An outline of Visual Merchandising
ÂSo what exactly is visual merchandising? The New Oxford Dictionary defines it as ð€˜The activity of promoting the sale of goods, especially by their presentation in retail outlets."   Visual merchandising aims to catch the audience"s attention by displaying visually interesting and stimulating products.
Â
In today"s constantly changing retail environment people are always forced to come up with good ideas. Therefore we are starting to see more and more innovative merchandising methods. A recent example of this is a product made by ð€˜Hello Kitty." They seem to have an overwhelming amount of merchandising, so much so that some of their merchandising products are irrelevant. They recently produced a petrol can that had their branding all over it. This is a very random product to come from them, but it has generated some great PR for the company.
Â
Visual merchandising specialists may be called in when a new shop is being built and designed. They will then make sure that the design is related to the products being sold and that it created the right atmosphere.   The idea is to stimulate people"s senses and there are a variety of ways of doing this. For example you could use a company branded perfume in a clothes store or a chocolate scent in a chocolate shop.
Â
The aim of visual merchandising is to get people to remember the brand and consequently buy more products from a company. A successful visual merchandising strategy has the potential to drive sales and get more people to visit a shop. For example, if you see something eye catching and exciting in a shop window, then you are more likely to go inside. Therefore, placing some visual merchandising in a shop window has the potential to directly increase the number of people that choose to go inside.