Your store is one big package for the products and merchandise you have inside.
It's the package that sells the merchandise.
Let's say I give you a present. Well, not really - just in your imagination. Play along, OK?
I'm giving you a present. It's not big. You can hold it in your hand. It's wrapped in an exquisite Japanese-style handmade paper. The creamy gold-flecked paper is complimented with a gold fabric ribbon. The handmade tag bears your name in elegant calligraphy. A light floral scent wafts from the package.
You're absolutely thrilled to receive such a lovely gift. Imagine all the care and attention that went into wrapping this special present. You are so touched by the gesture.
Especially since I haven't even met you!
The presentation and packaging of the gift matters.
A lot.
You don't even know what is inside yet, and you have formed an impression about both the gift and gift giver. Even a small token gift - a chocolate, or a bar of soap, will feel exquisite and special when wrapped in a fabulous package.
You assume the gift-giver is caring, generous, and thoughtful. (Which, of course, in this case, is true.) You believe that care and attention has gone into choosing and preparing the gift.
The next time you hear from me, you remember the gift. All those positive emotions and associations come back to you.
Now imagine I gave you the same gift.
This time, instead of the handmade paper, it is just wrapped in some leftover colourful wrapping paper I had at home.
No ribbon. No tag.
It looks OK, but nothing special. When you open it up, you are pleased to find a small box of your favorite mouth-watering chocolates. You are happy I thought of you.
The pleasant experience lasts only as long as the chocolates. You might remember the experience the next time we meet, or you might not.
Missing in this gift-giving encounter is the anticipation, the emotion, the assumptions and associations attached to the packaging in the first example.
Let's imagine again...
Instead of a gift wrapped package, I hand you a crumpled paper shopping bag. You wonder if I'm handing you my trash.
Inside, you are surprised to find your favorite chocolates. I obviously didn't have time to wrap the gift, or perhaps I didn't want to spend the money on 'frivolous' wrapping.
You make assumptions about me. Perhaps you think I don't care much about you, or that I'm cheap. Worse than no association, or emotion, now you have a negative association about my sloppiness and lack of attention.
Can you see where I'm going with this?
Shoppers make assumptions about your product based on your store presentation and appearance.
The package for your merchandise should create anticipation about what is inside. The presentation needs to evoke positive associations and emotions. The store exterior, layout and visual merchandising should be designed to make shopping exciting and memorable.
Is your store a gift that is packaged with attention and care?
Visual Merchandising Is Crucial For Retail Success
Visual merchandising is becoming increasingly pivotal for retail success. As retail becomes more and more competitive, shoppers have more options than ever before.
Shoppers aren't just shopping for products, they're buying experiences. The stores that put more effort into making an exciting, and emotional experience for customers, are the ones that will be successful.
In Canada, effective merchandising is becoming even more critical to retail success as retailers struggle to find staff. Not only is it hard to find qualified employees, it's challenging to find anyone at all.
This means that the people retailers employ will find their jobs more demanding as they work longer hours, and work harder with fewer team members to share the load. Employees will also be less skilled in serving customers.
I went shopping this week with a list of items to buy to wear to some upcoming events. I visited at least a dozen stores - buying in about half of them. Each store displayed prominent help-wanted signs. And in every store, not one sales associate tried to actively sell to me.
No one suggested additional merchandise. No asked me what I was looking for. I was assisted with the fitting room, staff were knowledgeable when I asked questions, and they were all generally helpful and pleasant. But I had to approach them. In some stores, the sales people barely acknowledged me.
I was obviously spending money, as I was carrying a few shopping bags. Yet, for the most part, I had to navigate my way through the stores, and find what I needed on my own.
All I had to rely on were the visual merchandising cues. To find what I was looking for, I had to depend on visual clues to tell me:
Where is the new fall merchandise located?
Where would I find pants?
What is my size? Where is my size?
What merchandise coordinates with these pants?
Where are the sale items? Is there anything there worth looking at?
Most of the stores did a pretty good job of organizing their merchandise so that I could find my way around easily. In the ones that were confusing; I looked around and left. Maybe I could have stumbled across a great find, but it wasn't even worth looking.
The most frustrating experience was with the department store, which was disorganized, had empty shelves, and had few visual cues to direct me from one area to the next. The department store also had the fewest sales associates available for assistance. It's no wonder department stores have struggled for survival.
If retailers are going to survive in this competitive market, visual merchandising will become even more vital to their business. Store owners need to focus on visual merchandising strategies that sell their products. If they don't, they won't be around long.
Shoppers aren't just shopping for products, they're buying experiences. The stores that put more effort into making an exciting, and emotional experience for customers, are the ones that will be successful.
In Canada, effective merchandising is becoming even more critical to retail success as retailers struggle to find staff. Not only is it hard to find qualified employees, it's challenging to find anyone at all.
This means that the people retailers employ will find their jobs more demanding as they work longer hours, and work harder with fewer team members to share the load. Employees will also be less skilled in serving customers.
I went shopping this week with a list of items to buy to wear to some upcoming events. I visited at least a dozen stores - buying in about half of them. Each store displayed prominent help-wanted signs. And in every store, not one sales associate tried to actively sell to me.
No one suggested additional merchandise. No asked me what I was looking for. I was assisted with the fitting room, staff were knowledgeable when I asked questions, and they were all generally helpful and pleasant. But I had to approach them. In some stores, the sales people barely acknowledged me.
I was obviously spending money, as I was carrying a few shopping bags. Yet, for the most part, I had to navigate my way through the stores, and find what I needed on my own.
All I had to rely on were the visual merchandising cues. To find what I was looking for, I had to depend on visual clues to tell me:
Where is the new fall merchandise located?
Where would I find pants?
What is my size? Where is my size?
What merchandise coordinates with these pants?
Where are the sale items? Is there anything there worth looking at?
Most of the stores did a pretty good job of organizing their merchandise so that I could find my way around easily. In the ones that were confusing; I looked around and left. Maybe I could have stumbled across a great find, but it wasn't even worth looking.
The most frustrating experience was with the department store, which was disorganized, had empty shelves, and had few visual cues to direct me from one area to the next. The department store also had the fewest sales associates available for assistance. It's no wonder department stores have struggled for survival.
If retailers are going to survive in this competitive market, visual merchandising will become even more vital to their business. Store owners need to focus on visual merchandising strategies that sell their products. If they don't, they won't be around long.
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