Ashok Yakkaldevi

2011

Visual merchandising can be defined as everything the customer sees, both

exterior and interior, that creates a positive image of a business and results in
attention, interest, desire and action on the part of the consumer. VM is an art
and science of displaying merchandise to enable maximum sale.
VM begins where the consumer connect first with the store- the exterior of the
store. This part sets the tone for a shopper's experience. The quality of a store
front is a major determinant for a customer, particularly a new customer, and
should not be underestimated.

Exterior Signs.
Awnings.

Walks and entries (Entrance).

Landscaping.

Window displays.

Visual merchandising is an art of presenting the product beautifully in order to

generate sales and impulse buying.
The VM function is one of the most important aspect of marketing the product,
especially the exterior presentation tools like exterior signs, awnings, walks and
entries (entrance), landscaping, window displays.
All these tools, as a part of retail merchandising, play a very important role in
generating sales and influencing consumers.

Simplicity

Relevance to your customer and season

The window display strategy
Draw connections

Dhruv Grewal
Anne L. Roggeveen,
Nancy M.,
Charles Spence
(2014)

Traditional retailers are confronting stiff competition not only from online
retailers, but also brick-and-mortar retailers who have increased their online
presence.
However, in the age of online connectedness with customers, it is critical that
retailers do not lose sight of the basics of customers in-store experience.
It is often this in-store experience that will form the foundation of a longer term
relationship both in person and online. The goal of this special issue is to refocus
attention on the importance of retail atmospheric cues and in-store nonverbal
cues as critical components of the in-store experience.

Retail atmospherics includes anything in the store that impacts the consumer
environment. This can range from the lighting, to music, to the employees.
FIVE SENSORY DOMAINS
visual atmospherics (e.g., color, brightness),
auditory atmospherics (e.g., music type, tempo, and volume),
olfactory atmospherics (e.g., scent),
tactile atmospherics (e.g., ability to touch merchandise), and
taste atmospherics (e.g., ability to sample merchandise)
Non Verbal Cues include insights gathered from nonverbal information such as
facial expressions, eye contact, gestures, and perceived similarity.

Retail atmospherics and nonverbal cues are broad umbrellas that include a
multitude of research avenues.
Apart from the verbal expressions of the retailers/ salespersons, the non verbal
expressions and cues exhibited by the retailers/ salespersons also have a major
impact on the buying behaviour portrayed by the consumer.
In a retail environment, retailers must also focus on how employees present
themselves in the store even when they are not interacting with the customer. It
is likely that such cues also impact customer evaluations and behavior.

Charles Spence
Oxford University
Nancy M. Puccinelli
University of Oxford and Oxford Institute of Retail Management (OXIRM)
Dhruv Grewal and Anne L. Roggeveen
Babson College

Atmospherics

Sensory cues
Multisensory perspective

In addition to looking for ways to add value by adding product features (e.g., A
customer service number on the packaging), retailers and manufacturers alike are
increasingly crafting value-added retail experiences.
Many firms have achieved substantial competitive advantage (e.g., Starbucks) via
the creation of a more sensory, and increasingly multisensory, customer
experience.
Experts emphasize three key dimensions of retail atmosphere: the ambience of
the store, the design elements, and the social elements.
Products and settings are increasingly being designed to appeal to consumers on
both rational and emotional levels, as well as across multiple senses.

However, store atmospherics cannot really be understood on a sense-by-sense

basis; environments, and our perception of them are, by nature, multisensory.

Affective
General Positivity
Optimal Stimulation

Visual

Taste

Purchase
Behaviour

Auditory

Cognitive
Tactile

Olfactory

Association
Direct Behavioural
effects

Most of the research on store atmospherics focuses on a single

aspect of the environment, such as changing just the lighting, or the
music, or the scent of the retail space.
Yet assessing the impact of multisensory environmental interventions
is critical.
congruent multisensory store environments ought to be rated as
more pleasing and engaging to consumers than environments that
stimulate fewer of the customers senses or offer incongruent
multisensory experiences.

