What is visual merchandising (VMD)? Three methods and points to tackle

2024-04-04

With the widespread use of smartphones and social media, customer contact points have become more diverse and complex. In this environment, physical stores have the advantage of being able to appeal to the sensibilities and senses of customers by taking advantage of the unique space that only a physical store can provide.

Creating a sales floor that conveys the store's concept and the appeal of its products is expected to arouse interest and increase purchasing motivation. One method of creating a sales floor that focuses on visual elements is "visual merchandising (VMD)."

Some store managers and marketing department personnel may be wondering, "What can we expect from visual merchandising?" and "How should we approach it?"

In this article, we will explain the overview and methods of visual merchandising, the expected effects, and points to consider when working on it.

For more information on store marketing, please see this article.

Aim to increase sales with store marketing! Three Practical Methods and Key Points for Success In order to improve store sales as points of contact with customers become more diverse and complex, it is necessary to provide a shopping experience that takes advantage of the appeal and strengths unique to the real world. An important initiative for this purpose is "store marketing." This article provides an overview of store marketing, how to put it into practice, and points to success. EX Kansei - The science of design that sells

Table of contents [hidden]

1.Visual merchandising is visually appealing
2.Effects you can expect from visual merchandising
3.Visual merchandising techniques

3.1.① Visual Presentation (VP)
3.2.②Item presentation (IP)

4.③Point of Sales Presentation (PP)
5.Points to consider when working on visual merchandising

5.1.① Display products according to their characteristics
5.2.② Design traffic flow with the purchasing process in mind
5.3.③Analyze purchasing behavior and make improvements

6.Summary

What is visual merchandising that appeals visually?

Visual merchandising (VMD) is a marketing method that increases consumers' desire to purchase by displaying products and creating in-store displays to make products more attractive. It is a type of merchandising (MD) that involves product planning and sales strategy.

▼Types of merchandising

Methodology	overview
Visual Merchandising	Create in-store displays and POP displays to appeal to products in line with purchasing behavior.
cross merchandising	Promote related products to encourage "bundled purchases" and "impulse purchases"
Lifestyle Merchandising	Comprehensively propose products that match the concept based on the target lifestyle.

Although "displays" can be cited as marketing activities in stores, visual merchandising has a broader meaning.

Display is the process of arranging and displaying products in a way that makes them easy to see and pick up, so that their features and appeal can be conveyed. Visual merchandising, on the other hand, refers to creating a sales floor that reflects the theme of the store and the concept of the products, encouraging customers to purchase the products you want to sell.

Visual merchandising is used not only in physical stores, but also when considering the layout and user flow of e-commerce sites.

For more information on creating a sales floor through merchandising, please see this article.

How can you increase customers' desire to purchase by creating a sales floor? 4 tips to put into practice One of the important measures for store management is creating a sales floor. It is important to create a sales floor that attracts the attention and interest of customers who visit the store and makes them want to buy this product or take a closer look around the store. In this article, we will explain the basic elements of creating a sales floor and tips for increasing customer desire to purchase. EX Kansei - The science of design that sells

Expected effects of visual merchandising

By creating a sales floor with visual merchandising in mind, you can expect the following benefits:

▼ Expected effects

Increase sales
Improved customer satisfaction
Leads to branding

A sales floor that provides easy-to-understand information that evokes the use of the product and conveys its appeal can gain awareness of the product and arouse interest through a visual approach to customers. By creating a desire to "I think I'll buy it" and "I want to try it out," it will encourage purchasing behavior and lead to increased sales.

In addition, it is easy to find what products are where, and the sales floor is organized according to season and theme, making shopping smooth and enjoyable. You can improve customer satisfaction by giving the impression that you can easily find the product you are looking for and that you always have the product you want.

If you visually express the concept and worldview of your product by incorporating effects such as sound and lighting, displays, and POP, it will also lead to branding. Once the brand image becomes established and customers develop empathy and attachment, you can expect to see an increase in the number of fans of your products and stores.

Visual Merchandising Techniques

There are three basic methods when creating a sales floor using visual merchandising.

1) Visual Presentation (VP)

Visual presentation (VP) involves creating an overall image of the store by visually conveying the store's theme, concept, and world view.

By creating a unified image near the store entrance and on main displays, you can attract customers' attention, guide them into the store, and differentiate your store from your competitors.

▼Example of visual presentation

Display new products and main products in the space at the front of the store so that people passing by can easily see them.
Install signs near the store entrance that promote seasonal themes, brand image, campaign information, etc.
Display new products in the shop window and decorate the store with fixtures and interior goods to express the concept.

②Item presentation (IP)

Item Presentation (IP) is the display of products so that they are easy to see, select, and pick up.

By categorizing products based on criteria such as category or brand and arranging them in a regular and organized manner, it helps you find what you want and provides a smooth shopping experience.

We not only organize and display items by size, color, purpose, etc., but also display them in a way that is easy for customers to intuitively understand.

