Store Layout, Design and Visual

Merchandising - Principles &

Optimization
 Store Design, Layout, Visual
Merchandising
 Opportunity for competitive advantage and
increased sales
 Store as a “good story” – a beginning, middle, end
 Entrance sets up the story – creates expectations, contains
promises, entices, hints, teases
 Inside the store is the middle of the story
 should start slow (uncluttered) to allow consumers to orient
themselves
 should lead customers on a journey of discovery, using layout,
lighting, visuals, other atmospherics
 Checkout area is the store’s climactic ending
 Five Major Store Design
Objectives

 Consistent with retailer’s image, positioning, strategy

 Positive influence on purchase behavior
 Cost effective – space productivity
 Sales-per-square-foot (most common, racetrack and boutique layout)
– Sales-per-linear-foot (e.g., supermarkets, drug stores, etc. with long
gondolas in grid layout)
– Sales-per-cubic-foot (e.g., wholesale clubs with multiple layers of
merchandise)
 Flexible
 Positively influencing
purchase behavior
Allow a transition zone
Place high-margin merchandise to the right of the
entrance
Make merchandise accessible
Use signs, fixtures, displays to draw customers
Avoid the “butt-brush” effect
Vary the tempo of music to achieve goals
Arrange shelved merchandise strategically
Ref: Paco Underhill, Why We Buy: The Science of
Shopping
 Tradeoffs in Store Design
• Ease of locating merchandise for
planned purchases
• Aesthetics, space to shop
comfortably
• Relaxed environment
• Exploration of store,
impulse purchases
• Productivity of space
• Energy, excitement
Grid Layout
 Grid Layout
 Linear design, checkerboard pattern.
 Vertical and horizontal aisles
– May have one main aisle and many secondary
aisles.
 Efficientuse of space
 Simple and predictable to navigate
 Focal points at aisle ends
 Racetrack Layout
Major and minor loops with multiple entrances &
multiple sight lines,
lines draws shopper around the
store, encourages exploration, impulse buying

Location of departments)
departments men’s vs. women’s
impulse goods – near entrances, to the right, escalators, point-of-sale
demand/destination – upper floors, back corners; complementary – adjacent
Display areas)
areas – bulk-of-stock + feature areas (walls, promotional areas, point- of-sale
areas, feature fixtures, windows)
Fixtures–
Fixtures feature fixtures – four-way, free-standing/mannequins, glass cases
+ gondolas, rounders & straight racks for bulk-of-stock & sale merchandise
 Free-Form (Boutique) Layout
+ Aesthetically
Storage,
pleasing, relaxing,
Storage,Receiving,
Receiving,Marking
Marking asymmetrical, invites
browsing
- Less efficient, more

Hats and Handbags

costly, more sales
assistance needed,
Stockings

Tops
Accessories

more theft
Checkout
Fixtures
• Bulk-of-stock -
straight racks,
Casual Wear

gondolas,

Tops
rounders (very
flexible)
Pants

Clearance

Skirts and Dresses

• Feature – glass
Items cases, 4-way,
free-standing,
custom-built
Feature fixtures
Jeans

Feature areas
Windows, walls,
feature fixtures,
point-of-sale
 Free-Flow Layouts
 Opposite of grid layout.
 Ease of customer movement.
– Must provide enough room between fixtures.
 Fixtures arranged in interesting formations
– Encourages browsing.
 Space Planning Considerations
 High traffic & highly visible areas
– Entrances, escalators, check-out area, end aisles, feature
areas
 Profitability of merchandise
 Private brand, higher margin categories
 Customer buying considerations
 Impulse products near front
 Demand/destination areas in back, off the beaten path
 Physical characteristics of product
 Bulky vs. small/easily stolen
 Complementary products should be adjacent
 Sales rate
 Display more units of fast-selling merchandise (tonnage merchandising
 Merchandise Presentation
Techniques
• Style/Item Presentation – most basic, most common
• Idea-Oriented Presentation – complementary, unifying theme
• Color Presentation – blocks or concentrations of color
• Price Lining – e.g., designer, bridge, better, moderate; under
glass, not under glass
• Vertical Merchandising – uses walls, high gondolas; uses
natural eye movement; often combined with color
• Tonnage Merchandising – large quantities, “stock it high and
let it fly” – equated with value/low price
• Frontal Presentation – 4-way fixtures, display face-out, often
combined with vertical merchandising
 Atmospherics
Inform; draw attention,
highlight merchandise,
dramatize, decorate
Signs
Lightin
Color
g
Warm versus cool Pop merchandise, set
colors – attract/ hurry a mood, downplay
vs. relax; value vs. unsightly areas, show
prestige Store accurate color
Atmosphere Music
Scent
Easily changed - match
Most direct effect demographics, influence
on emotions and shopping mood & crowd
memory control
 Location of Merchandise -
Planograms (map – photos, drawings, computer
generated)

