B1 Psychology of Visual Merchandising
Unit 16: Visual Merchandising
Visual merchandising can be used to display products and create environments that appeal to customers’ senses and develop a desire to own a product. This desire may be unconscious and lead to impulse buying which means they had no intention of purchasing that product in advance. Methods include the layout of the environment, displays, lighting, colours, music and scent.
Store Layouts
Grid
Herringbone
Loop
Free-flow
Displays
Displays are visual techniques used in stores to promote specific products. This can include window displays, freestanding displays, display cabinets, electronic displays and dump bins. Retailers may wish to draw attention to a new seasons products or end of the line items they want to sell off. Displays can create triggers in consumers to desire a specific product and encourage impulse buying.
Lighting in Retail
Lighting can have a significant impact on customer experience. It can draw customers into a store as well as guide them around and attract their attention to specific areas and products.
Lighting can be used to guide customers. Retailers may consider the key areas that all customers need to be aware of regardless of which products they buy. For example, in a clothing store fitting rooms and checkouts are essential stages in the purchasing process. Lighting can be used to draw attention to these parts of the store to create efficiency for customers.
Lighting can be used to create an ambience. This refers to the atmosphere or the mood of a physical environment. Using warm lighting can create a welcoming atmosphere where consumers feel comfortable staying for a long time. An example of a retailer that uses this strategy is Hollister where warm dim lighting is used to create an ambience. A different strategy is to use bright lighting. This is a common strategy in supermarkets. The benefit of this strategy is to allow customers to easily see products and read labelling which adds to the efficiency of their shopping experience.
Lighting can be used to accent. This means using lighting to draw attention to specific products. An example of accenting is to place lights behind products on shelves to attract the customers eyes. Another example would be to use brighter lighting in a specific area using spotlights to create a sense that those products are more compelling. This may be used to draw attention to a new product range or to sale items that the retailer wants to clear stock for.
Colours in Retail
Colours have a significant impact on a consumer judgement of a brand and a retail environment. Different colors can evoke different emotions and retailers should carefully consider the colour pallete they use in their branding and store design.
Warm colours have an energizing effect on consumers. This includes reds, oranges and yellows.
Red grabs attention and is therefore often used to promote sales.
Cooler colours such as greens and blues create a calming effect.
Psychological Techniques
Tangible techniques: store location, design and aesthetics, store windows, transition zones, use of company/brand names, fixtures positioning, signage, promotions, odd versus even pricing, fitting rooms, packaging design, angles and sight lines, composition (vertical and horizontal), point of sale (POS) displays, in-store announcements.
Intangible techniques: atmospherics (music, mirrors, lighting), sensual environment (sight, touch, scent, taste, sound, temperature), visual effects (light, colour, texture, shape and dimension combined).
Technological Techniques
Electronic displays to broadcast in-store advertising messages and information on services.
Demonstrations of new products and services.
Interactive/touch screen/windows, interactive point of sale, QR (Quick Response) codes, digital media.
