ADVANCED FASHION:
STANDARD 9
VISUAL MERCHANDISING
VISUAL MERCHANDISING
Visual Merchandising: The physical
display of goods in the most
attractive and appealing ways.
Store Layout: the interior arrangement
of retail facilities.
Selling areas: where merchandise is
displayed and customers interact with
sales personnel. (75-80% of the total
space)
Sales support areas: devoted to
customer services, merchandise
receiving and distribution, management
offices and staff activities.
VISUAL MERCHANDISING
Floor Plan: A drawing showing
arrangement of physical space, such as
showing the positioning of merchandise
groups and customer services for a retail
store.
Grid Layout: A retail floor plan that has
one of ore primary (main) aisles running
through the store, with secondary
(smaller) aisles intersecting with them at
right angles.
Maze Layout: A free-flowing retail floor
plan arrangement with informal balance.
Fixtures: Shelves, tables, rods, counters,
stands, easels, forms, and platforms on
which merchandise is stocked and
displayed for sale.
MERCHANDISE
PRESENTATION
Merchandise presentation includes the ways
that goods are hung, placed on shelves, or
otherwise made available for sale in retail
stores.
Shoulder-out presentation: The way most
garments are hung in home closets with only
one side showing from shoulder to bottom.
Face-forward presentation (face-out
presentation): Hanging of clothing with the
front fully facing the viewer. This should
always be done at entrances and aisles.
RETAIL FIXTURES
Carousels: Circular racks that turn.
RETAIL FIXTURES
Dump tables/bins: A rimmed table or
bin used to hold sale or special
merchandise on the sales floor,
especially in discount operations; it has
no formal arrangement.
RETAIL FIXTURES
Four-way rack: A fixture with four
extended arms, that permits
accessibility to hanging merchandise all
the way around
RETAIL FIXTURES
Rounders: Circular racks on which
garments are hung around the entire
circumference
RETAIL FIXTURES
T-stand: Freestanding, two-way stand
in the shape of a T, that holds clothes
on hangers, sometimes with one
straight arm and one waterfall.
RETAIL FIXTURES
Waterfall: A fixtures with an arm that
slants downward, that contains knobs
to hole face-forward hangers with
clothing at various levels.
DISPLAYS
Displays: individual and notable physical
presentation of merchandise.
Displays are intended to:
Stimulate product interest
Provide information
Suggest merchandise coordination
Generate traffic flow
Remind customers of planned purchases
Create additional sales of impulse items
Enhance the stores visual image
INTERIOR DISPLAYS
Locations for interior displays:
Just in the entrance
Entrance to department
Near cash/wrap
Next to related items
Across from elevators and escalators
Ends of aisles
COMPONENTS OF DISPLAYS
Merchandise
Lighting
Props
Signage
MERCHANDISE
More interesting if in odd numbers
Groups:
One-category, or line-of-goods
Related groupings: go together or
reinforce each other
Theme groupings: event, holiday, etc.
Variety or assortment groupings:
collection of unrelated items all sold at
the same store.
LIGHTING
Used to direct customers attention to
the display
Use more light for dark colors, less light
for light colors
Beamspread; the diameter of the circle of
light
Beamspread techniques:
Floodlighting: recessed ceiling lights to
direct light over an entire wide display area
Spotlighting: focuses attention on specific
areas or targeted items of merchandise
Pinpointing: focuses a narrow beam of light
on a specific item
PROPS
Objects added that support the theme
of the display.
Functional Props: used to physically support
the merchandise. (mannequins, stands,
panels, screens, etc)
Decorative Props: used to establish a mood
or an attractive setting for the merchandise
being featured (ex: mirrors, flowers,
seashells, surfboards, etc)
Structural Props: used to support functional
and decorative props and change the
physical makeup of displays. (boxes, rods,
stands, stairways, etc)
SIGNAGE
Includes individual letters and
complete signs. Often on some
kind of holder.
Can tell a story about the goods.
Should try to answer customers
questions.
Should be informative and concise.
Can include prices, sizes,
department location.
WINDOW DISPLAYS
Seen from outside of the store.
First contact with the customer.
Can have a series of windows.
Advantages of Window Displays:
Establish and maintain an image
Arouse curiosity
Disadvantages of Window Displays:
Expensive to design and maintain
Requires space
Merchandise can get ruined (sun ,etc)
Glare
TYPES OF WINDOW DISPLAYS
Enclosed windows: have a full
background and sides that
completely separate the interior of
the store from the display window.
Ramped windows: floor is higher in
back than in front
Elevated windows: from 1 to 3 feet
higher than sidewalk
Shadowbox windows: small, boxlike
display windows
TYPES OF WINDOW DISPLAYS
Semi-closed windows: have a
partial background that shuts out
some of the store interior from
those viewing the window
Open Windows: have no
background panel and the entire
store is visible to people walking by
Island windows: four-sided display
windows that stand alone, often in
lobbies.
