VISUAL MERCHANDISE AND ITS EFFECT ON CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR -CASE STUDYInvestigating the influence of visual merchandising stimuli within the retail store environment on customer perceptions and responses

ASHISH TANEJA

BACHLOR AND BUSINESS ADMINITRATION (B.B.A)

EDUCOMP RAFFLES HIGHER EDUCATION LIMITED

SUBJECT TEACHER :- KASHIKA SUD SETHI(Marketing Professor)

COLLEGE MENTOR :- MR AMIT KUMAR AGGARWAL

Acknowledgement

It gives me a great pleasure to acknowledge the assistance and contribution of a number of individual towards the effort. I would like to thank the EDUCOMP RAFFLES HIGHER EDUCATION LIMITED and department of BBA (semester 4) for providing me with a platform to achieve my goals .Special thanks to the course co-ordinator of the department Mr .Amit kumar Aggarwal for allowing me to work on a project of my choice. I take this opportunity to thank KASHIKA SUD SETHI (subject

teacher) ,Visual Merchandiser at pantaloons for his valuable guidance, closely supervising this work over the past few weeks and helpful suggestions .I would also like to thanks company employee for their great help and support truly in the progression and completion of the internship program

CONTENT Acknowledgement 2

Company profile 4

Introduction brief 5 - 6

Window display 7

Layout organisation 8

Coordination 9

Signage 10

Lightning 11

Research finding & analysis 12

Merchandise colour 13 – 14

Presentation 15 - 17

Fixture & material 18 - 19

Interaction between elements 20

Conclusion 21

Bibliography 23

Pantaloons

• Pantaloons’, the newly acquired fashion brand of Aditya Birla group has been a preferred choice of today generation. Since its launch in 1997.Having a fashion spread of 28000 sq.ft.brand has 81 store across 40 cities which has redefined the style quotient of the apparel Indian industry Pantaloons

• Pantaloons Fashion & Retail, one of the top clothing brands in the world, is India's fastest growing premium lifestyle company. With innovative designs, concepts and products, the company brings the latest trends in fashion and clothing styles to the apparel market.

• Pantaloons, previously controlled by the Future Group, has been recently taken over by Aditya Birla Nuvo Limited, a US $4 billion premium diversified conglomerate and India's largest manufacturer of linen fabric.

Introduction briefFashion retailers nowadays have been developed into higher existence. New players emerge in the market to satisfy customer demand by placing themselves in attractive shopping malls Fashion retailers could not depend on products, price, promotion, and place to win the competition among the fashion retailers. Visual merchandising becomes tools and opportunities to differentiate them with other competitors. Visual merchandising as the total store environment including window display, layout, coordination, signage, and lighting are managed by the retailers to attract customer to enter their store and expected to do a purchase in their store. The objective of this research is to focus on effect of visual stimulation toward consumer behaviour toward visual merchandising in retail store. The study was executed in pantaloons store. Questionnaire regarding visual merchandising is filled by some people age 18 – 25 year. The result indicated that visual merchandising – window display gives the highest effect related to purchase intention compare to other visual merchandising element .There are three phrases applied to elaborate the consumer’s reactions of visual merchandising display. The phases are categorized into stages of engagement of the consumers while they engage the retail stores, from “attraction "of display, to triggering the “approach "and finally deciding to purchase upon the “browse "action. These features revolve from the central theory of customer’s psychological response, developed by the fundamental behaviour results of “approach or avoidance "reactions (Mehrabian and Russell, 1974; Donovan and Rossiter, 1982; Donavan et al., 1994).

• Stage 1 Attract

• The attractiveness serves as a standard to evaluate the first impression of the store display and having the close connection between the affective responses on the overall visual display. The stimulus here triggers the attention that stops the consumer from passing by, focusing on the effort of a visually spontaneous impression.

• Stage 2 Approach

• The approach or avoid feature serves as the phase of initiated action of interchanges between displaying objects to another. The decision to approach relies on the positive feelings generated through the combination of features.

