well-designed point-of-purchase displays strategically placed at the entrance and in specific areas capture customers' attention.

These displays, featuring as many visually striking elements as possible, showcase merchandise highlights and contribute significantly to the visual merchandising elements, ultimately enhancing the customer experience.

6. Window Displays

Window displays are crucial for creating a visually appealing first impression. These displays, aligned with the visual merchandising strategy, effectively communicate the brand's identity , engaging potential or current customers and setting the tone for the overall retail experience.

7. Unique Brand Message

Conveying a unique brand message through exterior elements is integral to visual merchandising.

Whether through window displays, digital screens, or point-of-purchase displays, establishing a distinct brand identity contributes to a memorable customer experience and reinforces the brand's image.

8. Optimized Visual Merchandising Elements

Incorporating various visual merchandising elements, such as color schemes, lighting, and spatial design, ensures a cohesive and visually appealing exterior for the retail space. This optimization further enhances the overall impact on potential or current customers.

9. Engaging Digital Signage

Digital signage helps to illuminate specific product attributes and engages customers with dynamic content. This interactive element contributes to a more immersive retail space, aligning with the visual merchandising strategy to leave a lasting impression on customers.

Visual Merchandising Examples

1. hackett london.

Hackett London is a fancy shop that sells nice suits for men. They set up a fantastic window display with tiny figures working on a suit to show off their hard work. It's like a little scene that says, “Hey, we put a lot of effort into making awesome suits!”

This suit brand strategically utilized the space within the storefront windows to create eye-catching scenes that attract customers passing by. So, if you get a suit from Hackett London, you can be sure it's stylish and well-made.

Adidas is famous for its designs, and the London shop is no exception. They have cool cabinets that can move around, and you can find them on every floor.

But the best part is the high-tech displays that show how they make their stuff. It is like a mini-movie about their products and sticks in your head when you see it.

These displays showcase the Merchandise and invite customers to interact, capturing their interest more profoundly. This shop is not just about selling shoes and clothes. It is about telling a story!

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Visual Merchandising: Definition, Elements & Importance

What is visual merchandising.

Visual Merchandising (VM) is the art of using a retailer’s products and combining them with other visual elements (props, lighting, materials, artwork,..etc) to create an appealing visual display of the merchandise offered for sale. The main goal of visual merchandising is to maximize sales through creative display of merchandise.

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History of Visual Merchandising

The concept of visual merchandising was first introduced to retail in 1883 by Harry Gordon Selfridge , when he was working at Marshall Fields and decided to make products more accessible to customers by removing counters and using tables for display instead. He was also the first to use windows for merchandise display, instead of being merely used for lighting purposes only.

The success of this new concept has invited competitors to do the same, and ever since VM has become an essential part of retailing.

Elements of Visual Merchandising

VM uses external and internal elements of the store to deliver a coherent image to the customers

Interior Elements of VM

• Store Design: The decoration of the store to match the theme delivered to the customer. This includes the furnishings, carpets, wall paintings, shelves and pictures.
• Store Layout & Planogram : The store plan that assigns specified areas of the store to different product groups.
• Display Space: Space used to display the products.
• Signage: Any printed materials that display the store’s message to the customers.
• Lighting: Lighting is a very important element in creating the store ambience and in highlighting specific focus areas.
• Materials: Materials used in VM include fixtures, props, frills and marketing materials.
• Colors: Colors play an important role in creating a coherent atmosphere and telling a relevant story to the current season.

Exterior Elements of VM

• Window: Designed to attract customers into the store and reflect the current theme of the store’s merchandise.
• Store Front: The area surrounding the store entrance.

Importance of Visual Merchandising

Visual merchandising plays an important role in conveying the store’s message to the customers through product displays and visual elements. It is frequently referred to as the “ silent salesperson ” due to its role of providing customers with important information, as well as suggestive selling.

Retailers who master VM gain a competitive advantage over the competition, because the visual display is what first draws customers into the store while browsing the mall.

Research has also shown that customers prefer shopping with stores that have a “ personality ” manifested through the store design and atmosphere. It has also shown that VM enhances brand recognition and recall .