Mattila and Wirtz manipulated the presence of music (no music, low
arousal music, or high arousal music) while simultaneously
manipulating the olfactory environment (presenting no scent, a low
arousal scent [lavender], or a high arousal scent [grapefruit]).
Their results indicated that when the scent and music were congruent
in terms of their arousal potential, the customers rated the store
environment more positively, exhibited higher levels of approach and
impulse buying behaviour, and expressed more satisfaction.
Consistency across sensory cues may offer more optimal levels of
stimulation for customers making them more pleasant.

Introducing more sensory cues into a store atmosphere

increases the number of sensory touch points, but it also
increases the risk of sensory overload.
Homburg, Imschloss, and Kuhnl asked 800 people to imagine
browsing in a store and manipulated store sensory features in
the description: fast versus slow music, the scent of lavender or
grapefruit, and the use of red versus blue colours.
The results suggested that a congruent combination of any two
atmospheric stimuli induced positive outcomes, but the
consequences of three congruent stimuli included some
negative effects.

Store atmospherics have remarkable influences on shopper behaviour.

Various visual, auditory, olfactory, tactile, and gustatory atmospherics
independently affect shoppers perceptions and behaviours, and their
combined influence is likely even greater than the sum of their parts.
Different senses can play varying roles in influencing customer perceptions
or behaviours, so retailers must carefully engage multiple senses while
keeping the various atmospheric cues congruent. A retailer thinking of
investing in a multisensory atmosphere would therefore be well advised to
consider which aspects of its customers behaviour it seeks to influence.

Visual branding is a familiar topic; increasingly, marketers seek to

distinguish their stores with signature sounds, signature fragrances, and
perhaps even a signature feel. Making these various atmospheric cues
congruent should thus offer functional benefits.
Overall though, marketing research suggest that multisensory
atmospherics are potentially stronger than focusing on a single sensory
atmospheric cue.
Ultimately, brand managers need to know the likely ROIs in sensory
marketing. Some of the best publicized multisensory store redesigns have
been phenomenally expensive. When Harrods developed its multisensory
toy department, millions of pounds were invested. We wait to see whether
the investment paid off in this case.

Syed Amir Saeed

Pakistan Business Review
(July 2015)

Effect of lighting as a subject matter of visual merchandising in attracting consumers towards a

specific area and products in store and recording their behaviour.

Lighting arrangements in retail stores important element of visual merchandising.

Major sources of light include the spread and spot light
Through visual merchandising including window displays and lighting arrangements stores
can attract a particular class of consumers towards their stores, enhance awareness of the
consumers, and increase the store traffic and sales

No prior study in this field has been undertaken in Pakistan

VM Strategies still in infancy in small Pakistant towns
Implications for developing and optimizing VM strategies adopted by retailers and
manufactuers

 An experimental research methodology was used consisting of a BEFORE and AFTER

experiment wherein consumers movement towards a particular section in the store was
tracked in the absence and presence of lighting and illumination
Experiment conducted in Peshawar over the course of 4 days

Significant positive approach towards the lit area in the store by the consumers
No impact on sales volume recorded over the course of the experiement

Conducted in just one city within a short time period and small sample

Adriana V. Madzharov
Lauren G. Block

Maureen Morrin,
Journal of Marketing,
American Marketing Association (2015)


Examine how ambient scents affect consumers spatial perceptions in retail environments,
which in turn influence customers feelings of power and, thus, product preference and
purchasing behavior.
Building a unified scent theory in consumer behavior by establishing how scents that differ on
semantic meanings related to temperature influence preference and choice behaviour

Scent and Consumer Behavior

Consumer research on scent has demonstrated positive effects of pleasant scents on
attention and memory for brands and products as well as on information processing
Ambient scents have demonstrated that simple versus complex pleasant scents lead to
increased spending in the store because they are more easily processed
Scents carry common semantic associations, learned through repeated exposure to different
smells in different contexts, which can become activated and lead to increased mental
accessibility of those concepts . For eg - pleasant masculine (feminine) ambient scent leads
to increased evaluations, intentions to visit, and higher spending in the mens (womens)
section of a store


