Importance of Visual Merchandising in todays Scenario The importance of visual merchandising in present scenario can be well understood in:

Educating the customers about the product/service in an effective and creative way. Establishing a creative medium to present merchandise in 3D environment, thereby enabling long lasting impact and recall value. Setting the company apart in an exclusive position. Establishing linkage between fashion, product design and marketing by keeping the product in prime focus. Combining the creative, technical and operational aspects Drawing the attention of the customer to enable him to take purchase decision within shortest possible time. Current Status of Visual Merchandising The essence of retail is defined by the ability to compel the prospective customer to stop, to look, and to buy. Todays customers look beyond simple commodities and basic merchandise, to Retail is naturally the showplace for new ideas, new concepts and new products. That which satisfies their wants, needs, and desires.gmenting the selling process. Product and the business. Role of VM in Promotion of Fashion The best stores, with the best policies and goods, can succeed only if the public knows the store is there and has a good current idea of what merchandise is available. No area of retailing is more dependent on promotion than fashion. 1. To communicate the store image to its target customers 2. To establish the store as a distinct fashion authority

3. To build long-term customer loyalty 4. To generate interest that will bring a steady flow of regular and new customers to the store. 5. To disseminate timely fashion information and become a source of news of innovations. 6. To remind customers of their desire for new things Purpose of Display The purpose of Display in a store is to attract customers to the store, and ultimately convince them to buy the merchandise. The main purposes of a display can be discussed as under: 1. Sell by show 2. Encourage the shopper to enter the store 3. Establish, promote & enhance the stores visual image. 4. To enhance the customers shopping experience 5. Introduce & explain new products 6. Educate customers by answering to their queries regarding the use & accessorization of a product. Types of Display Approaches to merchandise presentation vary according to the type of display- from special, or feature, areas to regular freestanding assortments and wall units. Special display areas include end-of-aisle end caps, windows and point-of-sale and demo areas. The primary purposes of displays are to present and to promote. A display is at its best when it simply shows a color, an item, a collection, or just an idea. Types of displays include the following:

1. One Item Display: A one-item display is just the showing and advancement of a single garment or any single item 2. Line-at-goods Display: It is a kind of display in which only one type of merchandise is shown, (viz; all blouses, all skirts, pots etc.) although they maybe in a variety of designs and colors. 3. Related Merchandise Display: In this kind of a display, separates, accessories, or any other item that goes together are displayed because they are meant to be used together, because they share an idea or theme 4. Variety or Assortment Display: It is a potpourri of anything and everything. It is a collection of unrelated items that happen to be sold in the same store. It can be work shoes, silk stockings, teakettles, Hawaiian print shirts, nightgowns etc. 5. Promotional Display: This kind of display advances concept, trend and an item. They usually feature several items of merchandise, backed up by lighting, signs, props and traditional display techniques. Ways to Display Store The message is delivered by exploiting our emotions and our senses through three-dimensional exterior and interior displays. The finest visual presentation on earth cannot create loyal customers if quality and value are missing. Window is to motivate you toward a closer look at the merchandise and to plant the yearning to buy. The window tells a story that is constructed much like a news article

in that it employs the age-old five Ws who, what, why, when, where. Whether the window is fashion-oriented, institutional, or promotional in nature, it is most successful when it adheres to adominant theme. These are some of the treatments that maybe used: A single mannequin against seamless paper A realistic setting peopled with a group of mannequins in Action Interior Displays Interior display is an integral part of the architectural design and floor plan of the store. Mannequins are a mainstay of fashion displays. Whether they are futuristic or realistic, shoppers identify well with the dressed human form. Most large stores invest in mannequins for interior and window display purposes. Each department, shelf, counter, ledge, case, and furnishing in addition to the display areas requires analysis in executing display techniques. PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN Balance is a sense of equilibrium that provides a feeling of stability. When things are unbalanced, people have an uneasy feeling. Types of Balance Generally, there are two types of balance: formal (symmetrical) and informal (asymmetrical). Symmetrical/Formal Balance Visual weight works like physical weight to produce a sense of balance. Balance achieved through the use of identical objects or very similar objects on either side of the center is known as symmetrical or formal balance Asymmetrical / Informal Balance Informal balance in display also achieves component

equality to the viewers eye, but it does so by using varieties of color, placement, size, and shape of the objects on opposite sides of the display COLOR TOR Color helps to create interest in new merchandise and the desire for it. Color is critical to an ambiance that projects stores image and attracts customers. The use of colors in a store communicates various things to the customers who walk in while passing by. Some of the major impacts of color on customers are: 1. Color sets the mood 2. Emphasizes features 3. Highlights a product 4. Conveys the seasonal look - Guidelines Regarding Color in Display 1. Use strong contrasts and loud color with care: 2. Make your color scheme suit the merchandise on display.3. The type of merchandise displayed has a bearing on the Selection of colors: 4. Light tints are always a treat for the eye: 5. The opposite is true of dark shades 6. Most colors can be classified as warm or cool: 7. Contrasts are welcome but dangerous:

