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Unit 13: Store Design and Visual Merchandising

Signs and windows also are important components of the exterior appearance of a retail business. Notes
Like other elements of the design mix, they help the retailer establish an identity in the minds
of target customers.
Figure 13.11: Exterior Design

13.3.3 Interior Store Design and Layout

Interior design involves all components of the store interior, including fixtures, graphics, flooring,
ceiling, lighting and other visual elements. Of all the elements of store design and visual
merchandising, interior design has the greatest capacity to convey store image and create certain
moods and emotions in buyers.
Basic interior design begins with such items as the width of aisles, the treatment of pipes and
vents, the decoration of walls, and the style of lighting fixtures. All these elements contribute to
customers’ perceptions of and responses to the store.
Displays inside the store should relate to the displays seen in the windows. Good display effects
should continue inside the store to move customer traffic through the store. The aisles, the signs
that direct the customer, the walls, and the interior displays are most important to the total
visual concept of the store. Each department, shelf, counter, ledge, case, and furnishing in addition
to the display areas requires analysis in executing display techniques. The furnishings of the
store should be attractive and placed so as to enhance the visual impact on the customer. There
should be updating and improvements in fixtures to avoid a stagnant, dated effect.

Example: The seasons of the year usually dictate visual changes.

Fixtures/Display areas

Display fixtures include racks, stands, tables, shelves, and other devices for physically presenting
merchandise. They may be floor fixtures-round, rectangular, or box-racks, cubes –or wall fixtures
such as brackets, shelves, etc.
In addition to holding merchandise and displaying it, store fixtures influence a store’s interior
design, from its traffic flow to the image it projects to customers.

All furnishings of the store should be placed to enhance the visual impression each floor presents.
They should be arranged both to sell the most merchandise and to be pleasing to the customer.

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