Store Atmosphere

Store atmosphere uses visual merchandising, together with other elements to create a special ambience that enhances the customer shopping experience and gives a store its special identity in customers’ minds.

Elements of store atmosphere include:

• Background Music
• Visual Merchandising

Making sure that all those elements deliver the same feeling and message is key in creating a special “ personality ” for the store.

Commercial Visual Merchandising

The term “ Commercial VM ” has been gaining popularity and focus among retailers in the past few years. The main goal of this focus is to ensure that visual displays are planned and created with the primary goal of driving sales, and not merely to create a beautiful picture.

This is because visual merchandisers by nature are very artistic people, so retailers want to make sure that art will go hand in hand with commerciality.

It is also a strategy aimed at brining visual teams and operations teams together to fulfill the primary goal of the organization; i.e to deliver sales and profits.

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Thank you for reading this article on Visual Merchandising. We recommend the below free resources as well:

• Store Layout
• Cross Merchandising
• Retail Store
• How Merchandising Can Be Affected by Geographical Differences
• How Merchandising Can Support the Sales Process

Read more articles on  Merchandising  or  join the academy  for in-depth courses on the processes and reports used in managing inventory and measuring performance. 

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What is Visual Merchandising? How To Leverage Product Display & Design?

Visual merchandising (VM) is an indispensable retail discipline, consisting of a series of practical selling tools used to influence what and how much consumers buy.   ~Karl McKeever

Businesses never get a second chance to make first impressions. In today’s oversaturated market, a marketer’s success rate and capacity to generate a return on investment depend on a comprehensive grasp of consumer behavior and the logic underlying buying power. Unfortunately for marketers, customer behavior has evolved into an ever-changing idea, necessitating adjustment. Visual merchandising uses colors, patterns, lighting, and signage to attract customers and boost sales. Typically, this is evident via displays, mannequin arrangements, props, photographs, and product placement. This essay explores visual merchandising and the importance of a virtual merchandiser in any retail environment.

What is Visual Merchandising?

Visual merchandising is creating, preparing, and displaying products to highlight their various attributes and advantages to potential customers. Visual merchandising is concerned with how the product or brand is presented visually to the customer and whether or not this message is interpreted in an “ acceptable ” manner. In this discussion, “ appropriately” refers to the situation in which the message has a favorable impact on the mindset or behavior of the client, ultimately resulting in the customer making a purchase.

The art and science of presenting things in the most visually appealing way, primarily focusing on interacting with customers through images and presentations, is known as visual merchandising. That is to say, the exterior of the business, including its window displays, facades, and retail spaces, as well as the inside of the store, are all considered part of the store’s visual merchandising (orienting factors, signage, layout, presentation techniques, props, spatial elements, and ambient conditions). The store’s layout, the equipment, the goods, and the displays are all examples of visual merchandising aspects.

Other factors include colors, lighting, shapes, and positioning. Merchandising comprises various elements, such as visual merchandising, the assortment of products, music, odors, and temperature. There are four categories of factors that can influence a person’s impulse purchase decision: the individual making the purchase, the atmosphere of the store, the circumstances, and the product itself. The store environment comprises many components, including the staff, the type of business, the layout, and the ambiance. Some authors include the store’s layout and ambiance as part of the definition of “ visual merchandising aspects. “

The following five aspects of visual merchandising were analyzed for their potential impact: Several factors influence impulse purchases, including 

• window displays
• the design inside the store
• promotional signs
• store layout, and 
• the mood inside the business.

Why is Visual Merchandising Important?

Improving the consumer experience is essential to a business’s success, and visual merchandising is crucial to this end. It helps to arrange the retail space and makes it easier for customers to find what they need, enhancing their shopping experience. Moreover, professionally designed displays assist in attracting, engaging, and informing clients more effectively. Retailers may impact the amount of time a consumer spends in-store as well as the decisions they make. Another key thing to remember is that the in-store experiences can provide “ touch moments ” in which customers engage with products. This could be holding a flower pot, relaxing in a comfortable chair, or trying on and utilizing trial products.

Sell Specific Merchandise 

Some products generate greater earnings than others, and sellers wish to sell more of these products. Visual merchandising helps to promote certain specific objects, hence increasing their sales.