• Stage 3 Browse

• Browsing is the final stage of the phases of engagement; this action is dependent upon the positive collective experience of different stages in visual merchandise. This activity is also the crucial stage of consumers to decide for possible purchasing intentions.

Window display• As retailing fashion industry, window display is

important visually communication technique and marketing tool that has big impact to customers first ‟impression of store image and customer decision's to enter a store when they do not set out with specific purpose of purchasing a certain item in a store. The research indicated that the consumers looking for store image and product fit information from window displays were more likely to enter store than those looking for merchandise, promotion, and fashion information from window display. In terms of purchase intentions, the customers who see the product information and fit information from window display tended to purchase product in the store.

Layout and OrganizationRetail fashion store offers route in store to make the customer has no difficulties to find their way in store and finding the item they looked for. In-store traffic flow becomes the important role for the retail facility success (Hui et al. 2007). In fast fashion concept, layout and display features were determined as being a key communication due to flexibility for change offered by changeable and alteration display (Barnez, Lea-Greenwood, 2009). Clear route had potential make customer browse in a store. Not crowded aisle space will create enjoyable and pleasant feeling to customers while they are in store activity. It is important for a retail store to improve customer traffic flow and on-shelf availability. If the product that customers looking for is not ‟available on the store, the sale is potentially may be lost (Tlapana, 2009

Coordination A recent study found significant effects for merchandise coordination on product evaluation and purchase intention in the apparel retail store setting (Lam & Mukherjee, 2005). Well coordination on apparel items induced higher aesthetic response toward two complementary products as a whole (Enjoyable, nice-looking, pleasing, attractive, good appearance, and beautiful) than poorly coordinated items. The previous study also revealed that the social impressions (Socially acceptable, fashionable, popular, high in status, desired impression, and approved by others) of apparel items were influenced by the coordination of apparel items (Ha, 2006).

Signage• Lea- Greenwood (2009) describes signage as a crucial

element of visual communication as it provides a “short-cut” to communicate relating to product in a store. Signage in the retail environment may fall into two categories, the first being institutional and directional, fixed signage includes more permanent signs indicating areas and facilities of the store for example, fitting rooms, exits, ladies wear, pay station, etc. The signage associated with alerting customers to fast fashion is representative of the second category that includes signage that is more flexible and has immediacy in providing information and promoting purchase. According to Colborne, 1982, effective signs identify departments, describe the merchandise and its price, inform customers of special sales event, alert customers to advertised merchandise, and determined the theme of special window and interior display.

Lighting• Lighting is one of major contributing factors of visual

merchandising in retail setting. It creates a distinctive effect on particular product displayed. The Park and Farr's research (2007) revealed that the color quality of lighting in a retail store environment such as color temperature and color appearance affects consumers ‟emotional states and the behavioural intention of approach-avoidance. Lighting contributes to the mood, arousal, and consumer behaviour (Quartier et al. 2008). Light can draw attention to products, under bright lighting, products seems to more touched and examined that under „dim lighting (Laguisa & Perney, 1974). ‟Summers and Hebert (2001) conducted consumers ‟time spent in the store is longer with the presence of additional accent lighting in the display. Boyce et al. (2004) has measured the lighting aspect in the supermarket. The research based on customer opinions has found that lighting could make the store look brighter and live, more comfortable, and more pleasing to the eye.

Research Findings and Analysis• An empirical research generated findings upon these

topics and were explored using open questions of three stages of consumer behaviour and four visual merchandising elements from experience sampling and interviews of the shoppers in metropolitan cities and retail practitioners

Merchandise color

• The color assortment of the display merchandise always makes great impression and immediate impact on most consumers. Regards to the merchandise color affecting consumer perception was mentioned in the prior research. “It was clear that the use of strongly contrasting colours or what was deemed to be and uncoordinated colour arrangement was found to be unpleasant.”(2003, Ward)However, it has changed due to the market trend. Retailers tend to display with variety of colors in order to attract the attention of potential consumers.

• The orderliness of the main visual presentation is usually the key of our display. However, it is a must to have at least three colors shown on our main wall. It always attracts more customers (30, boutique manager, Bottega Veneta).

