An Introduction to

Neha S Melit
What is Visual Merchandising?
Visual Merchandising, generally known as ‘Silent Selling’ is
the presentation of the merchandise at it’s Best, Color / Story
coordinated & Accessorized.

Display or Visual merchandising is “showing” merchandise and

concepts at their very best, with the purpose of making sale.
It may not always result in selling the displayed merchandise,
but it conveys to the customer The value of the merchandise
the store image / promotion or the idea / concept of display.

So we can say that Visual Merchandising is...

• A tool to achieve sales.
• A tool to increase productivity.
• A mechanism to ease customer buying
behavior.
 How does Visual Merchandising impact Retail?

Profit

Sales Higher Conversions

Buys Increased Ticket size

Creates
desire to Higher customer Entry
buy
Store Loyalty
Enters

Reason to
Enter
 Which is the domain of Visual Merchandising?
The Store Image comprises of 5 areas,
Majorly VM contributes in 2 areas - The Visual &
Atmospheric.
Visual

Merchandise Atmospheric

Audio Odor
 Where is Visual Merchandising done?

A Visual Merchandiser’s ELEMENTS are:

•Show Windows/ Window display

•Focal Points / Clusters
•Wall Presentations (based on seasonal stories)
•High Points
•Signage's
Wall Presentations serve as a backdrop for the entire selling floor
and should be considered prime visual and merchandise space
which help to draw customers deeper into the section.

They reflect the designers’ concepts/ stories in synergic whole.

Complete stories (Tops, bottoms, accessories etc) will be arranged
in groups, they may be complimented with Visuals/Signage's
pertaining to the season/look of the collection.
 How is Visual Merchandising done?

In Visual Merchandising, certain TOOLS are utilized to carry forward the

store image & to generate excitement & make the shopping experience
convenient.

These tools are:

•Color and textures

• Following Mock shops
•Capacity guideline
•layouts
•Mannequins and Props.
•Visuals
 Understanding Color

People Buy Colors !!!

Color is the biggest motivation for shopping. Color psychology is
very important in VM. There are many theories concerning the
effects of color on people and their moods while shopping. Color can
immediately create a mood.
For e.g.: In India, yellow, red, maroon are very commonly related to
festivity. Red, Green, Gold & white are associated with Xmas. Pink
is generally perceived as a Infant & teenage girl’s color.
 Understanding Color

Primary Colors
Yellow
The 3 hands of the color wheel
indicate
the three Primary colors.

Red Red, Yellow, Blue.

Blue
This is the most basic of color
schemes.
Secondary Colors
Orange Green The hands of the color wheel clock'
point to the Secondary colors.

Orange, Green, Violet

These colors are fresh & have a
uplifting quality.
Violet
 Warm Colors These are the Warm colors of the
spectrum from
red thru orange & yellow.

The warm colors tend to reach out to us

give a happy feeling.
Red through Orange
to Yellow
Cool Colors
The cool colors tend to go away from you,
or feel distant to you, they give a calm
feeling.
Green Thru Blue & Purple
We tend to feel the need for cool colors in
Purple through Blue hot weather

& Green
 Neutrals are all shades of
Beige
Earthy & Classic Beige, Brown, Grey, Black, &
White
The reason these colors are called “neutral”
is because they don’t make much of a
Brown
Stability, Reliability strong statement on their own.
& Masculinity They are helpful in softening
and moderating other colors.
Grey They take on a whole new personality when
Corporate, classic, you surround them with other colors.
practical, cool, timeless,
For e.g., most people tend to avoid brown.
But, it is such a wonderful color when it is
Timeless White combined with certain other colors.
Corporate, Summer fresh,
can be teamed with dark With yellow, orange and red it really seems
colors & pastels
rich and deep. The combination can warm
Timeless Black up just about anything.
Multi functional from day
wear to evening wear
can be teamed with light
colors & pastels
 color blocking Neutral colors/light
colors down and
Fashion colors/bright
colors up

Brand
DARK Visual Top
most
stack of
shirt to
go on
the
slant
shelf

LIGHT Cut
size
stacks
at the
bottom
Full sleeves Checks/Pleads Half sleeves
color blocking
color blocking
 merchandise presentation
Merchandise Presentation refers to most basic ways of presenting merchandise in an
orderly,understandable,’easy to shop’ and ‘find the product’ format.

It’s folded merchandise on shelves or tables or floor or wall fixtures.

 Why do we display?

•To make it easier for the shopper to locate the desired merchandise. (for e.g.: Store
directories, wall & floor displays)

•To make it easier for the shopper to self-select. (for e.g.: merchandise is displayed on
shelves & floor fixtures in an easy to access manner)

•To make it possible for the shopper to coordinate & accessorize on his or her own &
provide input on fashion in a refined manner. (for e.g.: all displays on focal points & nesting
tables to be accessorized)

•To provide information on sizes, colors, prices (for e.g. signage's)

•To take the stress out of shopping. (for e.g.: displays provide relief in an otherwise
monotonous shopping environment)

•To save the shopper time. (for e.g.: Customers can select from displayed merchandise)

•To make the shopping experience more comfortable, convenient and customer
friendly.
 The Science of Visual Merchandising

We have already determined that Visual Merchandising helps to sell better &
faster, but how are these sales achieved? The process of converting a
passerby or potential customer into a customer is a five fold process known
as AIDCS, which is universally followed by all visual merchandisers.

All I Do Can Sell

A: Attention
I : Interest
D: Desire
C: Conviction
S: Sale

From getting the customer’s attention to selling the product, following this
principle ensures higher sales.
 What is Cross Merchandising?

Cross Merchandising is done to promote & present a Complete

Fashion Statement by dressing a mannequin/ form with coordinated
garments & appropriate accessories.

It helps to communicate the fashion statement, create ‘Desire’ in the

display as the customer can visualize himself/herself dressed in a
similar fashion.
There are three classification of merchandise
displays that are done in the store.

•WINDOW DISPLAY

•TOP SHELF DISPLAY

•POINT OF PURCHASE DISPLAY

 WINDOW DISPLAY

It refers to visual presentation dramatically placed at the front of the store. Window displays are usually thematic so as to
create the proper mood for the merchandise collection of the season. Window displays are suppose to give the passerby an
idea of what the store has to offer.
Merchandises to be used for window display mannequins must be ironed/pressed first before it can be dressed on the
mannequin.

TOP SHELF DISPLAY

Major top shelf display and minor top shelf display.

Major top shelf display are presentations of coordinated merchandises. It is basically a combination of
merchandises, one tops and bottoms.

Minor top shelf display are visual presentations of a specific merchandise style in two to three colors. These top
shelf displays are to coordinated with the fashion statement or theme color direction being adapted.

POINT OF PURCHASE DISPLAYS

It refers to presentations placed on top of the floor island fixtures. This presentation is usually a coordination of items
positioned on the fixture where the display is located. Point of purchase displays need not to be coordinated with fashion
statement or theme color direction.

Merchandises for point of purchase displays is limited to seasonal items.

STORE DESIGN /LAYOUT

The purpose of store layout is to provide better customer circulation

and clarity with breaks and points allocated for visual relief .
It deals with the aspects like

Floor, wall, ceiling – material, colour and quality all speaking about the kind of store
image they want to portray .

Kind of lighting – functional or ambiance lighting .

Fixtures- wall or floor fixtures to hold the merchandise .

Display points with or without mannequins

Mockshop
*Deliver more relevant guidelines to field teams by grouping store clusters

Create digital mock up stores instead of physical ones

With MockShop all of your product data is highly visual, making it easier to plan,
display manage and execute better collections for your store
Neha S Melit