•vertical merchandising - eye movement - left to right & down

• high margin merchandise - 15% below horizontal (51” - 53” & 56” - 58”)
• not alphabetical, “flank” new & private label with popular national
brands
 Visual Merchandising is:
 Showing merchandise with the end purpose of
making a sale.
 Presenting an image of who/what the shopper can
be when using the merchandise displayed.
 Making the shopper a “stopper” and a walk-in
rather than a walk -by.
 Keeping the interior presentation the same as what
is promised on the outside/in the window.
 A combination of skills including creativity, order,
artistic knowledge and understanding of store
design.
Design Elements
 Color
 Texture
 Line
 Color
 The big attraction point
 Color psychology implications
 Color Schemes
– Analogous
– Complementary
– Split-Complementary
– Contrasting
– Monochromatic
– Neutral
Color Examples
 Texture
 Definition:surface treatment or “feel” of
merchandise
 Important for backgrounds too
 Masculine/feminine
 Rough/smooth
 Neutral
 Weight, Balance
Texture Examples
 Line
 Vertical
 Horizontal
 Curved
 Diagonal
 Can be used to bring initial attention to a display
by catching the eye or to sustain attention within a
display by moving the eye around.
Line Examples
Design Principles
 Balance
 Proportion
 Rhythm/Repetition
 Dominance/Emphasis
 Contrast
 Harmony
 Balance
 Symmetric
– Formal balance
 Asymmetric
– Informal balance
 Relates to weight,
texture, color
Proportion
 Relationship of size,
scale or “weight” of
elements and between
elements.
 Often used to create
emphasis and capture
attention.
 Don’t take size for
granted.
 Rhythm/Repetition
 Self-contained
movement within a
display.
 Creates path for the
eye.
– Dominant -->
subordinate
 Line
 Repeating motif
establishes dominance
and movement.
Dominance/Emphasis
 Object which draws
the eye first.
– Focal point
 Directs viewers eye
(rhythm).
 Can be dominant due
to size, weight, color,
contrast, line or
repetition.
 Contrast
 Showing a sharp
difference between
objects.
 Effective use = eye
“feels” object.
 Achieved through
texture, color, size,
directional placement.
 Harmony
 The careful combination of principles or
elements to create a unified whole.
 Consider storewide presentation or image
too.
 Fixtures
 Accept, hold, stock and show merchandise.
 Used in window displays, on top of
counters, within floor arrangements.
 Contribute to store brand image and
ambiance.
 Expected to last a long time.
 Capacity Fixtures
 Hold large quantities
 Shows a single style in
depth of selection.
 Usually the largest
fixtures in the store.
 Usually placed in back
of store.
Feature Fixtures
 Used to highlight
categories.
 Hold fewer items.
 Best used as lead-in
fixtures.
 Also interspersed
throughout store to
add variety.
 Signature Fixtures
 One-of-a-Kind units.
 Positioned at store or department entrance.
 Reflects brand image
 Designed specifically for the store to catch
shoppers’ interest.
 Ways to Display
 Window Displays
 Interior Window Displays
 Wall Assortment Displays
 Focal Point/Aisle End Displays
 Window Displays
 Closed Back Window
 Open Back Window
 Straight Front Window
 Angled Front Window
 Arcade Front Window
 Corner Window
Window
Examples
 Other Display Methods
 InteriorWindows--create a scene inside the
store by grouping mannequins, props etc.
 Wall Cabinets--create “windows” by
showing merchandise on top.
 End of Aisle--displays assortment of
merchandise together for sale.
Display Examples
 Display Types
 One Item Display
 Line of Goods Display
 Related Merchandise Display
 Variety or Assortment Display
Display Types
Examples
 Display Settings
 Realistic
 Environmental
 Vignette/Semirealistic
 Fantasy
 Abstract
Display Settings