• We did a real experiment in New York city. The boutique displayed with more colors(not necessary with more product assortments) made five times more sales than the others (37, product manager, Tumi).

• I usually purchased my scarf in Louis Vuitton. But they are like Zara now; all scarves are not real cash mere anymore, only with more color selections. It is a disappointment. The material like this has no need for a rainbow of color. The bad color ruined the whole thing (62, housewife).

• For certain textile of merchandise, the more color of the products may give customers the impression of mass production goods or lower price merchandise. In the leather goods market, special color usually comes for limited edition

goods for specific classic design or collection with much higher price value. It is evident from the interview of the boutique manager that merchandising color was an outcome of colors as a medium of achieving “attraction” from passing consumers. The three color wall décor explain in Bottega Veneta retail store proves to perform a visual stimulus for consumers to look twice before passing by

Presentation• Consumers not only evaluate from the view point of

preferences on the aesthetic content, but there is a strong need to look for the possibility of fit with the perceived images in the visual displays. It is without doubt that retailers create visually pleasing displays and friendly shopping area, but there is Consumer Behavior Advisor: Shyh Nan, Liu Author: Monica Wang, I-Tsang (David) Tsai

• discrepancy between the expectations of shoppers and the concept designed by visual merchandiser as shown in the following quotes:

• Those mannequins are strange to me. It’s all metal. They look very futuristic. I don’t see how I will look good in this style (25, office lady).

• I guess not many girls have body shapes similar to the mannequins in the window. They look so unreal(28, graduate school student).

• It reminds me of the horror movie when I see these kinds of mannequin parts. Why can’t they display the whole mannequin like a perfect human shape?(30, elementary school teacher)

• However, there are positive responses to some of the headless mannequins. It was found the headless mannequins allow the shoppers to imagine themselves into the display with the garments .Also, some interviewees feel it is rather easier to shop stockings, socks and winter accessories with only legs or hands display. They view those mannequin parts as a tool for

them to select the pattern and texture efficiently without damaging the goods. Thus, it decreases the psychological defense of having surreal feeling or uncomfortable feeling on mannequin parts

• Mannequins is the best and the most common way to display a total look. Exaggerated gestures and body shapes capture customers’ attention immediately. However, the response may not be positive. The mannequins are easily project eda gender differences and new-or-start-item feeling to the products. Also, it is usually the focal point that draws customers into the store.

• The gorgeous mannequin drew our attention to the window and made us stop and take a closer look. We want to go in there and ask for the price. (44, manager; unknown age, housewife)

• The mannequins on top of the display shelve usually give a better presentation of the garment which folded under. However, it took much more display spaces to place mannequins; visual merchandiser uses it for certain functional usage or seasonal total look presentation as a main focal point in the shop.

• The merchandise we select for the mannequins are very exclusive. It’s very expensive for each of the piece and we don’t want to move it that often. The key items for the season will definitely on the mannequins Hanging, folding and rail display are very common in retail market. Hanging is equally attractive as mannequins. It shows the garments completely with every detail. Large shopping area usually chooses to hang multiple merchandises on

each of the cabinet in order to show the total look with multiple goods. It increases the sales easily by styling with hanging techniques.

• We don’t have that much space here! It is only a small shop. We can only afford one mannequin in our window. However, we can hang our first garment on each rail in order to show the pattern and the look we created! It usually sells the fastest (26, boutique owner).

• In context of the three phases of consumer behaviour the mannequin presentation technique proves to move consumer greatly in all stages. It is evident to suggest the exaggerated type of mannequins should be mostly utilized as the “attract ”stage of the visual merchandising experience, due to the effectiveness of generating dialogues between audiences. While previous papers(Kerfoot, Davies, Ward 2003)had suggested disconnected mannequins tend to act as a turn off, the interview present an different perspective. Owing to the increase range of various assortments specialized fashion products incline for specific exhibit platforms in conveying the ideal perception. Thus detached mannequin parts could serve effective for “browse” stage to bridge with their consumer. In addition, if these mannequin parts have other means of surface finish it could also function too as an “attract”for accessories display

• Yes! I like those mannequins on top of this shelve because it is too difficult to open all the t-shirts and see the graphic. I think the sales person will hate me doing that. (24, student)

• The merchandise we select for the mannequins are very exclusive

Fixture and Material• Huge numbers of responses were generated in relation

to fixturing, especially in relation to materials used. The most common fixture in retail is shelving and rail. Shelving can deliver the most visual impact by creating the complete theme presentation in accordance with the consumer eye level. However, rail can present the max quantity of merchandise on the floor.

