Understanding the
3 Key Elements
of Visual
Merchandising
Jenna Worrell, Marketing Manager
Product and Vertical Marketing
When you think of visual merchandising, you might get caught up in the window dressing, so to speak. After all, front window displays are supposed to catch your attention and entice you to enter the store. The visual display of products in store windows actually started way back in the nineteenth century when Marshall Field & Co. shifted their business from wholesale to retail. Over time, that concept expanded to include interior store design as well.
Today, that concept goes well beyond the store window. Visual merchandising is defined as the retail practice of developing floor plans and three-dimensional displays in order to maximize sales. Products are displayed to highlight their features and benefits to consumers, motivating them toward making a purchase.
3 Key Elements of Visual Merchandising
Since visual merchandising is a major tool for retail promotion and store branding, you should understand the key elements and how to apply them to your business.
1. Brand: Ensure your brand’s personality and essential characteristics are reflected in your in-store and online shopping experience through visual elements such as signage and images, respectively. This is one of the critical ways you’ll differentiate yourself from competitors and build brand loyalty. It may even make it possible to charge a premium price for a product.
2. Senses: One reason why brick-and-mortar retail stores still exist is because many consumers still find value by shopping in person. Make it an immersive experience that can’t be duplicated online by engaging all five senses. Tactics to consider include:
3. Displays: Retail has come a long way from relying on run-off-the-mill mannequins to sell products. These days, you’re more apt to find digital screens with product information and three-dimensional displays you might normally see at trade shows. Advances in color printing coupled with the use of flexible, yet durable materials, mean retailers can utilize displays more like props that can be changed out for different promotions and seasonal events.
It sure got my attention when you mentioned the importance of employing the use of our senses in order to create an effective visual merchandising technique to attract more customers in buying your products. This means that by having eye-catching visuals placed in your case shelvings or any part of your supermarket store would attract customers into visiting and buying your products. This is very useful information to take note for business owners who are involved in retail like supermarket stores. I’ll definitely share this bit of information with friends or family members who might be interested in setting up a supermarket in the future.