Influence Buyer decisions

Visual merchandising entails the use of neuromarketing strategies to influence buyers’ decisions by appealing to their subconscious thoughts. This entails

• strategic product placement (profitable items are maintained at eye level),
• store paint (to set the mood),
• smell (to induce cravings),
• and music (to influence you subconsciously).

Meet Sales Targets

Visual merchandising focuses on improving the customer experience and increasing sales. Visual merchandising is the salesperson that subconsciously influences customers to acquire intended products. Customers will enter your establishment and scan for visual cues. If you can capture their interest and direct them around your store, your sales will increase. Marketers achieve this by strategically positioning profitable things, making them visible and enticing consumers to purchase them.

Market Retail Stores

A remarkable store is what separates itself from the monotonous retail competition. The goal of visual merchandising is to distinguish the store in the thoughts of customers. This is accomplished through visual signals, location, and aesthetics, causing them to stop and look and, at times, take photographs or spread the word organically.

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Most Important Elements of Visual Merchandising

1. color is king.

The most important element of visual merchandising is to project your brand identity and innovate on it constantly .                                                      Abraham Arroyo, cofounder of Noble Planta

Probably an essential aspect of merchandising is color. Color can be utilized to generate specific emotions and can be linked to brand philosophy. For instance, warm, somber colors might be used to evoke a soothing atmosphere, while bright, dazzling colors can be utilized to stimulate emphasis.

2. Maximum Display Visibility: What May Be Seen Sells

In-store and online, visibility encourages businesses to highlight things that match with a distinctive narrative and true brand image while also facilitating buyers’ ability to locate the desired items. Visibility prioritizes the products that shops promote the most, regardless of whether the items have a high-profit margin or are exclusive enough to generate customer loyalty, word-of-mouth, and social sharing.

3. Storytelling

The art of storytelling can be utilized by retailers to elicit favorable feelings from clients. In a world where attention spans are decreasing, marketing requires the use of engaging stories. Exceptional narratives should begin with distinctive brand messaging. When excited customers enter your store, it should stimulate all four senses.

4. Void Spaces

The element of visual marketing allows you to connect or separate goods in space. Positive space denotes the solid position of an object, whereas negative space denotes the empty space surrounding it. Negative space gives your products breathing room when used creatively. In stores, the space between the exhibited objects and the ceiling is frequently neglected yet can impact the customer experience. For instance, you can create an interesting show by applying contrasting colors to negative and positive surfaces.

5. Point of Concentration/Focal Point

Every display needs a focal point to draw the viewer’s attention. This could be a fantasy image, a clever remark, or a company’s emblem. The focal point is often located at eye level and is visible from a distance.

6. Landscaping

Landscaping provides retailers with creative freedom by allowing them to operate in three dimensions: horizontal, vertical, and longitudinal. Simpler layouts simplify the user experience and improve the overall performance of your website. The landscape is essential to attracting the customer’s attention. A landscaper may also employ asymmetrical techniques to generate movement and product flow. The complexity of symmetry layouts exceeds that of symmetry layouts.

7. Lighting

Certain parts of the store and product assortment can be highlighted with the aid of light and illumination. It can also establish the store’s atmosphere. For instance, a well-lit retail atmosphere is favored in electronics and clothing stores where customers may wish to examine merchandise in close proximity. It is common for lounges, restaurants, and pubs to prefer dim lighting that provides a cozy, unhurried atmosphere.

Balance relates to the weight of opposing visual elements. Traditional or symmetrical balance offers each side equal weight and is pleasing to the sight. Asymmetrical balance produces the illusion of equal weight, although the things on either side are not the same. This results in a feeling of enthusiasm. You could experiment with the structure and visuals of the display until you achieve the desired aesthetic.

Consider adopting a theme, such as seasonal, holiday, back-to-school, retro, local events, or nature, for your display. Themes can be an effective approach for businesses to introduce a new product. If a business decides to select a theme, it should be mindful of its brand and intended audience.

