Visual Merchandising and Planogram

Visual A{erchandising

Visual merchandising is th.g, rytivity o[p,,1gmotin.g the salq gf gggds, espegi_atly by theirpresentatlon in retail outletS. This includeq.combining products, environments, and spacesinto a stimulating and engaging display to encourage the sale of a product or serviie. lt hasbecome such an important element in retailing that a team effort involving the seniormanagement, architects, merchandising managers, buyers, the visual merchandising director,designers, and staff is needed.

FacilityVisual merchandising starts with the store building itself. The management decides on thestore design to reflect the products the store is going to sell and how to create a warm,friendly, and approachable atmosphere for its potential customers.Many elements can be used by visual merchandisers in creating disp,lAyg.including color,lighting, space, product information, sensory inpuii'huctr as smlii, t6u6n, irio rtir]-td), as well.as technologjee,s,.y.gh.es d_igital displays and interactive installations,visuar merchandising lg nst a seienee; there are,na absolute rules. tt is more tlke an art in thesense that there are implicit rules but they may be broken for striking effects..The mainprinciple of visual merchandising is that it is intended to increase sales" which is not the casewith a "real" art.Visual merchandising is one of the final stages in trying to set out a store in a way thatcustomers willfind attractive and appealing and it should follow and reflect the principles thatunderpin the store's image. Visual merchandising is the way one displays'goods for sale' inthe most attractive manner with the end purpose of making a sala '!lf it.does not sell, it is not-visual merchandising.''Especially in today's challenging economy, people may avoid designers/ visual merchandisersbecause they fear unmanageable costs. But in reality, visual merchandisers can helpeconomise by avoiding costly mistakes. With guidance of a professional, a retailen caneliminate enors, saving time and money. lt is important to understand that the visualmerchandiser is there, not to impose ideas, but to help clients articulate their own personalstyle.Visual merchandising is the art of implementing effective design ideas to increase store trafficand sales volume. VM is an art and science of displaying merchandise to enable maximumsale. VM is a tool to achieve sales and targets, a tool to enhance merchandise on the floor,and a mechanism to communicate to a customer and influence his decision to buy. VM usesseason based displays to introduce new anivals to customers, and thus increase conversionsthrough a planned and systematic approach by displaying stocks available.Recently visual merchandising has gained in importance as a quick and cost effective way torevamp retail stores.

Purpose ,/

Retail professionals display to make the shopping experience m$re comfortable, convenientand customer friendly by:

' Making it easter for the ghqp-per tq.bqate the deEired category and merqhondiqe, ;. Making it easier for the shopper to self-select.. Making it possible for the shopper to co-ordinate & accessorize.' Informing about the latest fashion trends by highlighting them at strategic locations.

Merchandise presentation refers to most basic ways of presenting merchandise in an orderly,understandable, 'easy to shop' and 'find the product format. This easier format is especiallyimplemented in fast fashion retailersMsual Merchandising helps in: ,

' edycatlng the eustomer$ about the produeUserviee in an effeetive and ereativ€ way.' establishing a creative medium to present merchandise in 3D environment, thereby

enabling long lasting impact and recallvalue.e setting the company apart in an exdusive position.

' establishing linkage between fashion, product design and marketing by keeping theproduct in prime focus. ':

' combining the creative, technical and operational aspects of a pr"oduet and thebusiness.

' -dFwifig th,e attention of the customer to enable him to take purchase decision withinshortest possible time, and thus augmenting the selling process.

History

Every shopkeeper and merchant's primary objective is to sell merchandise. When the giantnineteenth century dry goods establishments like Marshall Field & Co. shifted their businessfrom wholesale to retail the visual display of goods became necessary to attract the retailcustomer. The store windows no longer simply allowed natural light to shine in the building oract as storage space for stock; they became important venues to attractively display thestore's merchandise. Gradually, the design aesthetic used in window displays moved indoorsand became part of the overall interior store design, eventually displacing the importancewindows altogether in suburban mallsMuseums and department stores in America have a shared history of displaying theirproducts, both having come of age in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. Like world'sfairs, department stores and museums crowded everything together on shelves or in displaymses. Today displays in museums are refened to as exhibitions, while displays in stores arereferred to as 'Visual Merchandising. Essentially, visual merchandising is the selling of astore's goods through visual means, incorporating advertising, and window displays, andinterior sales floor design and display. Throughout the twentieth century, well-known artistssuch as Salvador Dali and Andy Warhol created window displays, while other artists who arelesser known were commissioned to design unique objects specifically for visualmerchandising purposes"

1. Sell by showing and promoting the product..2. Create an emotional connect beween the viewer and the display.3.

.. Encourage the shopper to enter the store.4. Get the customer to pause and "shop" the selling floor.5, Establish, promote, ?nd gphqpce the store's visual image.6. Enteitain customers and enhance their shopping experience.7. Introduce and explain new products.

Planogram

A planogram is often received before a product reaches a store, and is useful when aretailer wants muttipte store displays to have the same took and feet. Often a consumerpaekaged goods manufaeturer witl retease a new suggested ptanogram with their. newproduct, to show how it relates to existing products in said category. Today, ptanograms areused in a variety of retail areas. A planogram defines w*rich product is ptaied in wlrich areaof a shetving unit and with which quantity. The rules and theories for tire creation of aplanogram are set under the term of merchandising.Primary targets

Primary targets which shoutd be achieved with ptanograms:

' creation of an optimal visual prodrrct ptacement

' creation of an optimat commerciat product placementIn short, the primary targets can be summarized with a turnover and profit increase.

The visuat product placement is supported from different theories:' horizontal product ptacement: To increase the concentration of a customer for a

certain artiqle, a muttipte horizontal placement side by side of one product iEapptied. Different researches found that a minimum ptacement range between 15-30 cm of one single product is necessary to achieve an increase in customeradvertence (depending on the customer distance from the unit).

' verticat prodrct ptacement: A different stream with its follower is the verticalproduct placement. Here one product is ptaced on more than one shelf level toachieve 15.30 cm ptacement space.

' block placement: products which have something in common are ptaced in a btck(brands). This can be done side by side, on top of each other, centred, magnetised.

One can see the varieties of pl,anogram results by simpty visiting a tocal supermarket.Standing in front of say, a frozen pizza section featuring the products of a singtemanufacturer, one can see how the varie$ of products is disptayed and how rltatedproducts (such as pizza rotts) are treated in the overatt product disptay for a particutarpizza manufacturer. Similarly, one can visit the boxed cotd cereal aiste, which comprisesthe various ptanogram strategies by the different cereal manufacturers.'The uttimateeffectiveness of the ptanogram of course is always measured by sales votume.Next to the visuat placement the commercial ptacement is the other important pittar of aplanogram. Here the question has to be answered which products shoutd be ptaced. Twofactors for the decision-making process can be differentiated.A4arket share placement - margin ptacement

Market share placement means the placement of turnover bringers. Different marketresearch institutes tike Nietsen, IMS are collecting turnover data of att kind of products andcalculate from this data the market share of a certain product in its market segment. Withthe hetp of this data products can be setected which shoutd appear in a shelving unit in a"A" toeation, A simple eateutation of turnover data frsm a singte store is better thannothing for this purpose however it would be better to use data from a group of stores.The margin placement is influenced from the margin a product brings. The higher themargin is of a product the better the tocation should be where it is placed.

Derivative targets:. To communicate how to set the merchandise .

. To ensure sufficient inventory levets on the shetf or disptay.

. To use space effectivety whether floor, page or virtual.

. To faeititate eommunieation of retaiter's brand identity.

. To assist in the process of mapping a store