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For this assignment I will be writing a report where I will be analysing and evaluating the impact of different display techniques that retail stores use for their visual merchandising both inside and out. To do this I will be finding out the different ways display techniques can be used in stores as well as how they are used. After this I will be explaining how legal and safety regulations affect a stores display and visual merchandising techniques.

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Visual merchandising is where businesses use interesting and good-looking sales displays to captivate and engage customers in order for them to boost their sales. They do this to show the benefits of the products and services and make them look more attractive and appealing to the customer to tempt them into buying a certain product. It involves the use of lighting, backgrounds in windows, interiors of shops, props, and a lot of creativity.

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Light is an example of a visual merchandising technique and it is a very important aspect of making a product or service look good as it highlights key features of what is being sold, to instantly attract the attention of a customer. They do this because the same product can look different when it's in different light, meaning they can make a standard product look three times more attractive just by the light that it is under. To do this they can either use natural lighting or their own lighting.

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This is a picture that I took in New Look in the back of the store where I found a great example of how they have used light to make their products stand out. The use of the spotlights mean that light can directed straight onto the product making it brighter than parts of the store that do not have products in that area meaning they can focus on using the light to make their products as attractive as possible.

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Fixtures are another type of display techniques. They are any pieces of equipment or furniture used to display a product or service. Some examples of fixtures are display cases, shelves, counters, easels or tables.

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Tesco is an example of a store that regularly uses free standing displays in order to sell specific new items, that tend to be of small sizes so that they can be placed anywhere in the store. The display is colourful and uses the brand of the product so people instantly knew what the product is.

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This is one of the most important ways a retailer can use visual merchandising, as there are a variety of things they can think about using like the theme, a specific promotion, season or if there is a promotion across the whole of the business. For example, clothing stores separate outdoor, sportswear, work and casual clothes in their stores. However, a bed store would separate their beds by size such as having single sized beds in one place and king sized in another.

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This is a picture that I took in Tesco, and it is a prime example of product segmentation. Tesco, is a huge supermarket offering a range of different types of products and their clothing department is clearly separated from other products that are different by using another type of design. For example, the floor and lighting are different to the rest of the store showing their use of product segmentation.

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Stores can use the time of the year as an advantage to help boost profits using visual merchandising. For example, when it's Halloween stores such as Tesco or Asda will use spooky decorations and pumpkins and almost every store will use Christmas decorations like lights, Christmas trees or tinsel etc. Furthermore, big events could be used as a theme like the World Cup with England flags or having strawberries on display in the summer during Wimbledon.

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From this picture that I took in Tesco's, it is clear to see that they have set out a whole aisle as a Halloween theme by using the colour purple which is associated with the seasonal event as well as having pictures of cartoon vampires. The packaging of the products also keep the purple theme and the products themselves are to do with the theme of 'scary' so people know if they want to buy Halloween sweets or costumes then they know what part of the store they need to go to.

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Mainly clothing retailers use this method of visual merchandising as it is when customers are being persuaded to buy whole collections of items such as accessories that complement the main item that is being sold such as, belts, shoes or jewelry.

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This is where stores can use shelves to repeatedly display the same products by who the product looks and what brands they are. This is commonly used in spas, beauty saloons or clothing shops by displaying handbags and shoes.

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New Look is an example of a store that uses repetition of their products to make sure the customer has more chance of seeing the product on display. They use colour-coding as well as they have red colour handbags on one shelf and dark grey coloured ones on the one below so make the store more organised.

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This visual merchandising techniques is completed by the use of fixtures. It is where a shop will use a table in an open space on the shop and display the same or similar products in a triangle formation with taller products in the centre and lower, smaller products on the outer part of the table.

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This is a very good technique to use if shops are able to do this, because customers may have a preferred brand of something that they like, so they need to be able to find it. This also creates a good brand message encouraging customers to buy a range of products that are the same brand. A good example of where this is used is in supermarkets where they will display the same brands of cereal together.

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Below is an example of how Morrisons use the brandage visual merchandising technique. This picture shows that they group togehter certain cereals by who manufactures and supplies them. it can be seen that kelloggs are two sections on the middle shelf and Nestle have their section on the top shelf. This helps the customer easily find their preferred brand or flavour cereal.

