Geneva Finklea
Ms. Selleck
Visual Merchandising
May 3, 2014
Term Paper
Origin of Retail
The origin of retail all started with survival of cavemen, they figured that there were things they
needed in order to survive so they started to gathering and collecting of things. After people had
their resources and goods they started to settle in civilizations in which they could exchange
them. Exchanging things or in other words trading started to become very popular and it
increased rapidly. Due to the growth of trade these civilizations stared to become diverse and the
introduction of money came about, money back then meant in many forms such as cowrie shells
which were used in many cultures and coin which help trade between continents. During the 18th
and 19th centuries stores and businesses stared to arrive and the development of branding and
store identities took action. When a business or company is being introduced and published to
the public there are major questions that are asked they are: Why you want to start this business
and is there any inspiration behind your foundation. The things that should be known when
starting out are what are you selling and who is your customer target. These two aspects are vital
because it sets the mood of your business. The location of your business is important due to the
options that are available like rural, urban or suburban setting; these places offer many benefits
and disadvantages. After you have your location it’s best to start to figure out the promotion of
your merchandise. There is a variety of ways in which merchandise can be introduced outside
and inside the store. Inside the store’s merchandise are shown on fixtures, wall fixtures,
miniature displays and outside you have window displays that are there to actually attract
customers into the retail store.
Types of Retailers
There are many types of retailers such as Department stores, these stores offer multiple of
products that can be under one collection or many. Think of it as different stores with in a store
like a mall but these stores are collections and brands. Everyone is a customer when it comes to
department stores because their products and merchandise vary. Discount stores, they offer
variety of products that are at an affordable price and as a fashion statement or focus on trends.
Mom and Pop, these are small stores that are usually own and controlled by an individual or a
family. In addition these stores aren’t part of a nation business chain, they are independent and
only located in one specific city or town. Their customer targets are the people in their
neighborhood or town. There stores are your local grocery store and store that fill your daily
household needs. Specialty stores focuses on a specific type of merchandise like clothing or
shoes, they also target a precise consumer whether its women, men or children.
Henri Bendel (Department store)
This store’s customers are women of all age due to their jewelry, accessories, handbags and
beauty cosmetics that they sell.
Burlington Coat Factory (Discount store)
There consumers will be a person who want decent and stylish products but at a low price.
Liquor store (Specialty store)
Abercrombie and Fitch (Specialty store)
Store’s main product is liquor.
Store’s main consumer target are teens.
Differentiation of Elements
Bergdorf Goodman (High end dept. Store)
This department store sells many different expensive brands such as Prada, Jimmy Choo and
Francesco Russo who has a variety of merchandise that range from clothing and shoes to
accessories and handbags. This store presents a high quality of fashion trends to the public and
their prices range from $100- $1,000+. In addition their window displays express a sense of high
fashion because of how the different strategies they use to showcase their merchandise.
JC Penny (High end dept. Store)
This store sells brands like Liz Claiborne, Arizona and Allen B that are available to the
American society. Although they present a less fashionable style than Bergdorf Goodman it’s
still a great resource to turn to because they offer wonderful garments and clothing at a smart
price, their prices are affordable for the average person.
Techniques to Engage Customers and Vendor Identity
A key element that Visual Merchandisers use in order to engage their customers is the use of art.
Art styles are useful because merchandisers are able to interpret that into their displays and the
mood and identity of the store. Furthermore art keeps the customer amazed and wondering what
might the rest of the store looks like so ultimately it makes customers come inside the store.
The technique retailers use in order to develop their retail identity is their own personal
creativity, since all retailers use the same methods to promote themselves, a specific retailer has
to alter and include certain methods and things that store don’t usually do like letting the
customers be involved in the activities that go on in the store.
These are some of Harvey Nichols’ surrealistic window displays which reflect the brands that it
offers, this department store as a whole uses the brands that it has to create different mood of the
store. The goal of these displays is to get the public’s attention and it definitely does due it
unique style.
Offsite Retail
There are multiple of offsite retail methods available to the public; these methods make the
shopping experience less stressful and time manageable. Some of these methods are catalogs,
television, and online shopping. Catalogs are like magazine that give you an overview of what
the subject or topic is, furthermore they offer thing that you can buy. This type of method is great
because it gives the person a visual aspect of merchandise and then provides useful information.
