Page 187 - DMGT552_VISUAL_MERCHANDISING

Visual Merchandising

Notes artistically arranged and situated in parts of the store that are not useful for selling purposes,
such as high up on walls or within an alcove (although the closer to the selling stock the better,
in order to encourage customers to respond to the display). Often, more than one product is used
in an off-shelf display, for example to suggest complementary purchases or to show the depth of
offer in a particular product category; mannequins are used for displaying complementary or
coordinate clothing products in this way.

Lab Exercise Go to website http://www.fir.edu.au/pdf/Training%20resources/
Coordinate%20merchandise%20presentation%20-%20SIRXMER002A%20-
%20Skills%20Text%20-%20%5BWeb%5D.pdf and find out the differences between hot spots
and dead spots.
Feature displays often follow a theme to add interest within the selling environment. Themes
for displays include seasonal, colour and lifestyle orientations. Within the calendar year there
are a number of seasonal opportunities over and above the general ‘weather’-dictated seasons of
Spring, Summer, Autumn/Fall and Winter; for example New Year (celebrations and resolutions),
Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Easter, Father’s Day, Holidays, Back to School, Halloween and
Christmas. Lifestyle themes can take an extensive variety of forms, and follow some kind of
preference in terms of personal consumption or time expenditure. Lifestyle themes that retailers
could use include sporting interest or participation, health interests, musical preference, home
entertaining, hobbies, occupations, and so on.
Another type of off-shelf display is the promotional display. This is a technique frequently used
in grocery stores and features a display comprising a large amount of stock of one item, often
housed on a dedicated fixture. This type of display is often found at the end of the gondola (on
‘end caps’), where the sheer volume of one product item catches the shopper’s attention.
For many retailers, the most important display space is their windows, as they are the means by
which customers are attracted into the store. The window communicates the type of product the
retailer sells and is also used to indicate market positioning. Window displays can be open,
where the customer can see behind the merchandise into the store, or the window may have a
closed back which allows the retailer to create a more elaborate display. Destination stores like
department stores often use closed window displays, but many retailers are of the opinion that
the backed window can act as a barrier between customer and store, and therefore is less
welcoming to customers. Diamond and Diamond (1999) suggest that effective displays follow
one or more of the general principles of design, which are: balance, emphasis, proportion,
rhythm and harmony.

Notes Space Allocation
The allocation of space to products within a retail outlet links the designed selling
environment to the financial productivity of the retail space. Space management has to
consider the long-term objectives concerning market positioning and customer loyalty,
alongside short-term objectives concerning stock-turn, sales and profits. A retail outlet
that looks beautifully spacious will not stay that way if there are not enough products
selling to sustain the business, yet if the store is full to bursting with merchandise some
customers may choose not to enter the foray. Retail space is costly and increasingly scarce
and so whatever the visual merchandising strategy is, an adequate return must be made.
Contd...

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