Virtual Merchandising Strategy

Individuals need not create a floor plan for their retail location because the software allows you to visualize the sales area of your store. Having said that, this software considers all the factors that influence purchasing decisions, such as the flow of foot traffic, product display, and visual merchandising. You have the ability to do the following when you use graphic merchandising software to visualize your shop space:

• Analyze the effects that various store layouts will have on sales, traffic flow, and the level of engagement displayed by customers.
• Evaluate the design solutions for visual merchandisers that seem to be most effective for particular product categories or populations.
• Examine the various aesthetically appealing and interesting ways that products can be exhibited.

Techniques of Visual Merchandising

Internal design .

Cases, tables, counters, mannequins, props, decorations, kiosks, vignettes, and point-of-purchase displays are examples of displays. Consumers should be able to peruse displays and make purchases without any assistance from staff. To assist create a profitable environment for the store, consider the following:

• Shop Design & Layout
• Point-of-Sale (POS) Display
• Storefront illumination
• Bundling the Atmosphere
• Aromatic Music
• Presentation in a shop

Exterior design 

The exterior is the first part of the store that potential customers see. This is what determines whether or not they wish to enter and shop. The store’s outside must attract customers’ attention and entice them to enter.

Planograms help retailers gather data that inspire smarter design, display, and merchandising choices to drive in-store sales. For a brick-and-mortar retailer, a well-designed store is a holy grail.

Seasonal Display

Assuring that your stores merchandising corresponds with what your customers are experiencing, be it a holiday or the season, will assist your business appear relevant to your audience. Seasonal displays can take various forms, including POP displays, focus points, window displays, and seasonal decorations. You must use timely merchandising in your store to leverage seasonal moods and purchasing patterns. It is crucial for firms to ensure that their present audiences connect with their overall brand message.

If the businesses visual marketing approach doesn’t incorporate digital signs, then the firm is missing out on a breakthrough method of customer engagement. Customers accustomed to televisions and other electronic devices utilize digital display screens throughout your store. With this in mind, the most important aspect of effective digital signage is its remarkable and unforgettable visual display. By using photos in your text, you may strengthen your brand and attract new customers. In addition, you may use animated graphics in window displays and point-of-sale displays to advertise your brand and merchandise. In addition, animated content can be used for marketing and promotional objectives.

Mannequins are detailed, life-sized figures used to showcase apparel. They can also be used to exhibit accessories such as jewelry and scarves.

Use Visual Merchandising to Tell a Story

Ultimately, you want your business to convey who you are, what you stand for, and what customers may anticipate from you. Customers desire this narrative because they want to comprehend and attribute significance to the areas where they shop. This is where narratives come in. 

Best Practices for Online Visual Merchandising 

• Treat your website homepage as you would a window display
• Work on your website layout
• Make sure your website is easy to navigate
• Create great product pages
• “Bundle” your products
• Inspire queueing customers
• Harness the power of Social proof 
• Checkout Line Merchandising = Online Checkout Optimization 

Great Examples of Visual Merchandising

Ikea tries breaking out of the big box. 

IKEA is an excellent example of a corporation that employs visual merchandising to create an unforgettable shopping experience. IKEA is widely recognized for its sophisticated visual merchandising coordination as its retailing strategy.

The products are placed in a manner that encourages customers to stroll around the store, find new items, and be open to purchasing an additional item or two; this results in increased impulse purchases. Ikea tells stories through its interior design by selecting colors and furniture designs that represent the brand’s concept or theme. Additionally, the corporation has an established web presence that attracts customers with appealing merchandising displays. The symbols for the primary categories are organized in a grid. The company has a retail layout that is distinct from its competitors, and its products are disposed of and sold in a manner that is distinct from its competitors. In Ikea stores, the client sees the product implemented in a scenario; if the client loves the product, he or she will purchase it in another area with a reference. The act of purchasing and assembling the goods results in a whole different experience for the customer, as the client must independently follow the instructions to build the product.

Despite this, practically all products are packaged in small, straight boxes to facilitate shipping and protect their safety.

