Visual Merchandising 101: What You Should Know

Visual merchandising is defined as the creation of three-dimensional product displays to encourage higher sales. Nearly every retail business has at least some type of visual merchandising display. Apparel stores, for instance, typically use mannequins styled and fashioned to look as realistic as possible, while grocery stores use cardboard cutouts to market their products. Visual merchandising is a highly effective way for retail stores and businesses to market their product without spending a fortune on traditional advertising mediums. To learn more about visual merchandising in the retail industry, keep reading.

The history of visual merchandising dates back to the 1800s, when the nation's leading apparel stores shifted their focus from wholesale production to direct-to-consumer. Since this was such as competitive industry, these companies needed an edge to win customers over, and visual merchandising gave them this edge. Companies like Marshall Field & Co. set up full-scale displays depicting 3D mannequins and other objects to display their goods. This proved highly effective at capturing shoppers' attention, at which point they continued to experiment with visual merchandising with their competitors following closely behind.

The most obvious goal of visual merchandising in a retail store is to encourage more sales. When a flowing dress is placed on a life-like mannequin, shoppers are more likely to purchase it. Numerous studies have shown a direct link between increases sales and visual merchandising. However, there are other 'secondary' objectives that shouldn't go unnoticed. See below for a brief list of visual merchandising objectives:

• Helps customers locate a particular product or type of product.
• Helps customers see exactly how a garment looks when worn on the human form.
• Moved product faster.
• Creates a more aesthetically pleasing store environment.
• Helps customers make smarter decisions regarding their accessories.
• Highlights key areas within a store.

Of course, there are some potential disadvantages to performing visual merchandising in a retail store, one of which is the space requirements. Because it consists of 3D elements, visual merchandising takes up a greater amount of space than using standard posters or banners. If you're struggling for space in your store (which is an all-too-common problem), you may not have the extra room for large, complex visual merchandising displays.

The pros of visual merchandising tend to outweigh the cons. Even if your store has limited space, chances are you can still make room for a couple small-sized visual merchandising displays. Once these displays are set up, you'll reap the benefits of higher sales along with 'secondary' benefits mentioned above.