• We always present our main selling product on the main shelving. There arenine boxes. The star items always display at the eye level which is the three boxes in the middle. Our new customers usually walk in because of this wall(30, boutique manager, Bottega Veneta)

• Most of the tiny shops or boutique in this area use railing bar to hang all the clothes. I actually find it annoying and inconvenient. I can only see lot of sleeves and the side of the garment.(23, college student)

• I’ve shopped in this shop for five years. I didn’t notice any changes in this shop until this year. I feel it is much brighter and open. As usual, I feel very much welcomed and comfortable in this environment; but I do feel the luxurious touch of the watches when I see this beautiful wooden cabinets and this chic glass display tower

• Regarding the use of glass and wood as presentation material, there was great deal of positive feedbacks. Retailers found these two material shard to maintain also cost much higher than other usual display materials. However, in the watch and jewelry industry, the glass cube or glass cabinet is one of the required

display fixture and material. Fixture and materials are detailed features only noticeable within a certain distance. Therefore, these attributes should most suitably fit in the last phase of consumer interaction “browse”to highlight the main products presented by these materials, in anticipating the holistic value of the product to appear greater than usual.

The interaction between the elements• Consumer interaction with display elements is

important to stimulate positive involvement. For example, color and material texture screate strong symbolic messages followed by merchandising props and product styles. The warm color tones such as red, and the cool color tones such as black, navy and violet, project a strong image of femininity. While for the material textures such as lace, silk, satin and chiffon are viewed as feminine fabrics and evoke a strong image of femininity. The combination of prior perceptions of mannequins, color and material, create a very strong visual impact on consumers where they felt that the display composition is too over whelming as well. For example, the consumers perceived the public would not prefer overly sexually driven image. When displays have these elements and use them as focal points to draw consumer attention, it may lead to a negative response.

Conclusion• In conclusion, the three stages of interaction between

consumer behaviour and four features of visual display corresponds in rendering an idealistic atmosphere where visual merchandising displays induce purchasing intentions of consumers. There is a degree of usability between each characteristics and should be ingeniously manipulated within the retail display to maximize the outcomes of these apparatus. Behind this interview analysis, we can see some contradictory results presented by previous authors, which not all results may fit for every situation. Future preparation of related researches should focus on simulating certain retail stores with specific regulations of market segmentation for further study.

NOTE - As appoint of entrepreneur what is taste of a consumer regarding each and every matter whether it is shopping or we can say in our business term to manipulate the consumer .

Learning

At pantaloons Dcn I’ve learned many things as an internee, this was the first time when I got an exposure to industry and those will be my best industrial experience forever .The things which I learned during this visual merchandising internship are as follows:

ENTRANCE DISPLAYI’ve learned how to do the entrance display according to the theme and how it should stand differently and also play your displays around colours that pops and captures the customer’s attention. The entrance display should be attractive and it should always be changed in a week or two.

SECTION DISPLAYIn section display the merchandise stock should be kept neatly, iron the merchandise before display on the mannequin, replenish merchandise time to time, colour blocking on the shelves and fixtures and to maintain fixture layout. These were my learning in the section display.

MANNEQUINS DRESSUPAs dressing up the mannequins the merchandise should always be ironed and should also complement each other.MATERIAL HANDLINGIn material handling I got to learn many things that are eco solvent vinyl pasting, handling signage fixtures (like acrylic frames, clips, rodstands), different signage print out sand use off sun boards.SALEDuring the sale period I got to learn that the customers are always in hurry, so use signage not only to identify the brand but also to

category. This will help customer to pin point what they need & inspire additional purchase.