2. ZARA 

Zara is an excellent example of a company that uses visual merchandising to tell a story. Zara’s headquarters in Spain have a collection of secret pilot stores where designs for its real stores are mocked up. Clothing and accessories in the store tell stories about specific themes or characters, such as this one: A full-time team of architects and visual-merchandising experts is also employed by the brand to ensure that Zara stores not only have the perfect narrative, ambiance, and layout but also have nearly identical scenes all over the world. The retailer employs a full-time team of architects and visual-merchandising experts whose sole job at Zara HQ is to design and curate every aspect of its fleet of stores, from the sleek decor and light-bulb color to the music playing and clothing placement. In all of its stores, the brand displays a complete outfit on a wall-mounted display rack. This interactive feature has gained popularity among Zara customers, who post photos of themselves wearing Zara outfits on social media. Zara also employs complementary colors and lighting effects to draw customers’ attention to specific areas of the store.

To Wrap It up 

If you wish to improve the visual merchandising of your retail store, this blog post will provide an excellent introduction to the subject. Whether by defining visual merchandising or examining some types and tactics for making better use of visuals in your stores, we hope this overview has been useful.

Frequently Asked Questions About Visual Merchandising

What is the most important goal of visual merchandising.

Visual merchandising’s primary objective is to attract customers and generate revenue. Indeed, it’s that easy, yet so crucial. Thus, a successful visual merchandising plan should attract customers into the store and keep them there long enough to make a purchase.

 What does a visual merchandiser do?

Visual merchandising is a marketing strategy that employs floor designs, color, lighting, displays, and other features to grab the attention of customers. The final goal is to utilize the retail area to increase sales.

What are the five most important elements of visual merchandising? 

While the majority of your decisions will be based on your personal tastes and preferences, you must also consider the five basic elements of Visual Merchandising—color, landscape, texture, communication, and décor—that comprise an effective display.

What are the five key principles of visual merchandising?

The five principles of visual merchandising include consumer-centric design, brand leverage, consideration of all senses, the use of interactive experiences, and execution.

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Why Visual Merchandising is More Important than You Think

  Here’s why visual merchandising is important, and you should not ignore it:

Positive shopping experience

Let’s face it, the more effort you put into your display, the more are your chances of getting customers’ attention. By displaying and promoting the products in a manner that encourages higher sales, retail stores will create a more enjoyable shopping experience for the customers. Shoppers tend to appreciate the attention to detail that goes into window displays and other visual merchandising materials because it’s the small things such as this that will make a store stand out from the rest.

Easier to locate products

Put yourselves in the shoes of the customer and think of the frustration you would go through if you have to spend 5-10 minutes just searching different aisles in retail stores to locate a product? visual merchandising is the solution to combat this problem. When a product is properly displayed, it will catch shoppers’ attention, guiding them towards it. For instance, displaying a new arrival in clothing on a mannequin will make it easier for customers to locate the product.

Helps introduce new products

In case of a new product launch, there is nothing that works better for retail stores than visual merchandising. It is obvious that customers will be discouraged to buy your product if they do not understand its utility or how it functions. Though some may purchase it merely out of curiosity, the majority will choose to pass. Visual merchandising can help retail stores explain new products to shoppers.

Enhanced brand identity

Brand identity in simple terms refers to something that the customers identify the brand with. The right type of visual merchandising can help build an identity around your brand. For instance, when Victoria’s Secret developed their new brand PINK, they stepped away from the more mature and provocative nature of visual merchandising and went with a more playful vibe. This has helped them build a brand identity that appeals to their target audiences of young adults and teenagers.

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Why Visual Merchandising Matters More Than Ever

Merchandising

BOOM! That’s how immediate the impact of visual merchandising is on retail shoppers – and why compelling visuals are a strategic asset in omnichannel retail. Visual merchandising presents a retailer’s physical store or eCommerce website in an enticing way to attract customers. Yet the objective isn’t just to look alluring – it’s to fuel retail purchases.

Let’s look at how timeless design principles impact shopper psychology and drive traffic and sales both in stores and online.

Visuals get ‘all up in your face.’

In our age of digital and social media, visuals matter because:

•    The average person’s attention span is 8 seconds or less – which, remarkably, is shorter than the attention span of a goldfish
•    65% of individuals say they’re visual learners
•    Visuals increase message retention by 42%

Today, visual merchandising blends artistry and data science, helping retailers get their message across faster and with greater impact.