Scents can carry haptic- based associations, whereby some scents are perceived to be
warm (e.g., vanilla, cinnamon) and others are perceived to be cool (e.g., peppermint,
eucalyptus)
Social Density Perceptions and Power
Social density judgment is a holistic perceptual evaluation formed by any combination,
singly or together, of how many people are present, the physical proximity between them,
and the overall spaciousness of the environment
Strong bidirectional correlation exists between temperature and spatial proximity both as
fundamental features of the physical environment and as psychological concepts in
peoples minds. Particularly in the physical world, warm (vs. cool) temperatures are
associated with physical proximity (vs. distance).
Semantically priming temperature concepts through the experience of a warm (or cool)
ambient scent will produce similar effects on perceptions of social density such that a warm
(vs. cool) ambient scent will lead to perceptions of greater (lesser) social density.
Warm (vs. cool-) scent environment people will perceive greater social density and, as a
result, feel less powerful, which will manifest in a customer response

Pre-test to choose the warm and cool scents used in the main studies.
Highly controlled pilot study to test the effect of warm versus cool scents on perceptions of
social density
Four studies that collectively test the effect of warm (vs. cool) scents on the marketing
outcomes previously identified in the literature

Ambient scents that differ on perceived temperature (warm vs. cool scents) can systematically
affect customer preferences. Both highly controlled experiments and real-world field studies
show that a warm (vs. cool) ambient scent leads to perceptions of higher social density (pilot
study and Study 3), power-compensatory preferences (for prestige- vs. performance-focused
ads in Studies 1 and 4), increased purchasing of premium products and increased multipleitem purchases (in Studies 2 and 3), and higher overall spending in the store (in Study 3).
Effect of scent on power-compensatory purchasing behavior is driven by the underlying
processes of social density perceptions and power restoration motivations (Study 3). Finally, in
Study 4, we show that another key retail factor, sales personnel-customer encounter, interacts
with ambient scent and creates boundary conditions for the effects of scent on powercompensatory preferences.


First to examine how scent affects premium product shopping patterns.
Contributes to a better understanding of an important, associative-based, underlying process
that drives scent effects.
Demonstrate that perceptual processes involving social density can elicit clear and predictable
effects on buyer behavior.

Hari Govind Mishra

Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University

Piyush Kumar Sinha

Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad

Surabhi Koul

Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University

This study aims to explore the theme of creating and managing the store
atmosphere of exclusive stores from a customers point of view.
Kotler (1973) suggested using atmospherics as a competitive tool in an
attempt to attract and maintain a specific target market, especially where
product or price differences were nominal.
Retailers are working hard to strengthen the environment in their stores in
order to create a store atmosphere that will inspire consumer loyalty.
Three categories of environmental cues:
Design
Ambient variables
Social variables

Recent work has shown that emotions experienced in the store

environment affected the outcome variables of interest to
retailers. Retail environments interconnected the stores image
and customers, they induced emotional reactions, influenced the
customers decisive satisfaction with the service, and the amount
of money and time spent in
the store by the consumers.
Many retailers acknowledged
the importance of store
environment as a tool for
market differentiation.

Important terminologies for this paper are :

Environmental Psychology Model
Customer Perceived Value
Customer Shopping Emotions
Customer Behavioral Responses

The research design of the study involved constructing a survey that

measured parameters of customer perceptions and emotional
responses and also studied the impact on behavioral responses. A
structured questionnaire was designed which had five sections.
The first section consisted of basic personal data including gender,
age, qualification, monthly income, etc.
The second part of the questionnaire included the construct of store
atmosphere measurement instruments.
The third and fourth parts of the questionnaire showed the items
for customer perceptions and emotional states.
Finally, the fifth part of the questionnaire had items that reflected
the construct of behavioral response.

A multiple regression analysis was run between the store atmosphere factors
and the behavioral responses. Store atmosphere showed a significant
relationship with consumers behavioral responses with all beta values having
a significantly strong value. Supported H1.
A multiple regression analysis between store atmosphere factors and
emotional states (pleasure, arousal, and dominance) was also run. Pleasure,
arousal, and dominance reported a significant relationship with store
atmosphere. Supported H2a.
Regression between store atmospherics and customer perceptions. But store
design had an insignificant regression coefficient. In the case of value for
money, in-store spacing, social attribute, and friendliness showed an
insignificant relationship. Physical ambience showed the highest beta value
(.812). Hence, it can be deduced that store atmosphere had a significant
relationship with customer perceptions. Emotional states and customer
perceptions both had a significant relationship with store atmosphere so H2
was supported.

