Visual merchandising as a silent seller

Any individual who has at any point strolled into a retail location has seen visual promoting at work. Visual merchandising is a marketing practice that uses floor plans, color, lightning, displays, technology, and other elements to attract customer attention, Its ultimate purpose is to use the retail space to generate more sales.

Visual merchandising is also known as 'SILENT SALESMAN', suggests selling by display and presentation. Visual merchandising focal points are situated strategically to circulate the customer in the store and communicate the capabilities and advantages to the merchandise.

1. Imparting outstanding shopping experience - Visual merchandising enhances the shopping experience by creating suitable ambience, producing an image of the store in the minds of the customers via a combination of colors, display presentations, graphics, lightning, forms, and fixtures. If completed in an exciting and dynamic fashion, the shopping experience would be pleasurable for the consumer and make him/her come repeatedly.
2. Theme displays - Based on a season or an event is employed to promote a proper product range.
3. Communication - Visual merchandising communications to clients the right message about the merchandise by projecting the latest trends, colors and fashion in apparel retailing visual displays are the great communication drivers.
4. Coordinated displays - These contain items that ar typically utilized/sold/consumed together, growing several purchase besides educating or informaing the customer.
5. Extension of brand identity and communication -Visual merchandising is an extension of brand's image and should be in sync with the brand's communication strategy.

Now lets see what are the major and basic elements of  visual merchandising.

• Store layout - The store layout deals with the aspect of way of allocating of way of allocating the floor space. It includes -

Selling space - This is the space where advertising is done in different media.

Merchandising space - The space where merchandise is displayed.

Customer space - The space where billing and finalizing is done.

Personal space - This is the personal space used by the store, i.e, The stock storage room.

• Store interior - The way store's interior is designed is very important. Ot affects the store's image. It includes, the flooring and the wall coverings, lightning, colors and fixtures. It is really important to create a comfortable environment inside such that the customers feel relax and free to spend more time and money.
• Store exterior - The exterior of the retail store, the entrance, the eye catcher. It consists of -

Marquees - The architectural canopy that extends over the entrance.

Entrance - It should be in such a way that it should provide convenience to the customer and security to the store.

Window display - The show starter, It creates store's first impression with the customer. It begins the selling process even before the customer enters the store.

• Interior display - It is the way of displaying the store's merchandise in interior of the store. They are the general part of the store. They generate 1 out of 4 sales. The interior display use fixture and props to hold the merchandise.

Importance of Visual merchandising -

Consumer's perceptions, aspirations, motivations and memories play an important role in purchase cycle.

VM alters the perception and attitude of the consumer, forcing them to buy the product in a way that he/she enjoys purchasing goods thus leaving an everlasting shopping experience.

31% of the consumer's purchases in lifestyle products, which are impulse purchases this a store with good displays and theme and decor attract eyeballs, this increasing footfalls and thus converting footfall into sales.

78% of shoppers recall store name when they liked store window display, interior or music.

It makes the merchandise easy to locate and desirable in the store. Proper VM explains and introduces the new products. And all of the above VM increase SALES.