Visual merchandising in the age of omnichannel

Now that shoppers around the world expect omnichannel service let’s examine how the following five classic elements of visual merchandising apply as much to old-school brick and mortar stores as they do to today’s trendiest eCommerce websites.

1. Architecture: The framework for retail sales

Regardless of the sales channel, a well-designed architecture makes the store inviting, so shoppers feel welcome and excited to explore the store or website. (And spend money.) A physical store’s architecture includes visual elements like the floor layout, the range of colors of the décor, and the backdrop, including three-dimensional window displays, shelf displays, and mannequins.

“Online display banners act as sumptuous magazine advertorials, encouraging shoppers to search, scroll, browse and buy”

E-commerce architecture also requires a thoughtful layout and clear signage to guide shoppers throughout the website. Retailers use a complementary color scheme to please the eye and cast models who fit their brand persona. Nowadays online product cards are on par with editorials, using captivating color schemes and product descriptions that harmoniously align with a singular brand language to drive sales.

2. Narrative: The store becomes the story

Visual merchandising intrigues customers with brand storytelling to transform a shop into an exciting destination that inspires and entices shoppers. The merchandiser decides on the theme – the look and feel – of a store, then evokes a desired effect through the visual displays. An effective in-store narrative sparks customers’ imagination with emotional impact, brand personality, and store ambiance. The focal point may include a hero – such as a high-impact collection of bold new items or an elaborate holiday display that nudges shoppers toward a purchase.

Online storytelling through visual merchandising also involves a logical narrative flow that guides customers through the online shopping journey so it’s compelling, effortless, and smooth (and shoppers don’t wander in different directions on the website. Regardless of channel, the narrative must reflect the consistent brand identity and customer-centric care from when shoppers enter the store or site to when they complete a purchase.

3. Visibility: What’s seen is sold

In-store and online, visibility encourages retailers to feature items that align with a unique narrative and authentic brand image, while helping shoppers easily and quickly find the items they desire. The principle of visibility prioritizes the products retailers push the most, whether the items are high margin or exclusive enough to drive loyalty, word of mouth, and social sharing. Online, the eCommerce information architecture and sitemap flow help retailers prominently showcase the products that are most likely to sell to prevent the items from being buried deep in the eCommerce site. Data analytics help merchandisers know exactly which products are most popular and trending, influencing the items they make most visible, including which color palettes, fabrics, and cuts to make most visible to wow shoppers all the way to the checkout page.

4. White space: Give shoppers room to breathe

Few customers enjoy navigating through a store crammed with excessive merchandise. By contrast, white space can help a shopper relax and enjoy the store atmosphere. Visual merchandising through white space encourages merchandisers to emphasize products that relate to their overarching theme by using innocuous brand elements. Visual Merchandisers exercise restraint to ensure uncluttered beauty, so the retail narrative shines through clearly.

Using sufficient negative space is essential online, making the shopping experience easy on the eyes, chaos-free, and pleasant by reflecting understated beauty and calm confidence.

5. Balance: Bringing the elements together in harmony

Successful visual merchandising in stores and online address consumers’ needs (such as quality, variety and sensory appeal, as well as the trust that comes from online product reviews) and inspire their wants (to feel attractive, confident and hopeful).

Both in-store and online, merchandisers must give attention to merchandise and communication cues. They need to showcase sufficient product variety while remaining consistent with the core brand theme, finding a happy medium to neither overwhelm nor disengage in-store shoppers.

Timeless tips boost omnichannel sales.

In the age of speed, the window dressing of visual merchandising is neither fluffy nor trivial – it is a critical business asset that drives retail conversions in stores and on eCommerce websites. Given shoppers’ extremely short attention span, merchandising professionals express the retailer’s intended message with thoughtful, consistent visual cues across retail touchpoints. Applying classic visual merchandising principles can help retailers improve their omnichannel excellence, and increase in-store and eCommerce sales.

For more tips and tricks in crucial areas of merchandising- Assortment, Price, Inventory & Presence, Check out our new eBook, “ 10 Merchandising Hacks to Future-Proof Your Retail Business . ”

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