Results received from efforts on store atmosphere management and the

promotion of positive emotions were much better than reducing the effects
of negative emotions.
Meanwhile, product quality, emotions, and social attribute had a positive
correlation with customer approach behaviors, indicating commodity and
service perception influenced their sense of satisfaction, impulse
consumption behaviors, and intention of repeated presence. Only price
showed a negative correlation with the behavioral response.
Thus, the hypothesis was supported as store atmosphere was found to be
significantly associated with behavioral response.

Store Atmosphere Factors Will Impact Customer

Behavioral Response Significantly (S-R)

Store Atmospheric Factors Will Impact Customer

Perceived Value (S-O)
Customer Perceived Value Will Affect Customer Approach Behavior
Significantly (O-R)

Management of Retail Environments Design Factors

Management of Retail Environments Social Factors

Katarna Kleinova,
Johana Paluchova,
Jakub Berka,
Elena Horska
(2015)

In a highly competitive environment, it is the task of every manager or

catering establishment owner to try to create a comfortable environment
for the customers and thus induce them to revisit.
The main elements of this environment are not just the restaurant services
but also kind and helpful staff and the very interior of restaurant.
Important is the design itself as well as layout of tables, colors, lighting,
placement of decorative elements and background music.

Visual merchandising engages all the senses.

The more senses we engage, the more people respond to our
operation, stay longer and buy more.
It encompasses the way that the restaurants present their
services to grab the customer's attention.

The paper focussed on first impressions at a restaurant such as walls

texture, lighting, location of interior decorations, layout of tables and
chairs, dishes offering from the menu, aroma perception, musical
background, staff dress code, POS materials, intensity of temperature
and noise.

Customers experience the atmosphere of the restaurant through a

combination of elements such as:
a) Visual (colour, lighting)
b) Sound (music genre, noise)
c) Tactile (purity)
d) Olfactory (smell)

These elements can stimulate perception and emotional reactions of

consumers and ultimately influence their behaviour

To create the first impression of the restaurant, offered services and

the overall atmosphere inside helps the outdoor of catering
establishment at the beginning, which acts as kind of 24 hour
advertising.
On the facade of the restaurant is therefore appropriate to add eyecatching and easy to see the poster, which should be consistent
with the overall image of the restaurant.

As today is the restaurant quality, range and price level of services

not so much different in various catering establishments, the only
marketing tool that can make even more so as to differentiate from
the competition is the communication.

In addition to the traditional communication tools (advertising, sales

promotion, PR, etc.) the important tool of communication with customers
is also the internal atmosphere of the restaurant.
When designing the interior, various components must to reconcile in
order to elicit the pleasant emotions of customers, which make them not
only to come back to the restaurant but will spread its reputation even
among their acquaintances, friends and family which is an effective way to
reach potential customers.

The results of the this research show that the selected establishments create the
"very good" or "good first impressions of the majority of customers, which can be
evaluated very positively based on the following attributes.

To make the good first impression on customers most restaurants have:

Pleasant atmosphere throughout the restaurant itself
Good parking facilities
Friendly and helpful staff
Width of dishes
Colour and overall style of restaurant
Cleanliness of operation
Background music and many other attributes.

Taste in catering industry is the most important but also the

other senses (scent, hearing, sight, touch) can influence the
customers decision making process.
This first impression is the result of several factors.

To create the first impression of the restaurant, offered services

and the overall atmosphere inside helps the outdoor of
catering establishment at the beginning, which acts as kind of
24 hour advertising.

In the future, a larger and more comprehensive research as in real as well

as in laboratory conditions can be implemented.
In addition to traditional methods of marketing research, neuro-marketing
techniques can also be used.
Through EEG, eyetracker and other devices we will be able to identify how
the elements of the atmosphere as either operating globally or individually
affect brain activity and subsequent decisions of customers when choosing
the meals.
From the results of the observations we conclude that in this examined
area, the chosen restaurants in Slovakia still do have the shortcomings and
therefore, to the present issue should continue to be paid attention.

