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Visual merchandising
More than just eye candy
Technology has been changing the way retailers do everything, including visual merchandising. But is it enough to appeal to today’ s shoppers? Muneerah Bee takes a peek at how this area is evolving in the industry.
Visual Merchandising plays a very strategic role in communicating the brand in the retail space. It reflects its values and aspirations.
There is no denying that visual merchandising leaves an impact on buying behaviour, affects consumer response and does make a difference to the shopping experience.
Acting as a window to the range of tools that retailers have at their disposal, visual merchandising( VM) brings merchandise to life, puts across the personality of the store and injects theatre into the retail space.
Tom Ng, founder of the shoe brand Pazzion, opines that a successful piece of visual merchandising work will be able to stop passers-by to have extra look at the display, attract their attention to enter the store and lastly, trigger their impulsiveness to purchase the product.
“ Visual merchandising is usually one of the reasons that stops passersby in their tracks and lure them into the store. A nicely laid-out shop and product showcase also signals quality and heightens the attractiveness of the product.
“ This is like the start of the cycle— of course in a traditional shopping cycle.
Now, the start probably comes from online,” he says.
Indeed, the customers’ experience is vital when they interact with brands, especially in today’ s‘ experience economy’, as Geraldine Ong, lecturer and programmes facilitator, Singapore Institute of Retail Studies, puts it.“ As a key touchpoint in the customer’ s engagement with the brand, a retail space has to be productive, engaging and experiential.
“ VM plays a very strategic role in communicating the brand in the
14 Retail Asia May 2018