Visual merchandising is a marketing practice using color, lighting, display arrangements, technology and other elements to make products more appealing and attract and engage the retail shopper. It’s not just about making things look good, though. It’s about creating an experience that helps brands stand out to consumers buying their products.
Fashion merchandisers must market clothing and accessories to a customer at the right time and ideal price. Indeed says “Successful fashion merchandisers engage in careful planning and promotion to ensure that a product is popular and likely to sell well.” Fashion merchandisers work in a variety of environments, including retail stores, trade shows, fashion shows and brand headquarters. Increasingly, fashion merchandising also applies to online retailers.
Learning the business behind the fashion industry can help you utilize your creativity and business savvy and develop the skills you need to convert apparel design into sales. A Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Fashion Merchandising and Marketing online program from Arkansas State University (A-State) provides the knowledge and skills needed to be successful in fashion merchandising. Courses like Drawing and Imaging as well as Visual Merchandising and Display especially focus on these best practices of visual merchandising related to the retail space.
What Is Visual Merchandising?
As a marketer, you have one opportunity to make a first impression. In fashion marketing, it’s critical to make that first impression a positive one that creates interest. Visual merchandising “is the practice of organizing and displaying products in a retail space,” according to Indeed.
Appealing to the senses helps engage consumers and reflects the brand’s image and aesthetic. Colors create different moods and reinforce branding, while lighting can enhance a mood and help draw attention to specific products. Arranging the space and layout of your store or display guides customers and directs their attention. Sound can enhance the overall atmosphere, along with certain smells that have positive associations, like the smell of evergreen during the holidays.
Technology can also be effectively used in visual marketing through digital displays or interactive installations where the customer engages with the brand and spends more time in the space. Common elements in visual merchandising include interior displays; the actual store layout; mannequins; points of purchase displays; bundling products together; the store environment and atmosphere; window displays to draw customers inside; outdoor signage that identifies a business or products; exterior fixtures like marquees and banners; seasonal displays; product information; and design decisions like flooring, textiles and other materials.
Five Key Elements of Visual Merchandising
To help fashion merchandisers use best practices, point-of-sale company Lightspeed lists five key elements of visual merchandising. They include the following:
- Focal point: To help draw the focus of customers, showcase the focal point item or group of items at eye-level and give items prominent placement in the overall display.
- Space: Spacing is important in displays, establishing an item’s exclusivity, or one-of-a-kind value. Therefore, premium items garner more space. Even when grouping objects, avoiding clutter helps fine-tune the focus.
- Colors: Colors evoke various emotions and reactions. Understanding the psychology behind color can help retailers enhance the consumer experience.
- Lighting: Lighting can help draw the customer’s attention and create a mood and atmosphere. The brightness, hue and focus of the lighting are all tools to help create an engaging experience.
- Positioning: Although shoppers tend to browse shelves or products at eye level, which is important for creating a focal point, positioning products with complementary items helps to draw attention to the sides, above, below and even behind the priority merchandise.
How Is Online Visual Merchandising Different?
The majority of online fashion merchandisers are adopting an omnichannel approach rather than limiting marketing and sales to a single site, Amazon or social media platforms. Visual merchandising using online platforms requires different techniques and tools than in-store marketing.
The very basics require that your site and products are easy to navigate, appear attractive and work well across mobile and desktop devices. By using interactive search that allows consumers to filter through products and move to a purchasing decision, retailers can enhance the consumer experience by giving customers the ability to steer their online journey.
Images and text, storytelling, reviews, authoritative accolades and clear calls to action are all elements of visual merchandising that are specific to the online shopping experience. Fashion marketing is seasonal, so it’s important to keep online marketing fresh and in sync with seasonal and event-based fashion.
Launch Your Fashion Merchandising Career With a B.S. Degree in Fashion Merchandising and Marketing
You can turn your love of fashion into an exciting and rewarding career with an online B.S. in Fashion Merchandising and Marketing program from A-State. Subjects cover visual merchandising, drawing and textiles, fashion forecasting, market analysis and much more. Students learn how to use software like Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign.
Graduates can pursue a number of lucrative and interesting roles as well. For example, this degree helps students prepare for careers such as visual merchandiser, buyer, brand manager and fashion marketing manager. Equipped with a well-rounded skillset, graduates are prepared to implement visual merchandising best practices in any role they pursue.
Learn more about A-State’s online Bachelor of Science in Fashion Merchandising and Marketing program.