M Krishnakumar
(2014)

As retail business is moving towards new phases, the emphasis is slowly

changing from the product to the spacethe storewhere all the things
happen.
The shopping ambience becomes so important now, with retailers being
interested in giving their stores a contemporary and consumer-friendly
design.
Consumer behavior, which was earlier termed as overt behavior, is a
continuous consumption process related to pre-purchase, purchase and
post-purchase issues.

A store has to display the product in a way that it attracts the

customer.
Visual merchandising is an art of displaying the things in an
attractive way so that it could attract the attention of the
customer and persuade them to buy the product.
An effective visual merchandising plays a significant role in the
consumers purchase decision.
Shopping ambience has become important now, with the retailer
giving their stores a contemporary and consumer-friendly design,
and consumers expecting to shop in a store with good ambience.

Compared to the western countries, visual merchandising in India is still at

its nascent stage.
In western countries, it is very much organized and given significant
consideration in the corporate planning activities.
Indian retailers have realized the importance of visual merchandising in
attracting the customers, increasing the footfalls, providing unique
shopping experience, and creating the actual purchase.
According to the industry estimates, an average of Rs. 25-40 lakhs is being
spent per store.
In India, most of them do it in once in five years. The store concept is
changed once the market reaches saturation level.

Shopping has become a brand experience rather than merely a

transaction.

The moment of real purchase takes place at the point of purchase where
the decision on how much to buy is made.
The stores future depends on what the consumer sees and experiences at
the store.
Visual merchandising focal points are placed strategically in the store and
communicate the features and benefits of the merchandise.

An effective window display will attract the passerby and

convert them into browsers and spenders through the process
of conversion.
Retail companies are increasingly spending on both the
environment and the fixtures and stylish fittings, emphatic
lighting, digital signage, and are in for an international appeal
and inviting feel.

Visual merchandising plays a significant role in apparel

purchase decision of the consumers.
Customers expectations change periodically and retailers must
realize the significance of these expectations and offer them a
congenial environment to attract and retain them.
In the retailers strategy, visual merchandising facilitates
creating an innovative platform to present merchandise in 3D
environment, thereby making it possible to have a long-lasting
impact on the customer and recall value.
Retailers should allocate certain percentage of their sales for
visual merchandising.
It gives a competitive advantage and facilitates in creating an
overall image of the store.

Much consideration and emphasis should be given to store design and store
front so that they are very attractive to the customers.
Playing mild music will influence the consumers buying behavior. The music
played depends on the merchandise being sold and the target audience, and
also it depends on the time and occasion.

Devotional music may be played during the morning hours and other mild
music during other hours.
Attractive and detailed catalogue may be prepared and kept in the store for
customers reference to help them make effective and efficient decisions.

The display should be done using themes mainly in accordance with the
merchandise being sold.
Proper and effective lighting should be done to enhance the display effects.
The factors to be considered in lighting decisions are type, color, location,
intensity of the light, etc.

Apparel retailers should include a significant proportion of related

accessories and impulse items in their Stock Keeping Units (SKUs) to enable
more and additional sales.

The present study focused only on the respondents in Coimbatore city.

The same study could be conducted in different cities to understand the
similarity of consumer behavior towards visual merchandising in apparel
purchase decision.

The study can focus on the rural and urban population to find out if there
is any difference in opinion between them.
More number of factors contemporary to the study period may be
included.

Sevgin A. Eroglu
Georgia State University

Karen A. Machleit
University of Cincinnati

Lenita M. Davis
University of Alabama

Made two versions of a website - high task relevant and low task relevant
Gave two situations to respondents- high involvement and low involvement
Rated on factors such as satisfaction, attitude, emotional responses, etc.

Young Ha
University of Nebraska

Sharron J. Lennon
University of Delaware

Consumers are more likely to pay attention to product-related cues rather than service-related cues.

High involved shoppers are likely to be affected more by high task relevant cues and vice versa
To attract consumers with different levels of shopping involvement, online apparel retailers may first
need to analyze consumers shopping patterns through surveys and customer data management
systems. Results of the analyses may be used to provide better services and products that
consumers want and need by personalising websites design and product presentation methods.
To attract first-time shoppers (mostly browsers), online apparel retailers may introduce a standard
website with more low than high task relevant cues, including various animations and decorative
pictures. Returning customers could be greeted by name and see a website with more high task
relevant cues.