5 Handy Hints To Maximise Your Visual Merchandising

Picture this... You walk into a store with the intention to buy a bottle of wine. As soon as you approach the bottle shop, you see a bold attention grabbing display in the front window for a brand of vodka that appeals to you. As you enter the store, you're presented with a dynamic series of simple adverts on a large plasma screen. The music is pumping, and you're browsing for the wine you were after. As you pick up a couple of bottles of wine, you notice an ad for that vodka in the window. It says "Buy a bottle of ABC Vodka and get 10% off your total purchase"... Interesting! As you approach the counter, there is a conveniently located stand with the vodka there, ready to put on the counter and buy. You do exactly that, and walk out of the store with your bottles of wine, a bottle of vodka and your 10% discount. Thank you visual merchandising!

As you can see, the power of visual merchandising is grand... but what exactly is it?

Wikipedia defines visual merchandising as "the promotion of merchandise sales, as by coordinating production and marketing and developing advertising, display, and sales strategies to increase retail sales. This includes disciplines in pricing and discounting, physical presentation of products and displays, and the decisions about which products should be presented to which customers at what time".

Visual merchandising incorporates most in-store media, and can be executed through many mediums including digital signage, in store presentations and static POP displays. Designed primarily to drive sales through visual calls to action, there are a number of additional benefits that visual merchandising brings to the table. Being able to deliver and communicate a specific message to a targeted audience, in the peak of their purchasing decision making process is a definite plus. Through a variety of display options, you can put your message out there to create awareness and evoke interest, build your brand and sell your product. It isn't rocket science, but it works a charm!

With technology becoming more and more advanced, visual merchandising has progressed into the digital age. Mediums such as plasma tvs, interactive kiosks and digital signage are taking over the visual merchandising space - with customers being more receptive and interested in these devices. Being digital, the ability to rapidly change and update content presented is fast and easy - delivering specific messages to specific audiences at specific times is no longer impossible! Additionally, digital messages can be delivered within seconds of being created, so time and expense can be saved on printing, packaging, distribution, shipping, unpacking and mounting.

Now that you're sold on the perks of visual merchandising and you're interested, it's crucial to spend the time strategically planning your visual merchandising campaign, as to increase its effectiveness and success. To help you do this, here are 5 handy hints to maximise your visual merchandising efforts;


Make your visual merchandising appeal to your customers: Since they're the ones who will be buying the products, grab their attention in a way that they'll appreciate and respond to. Don't bother with over-the-top music, colours and effects if your audience isn't interested in that sort of promotion - it might be a case of the simpler, the better. Learn your customer or your efforts could be a waste of time and money!
Make the most of digital options available: Digital means quick, easy to change or update and cuts down significantly on time, money and effort. It's simple and you can customise what message you want to communicate at different times to different customers... Don't you just love technology!
Coordinate your visual merchandising with other marketing efforts: If you're promoting a certain product in your catalogues, on your website and through direct mail, then an in-store visual reference to it is definitely a push in the right direction! Liase with your suppliers and strike a mutually beneficial deal - like, ‘we'll promote your product like this, if you can supply us with a 15% discount' etc.
Integrate your visual merchandising with your brand and core values: Different companies may provide you with merchandising to use in store. Before you agree on anything, make sure it reflects what your store values. No point having mixed messages that simply don't fit into the scheme of things - you confuse your customer and lose credibility fast.
Make your content and messages valuable to your shoppers: If you're going to make the effort to say something, make sure it is relevant. Your ads, promotional material and merchandising content needs to be entertaining, eye catching, funny, beautiful... something that makes it watchable! Keep in mind, your customer will be on the move when trying to process the information you're delivering - so make sure it is clear, simple and concise to encourage people to pay attention.

So, as you can see, there is no great art to visual merchandising. While the above steps may seem like common sense, you'd be surprised at how many stores overlook these basic hints. Put a good plan into action, and you'll see the benefits on in the cash register.