▼Item presentation example

Put products related to a lifestyle or usage scenario together on the same shelf
Display products by category and mark location with hanging signs
Set up a POP that introduces the features and appeal of the product

③Point of Sales Presentation (PP)

Point of Sales Presentation (PP) is the production of products that are displayed in each corner to highlight the products that you want to focus on.

The role is to increase customers' desire to purchase by making it easier to find the best-selling products and limited edition products that are the face of each corner. Keeping in mind the flow of traffic and line of sight within the store, we place products where they can easily be seen by customers and make them stand out with decorations.

▼Example of point of sales presentation

Select trending products from display shelves organized by category and place them in a wide space and at eye level.
Place new products on the main display in the center of the store
Present coordination that reproduces the usage scene of the product

In addition, this article explains in detail the key points for creating a display that sells. Please also take a look.

Four points to creating a display that sells. Techniques to keep in mind The display in a store has the role of making products more noticeable and increasing purchasing desire. Simply lining up products means customers miss the opportunity to come into contact with the products, which can affect sales. In this article, we will explain the points to creating a display that sells and the techniques to keep in mind. EX Kansei - The science of design that sells

Key points for working on visual merchandising

In order to employ visual merchandising to encourage product purchases, it is important to design displays and traffic flow based on the characteristics of the products and customer behavior.

① Display products according to their characteristics

The key is to change the display method according to the shape, size, price range, etc. of the product. Separating and organizing products and displaying them regularly, as well as arranging them in a way that makes them look visually appealing, makes them easier to see and find.

It is also important to display products from the customer's perspective, in a location that is easy to see and pick up (the golden line).

▼Display techniques with visual merchandising in mind

Divide the price range into three categories: low, medium, and high, and arrange the products on the shelves in ascending price ranges from the bottom to the top.
Increase the number of faces for products you want to sell or place them in the center of the display shelf
When displaying products of different shapes and sizes in one place, arrange them so that they form a triangle from the front.

Please check this article for tips on optimizing store planograms.

Optimize planograms to promote purchasing! Explaining 5 points and methods Retail stores such as department stores, supermarkets, and drug stores display a wide variety of products. In addition to displaying products so that they are easy to see and find, it is also necessary to consider planograms that will stimulate the desire to purchase and make people want to pick up the products after they stop in front of the shelves. The method of planogram allocation influences customer decision-making and therefore has a significant impact on product sales. Some people may be worried about store planograms, such as ``I don't know which planograms will sell the products, so I do it based on my intuition and experience,'' and ``I often end up with out-of-stock items or surplus inventory.'' . In this article, we will explain the basic knowledge of planograms in retail stores, as well as points to increase purchasing motivation and methods for optimizing purchasing. Explainable KANSEI- The science of design that sells

② Design traffic flow with the purchasing process in mind

When creating a sales floor using visual merchandising, the key is to design the flow lines within the store with the customer's purchasing process in mind.

When designing in-store flow lines, you can utilize the AIDMA framework. AIDMA is a model that categorizes the behavior from product recognition to purchase into five stages.

▼Example of merchandising based on AIDMA

step	Methodology	Example of flow line design
Attention	VP	Display recommended products right at the store entrance
Interest	VP+IP	Displaying products in a way that matches their theme or category creates a sense of anticipation that makes customers want to explore the store further.
Desire	IP+PP	Each display shelf is decorated using POP, panels, goods, etc. to make people want to use it.
Memory	PP	Create a visual impression through displays and decorations to make the product memorable
Action	VP+IP+PP	encourage product purchases

3) Analyze purchasing behavior and make improvements

When creating a sales floor by incorporating visual merchandising, the key is to analyze purchasing behavior after implementing the measures and use this to lead to improvements.

By collecting purchasing behavior data from physical stores and analyzing and visualizing the degree of impact on product purchases, you can review product display methods, traffic flow, and displays.

In addition, by analyzing customer purchasing psychology, hobbies, and preferences based on purchasing behavior data, it is possible to make strategic designs, which is expected to lead to improved sales and customer satisfaction.

summary

In this article, we explained the following about visual merchandising.

Types of visual merchandising
Expected effects
Visual Merchandising Techniques
Key points for working on visual merchandising

In stores that can provide a realistic purchasing experience, it is effective to take a visual approach by focusing on product display methods, displays, and presentation.

When working on visual merchandising, the key is to change display methods and design flow lines based on product characteristics and customer behavior. It is also important to collect and analyze purchasing behavior data to see what kind of impact the measures have had and to make improvements.

However, experience and knowledge are required to collect and analyze data. One way to perform analysis more efficiently and with higher accuracy is to use dedicated tools.

Konica Minolta offers a tool called "EX Kansei" that is useful for creating sales floors incorporating visual merchandising. EX Kansei is a tool that quantitatively analyzes and evaluates the attention and impression of a sales floor based on cutting-edge image analysis technology and emotional brain engineering. By scientifically analyzing the customer's gaze, the way products are displayed can be optimized.

For detailed service details, please check this document.

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