Television is another offsite retail method; they have these commercials called infomercials that
present new products that aren’t usually offered in stores which is wonderful because they allows
people to directly purchase the product on site. The mostly commonly offsite retailer method
used by people is Online shopping, this methods the person to shop for clothing at home and
limits the hassle of standing in line to check out or trying to find a shirt in your size. This method
is the most popular because not only is it easy to do but it’s everywhere and almost every store
have their own online shopping system.
Catalog
Online Shopping
Infomercials
Floor Plan
Floor plan is a bird’s eye view of how the store is set up, it shows where merchandise is located
and create a trail for customers to follow throughout the store. The type of floor plan for a
specialty store is an Angular floor plan which makes the store look expensive because the
fixtures have curves and angles to them, these layouts are often seen in high end store. Discount
stores have a Grid layout which is when fixtures are organized in rows, this layout makes it easy
for consumer to locate products and it overall makes their shopping experience easy and
enjoyable. Racetrack layouts are best for department stores such as Macy’s because they start at
the entrance guide the customer through the store and bring them to the entrance. Free Flow
layout when fixtures are positioned in a free flowing pattern, with this layout it increases profit
and presents a visual appeal, furthermore these are fit best for specialty stores.
Angular floor plan
Race track (Macy’s)
Grid layout (Rite Aid)
Free Flow layout
Mannequins
When it comes to merchandise and clothing stores they use mannequins, these are human like
structure in which you can put clothing on or accessorize. There are realistic mannequins, semirealistic mannequins, abstract mannequins and headless mannequins. Realistic mannequins are
made to look realistic and natural; they are supposed to resemble the customer target of the store
so they have a size and are fit to wear particular merchandise. Semi- realistic mannequins are
similar to realistic ones but they are more decorated and hair is rarely changed. Abstract
mannequins are used to create effects without proportion and colored of necessary to fit the
theme of the store. Headless mannequins are made to not have a personality or image so it works
well with any theme. The type of mannequin forms fit for jewelry stores are neck and hand forms
because they are used to display necklaces, rings and bracelets. Sport stores such as Nike and
Adidas usually show the bottom half of mannequins. Foot forms are used to show shoes,
sneakers, boots, and heels, these are used by stores like Foot locker and Payless. Leg forms are
used to present socks and tights; they are used by specialty boutique stores. Many lingerie stores
like Victoria Secret use torso forms to introduce new lady underwear.
Fixtures
There are a variety of fixtures that are used to display merchandise; these fixtures are used inside
the store and in the window display. Furthermore fixtures are the main aspect to make the store
complete, they bring the store together and also the props that are in the store. Round racks are
not only used to show clothing but it specifies the type of style and color and these are seen like
clothing stores like H&M or Forever 21. Tables are fixtures in which they layout clothing and
accessories so that people are able to touch the merchandise, in addition tables make things very
organized and are found in clothing stores and boutiques. Gondola shelve fixtures are shelves in
which they hold goods and clothing out to display, they are mostly they used by grocery stores
and mom and pop stores. Showcases are best for showing accessories and small items, these are
best for jewelry stores. Slat wall fixtures are good use of hanging small and manageable items to
the wall, store that most are likely to have these are supply stores.
Slat wall
Showcases
Gondola shelve fixture
Round racks
Tables
Social Media and New Technology
New and improved things that are out today would have to be informational kiosks, interactive
displays and 3D Printing. Kiosks are these informational areas in which they provide the
consumer with their personal needs as far as dealing with the store that they are in. some
examples of what a kiosk is are booths, stalls and stands. Interactive displays are what actually
bring the customer inside the store. Furthermore these are good with cosmetics because they
show the consumer they skin tone and have them pick out a certain color that goes well with it.
3D printing is the printing of three dimensional structure or object that is based on the original
model. This method can be useful when it comes to retail because it’s able to replace almost any
item.
3D Printing
Interactive display
Kiosk
Work Cited
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<http://3dprintingindustry.com/retail/>.
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<http://www.slideshare.net/kannupriya23/mannequin>.
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<http://retail.about.com/od/storedesign/ss/store_layouts.htm>.
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<http://retail100objects.com/>.
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<http://www.bergdorfgoodman.com/>.
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