LIGHTING The purpose of lighting in a merchandise presentation: Lighting guidelines for interior displays and windows. I Lighting is one of the most important elements of a display. If properly used it will aid in selling merchandise and thereby add to the profit of the store. The lighting must be considered in planning a store beginning with the sign out front that identifies the store and going right up the stairways, down the aisles, to the elevators, and back to the front door. Lighting Windows of a Store Display lighting in show windows is as important as lighting the merchandise inside the store Lighting Store Interiors Light serves to lead the shopper into and through the store. It directs the shoppers attention from one featured presentation or classification with stops along the way to appreciate the highlighted focal points and/or displays. FIXTURES Fix Turing is the furniture that holds and displays the majority of your merchandise. Types of Fixtures There are certain basic fixtures used in window display that may also be used in the interior of the store, on ledges, or on the selling floor. They include: stands; platforms and elevations; costumers, drapers, and valets; easels; and pipe racks.

SOUND AND AROMA Aroma/Scent The use of strong scents in stores has become a rather touchy issue, and one that requires that each retailer be attuned to the needs of their target market. Department stores traditionally sampled perfumes at the entrance to increase sales of those products. Grocery stores owners know that the smell of fresh bread will entice hungry shoppers to buy. However, many customers A pleasing scent can create a wonderful ambience and add to the customers shopping experience, particularly if it is sample of one of the products retailer is selling. The major attributes of scent in a store can be summed up as under: Scent has the most powerful effect on emotions, and memories of smell are retained the longest. Younger people have better sense of smell than older people. Sense of smell can vary by race and ethnicity. Scents can be used to highlight merchandise (e.g. pine smell for outdoor products). Can no longer attack people with atomizers in cosmetics departments. Sound Sound is an important design tool because of its ability to affect buying behavior. Music in particular helps create a retail environment in which sensory satisfaction brings relaxation and a willingness to purchase. Most people would expect to find classical music in an art gallery or museum shop, enhancing the belief that the shop is filled with merchandise that is high quality, tasteful, elegant and artistic. In stores that are trendy and have a young target market, music can be a major focal point. But the personal belief of many customers is that music should add to the ambience of the store, but it should not be so loud to be immediately noticeable. It should cover up the sounds of customers moving about the store,

employees working or the conversations of people across the room. Few of the main things that music can do to a stores image can be summed up as under: Music can add or detract from the overall atmosphere. One advantage of music and sound is that it is easily changed. Different music can be used when different target markets are in store. Music type can affect mood. Volume can affect decision-making ability. MANNEQUINS Mannequins are the most popular. Presentation tool in apparel industry. Built in a variety of human forms, mannequins can trigger customers imaginations, causing them to visualize themselves wearing the merchandise. Currently most stores use them in groups to strengthen specific fashion statements. These are three-dimensional forms representing the human body. Types of mannequins Mannequins come in three different types as followed below: Realistic Mannequins They are well made up and proportioned to wear a particular size, and well positioned to show off a certain group or style or merchandise Semi realistic Mannequins. These mannequins are proportioned and sculpted like realistic mannequins, but with makeup that is neither natural nor realistic, but more decorative or stylized. Semiabstract Mannequins. The semiabstract mannequin is even more stylized and decorative than the semi realistic mannequin. Its features may bepainted on or merely suggested, such as a bump for a nose or a hint of pursed lips. Abstract Mannequins The abstract mannequin represents the ultimate in style and decoration. The arms and legs may be overly long or slender. It is

more concerned with creating an overall effect than with reproducing natural lines and proportions Headless Mannequins The headless mannequin has a full-size, realistic, or semiabstract body with arms and legs but no head.

Types of Alternatives to Mannequins Three-quarter Forms Soft-sculpted Figures

Abstract Mannequins

Head less Mannequins

Three-quarter Forms

Dress Forms and Suit Forms

Alternative Mannequins