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Stores have to carefully decide where they will place their products as they have to be in the best place in order to attract the customers attention. Some best places that a store will place their products are at the entrance of the store, end of aisles, high traffic aisles where there will be a lot of customers walking through and at the bottom of stairs if the shop as multiple floors. Not all shops do this because they always want to maximise their sales, meaning that they will intentionally put promotion products at the back of the store so that customers will be encouraged to buy similar products.

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Closed windows - These are normal windows with a large panes of glass at the front, a solid back wall sometimes with a background picture, two side walls with a door included. They resemble a room of sorts to help give the customer an idea of how they can use the products in their own house.

Open-Back windows - This is the type of window that has not got a back wall behind it but it can have side walls. Stores like this type of window as it allows the customer to see products inside the shop from outside.

Focal/Angled windows - This is where shops have their windows angled back to the entry of their store. However, this isn't a very preferred type of window as many high street shops do not like them so they are being replaced because both shops and customers think that products need to by displayed so they are parallel to the glass as it looks more attractive like that

No windows - There are only a few styles of shops that have no windows. An example of a shop that does are arcades, because customers already know what will be in the arcade. This means that they have extra space to use decorations to make their shop look appealing to customers or just people walking by to encourage them to go inside.

Corner windows - Shops that are on the corner or not attached to another shop are able to use this type of window as it is where the pane of glass wraps around the corner of the building.

Showcase window - This particular style of window is used by shops that sell smaller products or services such as watch stores, so that customers can walk by and have a look and if they see one they like they can go in and have a look at more or even buy it because they were attracted by it in the window.

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Every shop must consider all of the legislations and safety factors when visual merchandising. This is not just to help the shop out and keep their credibility but to ensure that the safety and welfare of everyone inside the shop will be safe including employees and customers.

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When shops display their products and services you are most likely to find the price on them. However, shops are not able to do this all the time and have to find a different way to display the prices of the product. For example, supermarkets can't always but the price on the actual product itself so they have to display it under it on a self so the customer can see the price easily. Furthermore, ticket positioning is also important as it is where the shop as to make sure that they are operating legally and making it easy enough for the customer to see where the price for a certain product is so they are not misled. This benefits the shop big time as a customer will not make the purchase if they do not know where the price is, only if they really need the product they might buy.

The legislation that this falls under is the Price Marking Order 2004. This legislation states that there is an obligation for the retailer to show the price of all products in pounds sterling and the customer must be able to see clearly what the price is. Information about the product such as the quantity of items inside, size, origin and use by date must also be displayed clearly on the ticket.

Another legislation that links to this is the Trade Descriptions Acts 1968 and 1972 which is basically the same as the legislation above where retailers must not mislead their customers in anyway especially by the way they are describing the products and services they offer or by what they do. They also need to make sure that all information show about the product is up to date.

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It is vital that visual merchandisers consider the health and safety of their displays for the benefit of everyone who goes inside the shop. This is one of the first things that they think of when planning the whole layout and environment of the store.

To ensure display safety, products have to be at a certain height so that they are completely safe. For example a store wouldn't put heavy items or items that require two hands to lift above waist height in case they were to fall onto of a customer trying to pick them up or even for an employee trying to put them on the shelf. Shops can place items higher than waist height like in supermarkets or clothing stores put they need to make sure that they are light enough and can be lifted using one hand so that if they just want to have a closer look at them they can in a safe way.

Additionally, displays must remain stable and hold the weight of the product or products that it is holding. They also have to ensure that the weight that is on the display is evenly distributed and if there are any parts of the display that an be moved then they must be secured down. The space around the display must be open enough so that it can be made sure that there will not be any harm to employees or customers interacting with the display.

Supermarkets sell food and drink products, meaning the places where each food item is being sold must be in the correct place to make sure that they do not go off. Certain foods need to be kept at a certain temperature, so these supermarkets have to think about hygiene requirements of health and safety that are related to food. Storage requirements can also link to dangerous items such as fireworks that need to be kept locked away and kept in display cases.

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This is simply putting a label on the product to give all of the related and necessary information. This can ultimately mean that labelling the product can persuade the customer to buy it because they know more about it. For example, a customer isn't going to buy more than what they need to save money, that's why the quantity of the product needs to be displayed, this can even be linked to the weight of the product. Another reason why labelling needs tone used is the size. This is more linked to selling clothes as T-shirts labelled small, medium or large, so customers know what size will fit them. The origin of the product needs to be displayed as well because customers might want to know where it has come from so that if they are concerned about the environment in which they are from, then they can make the choice whoever to buy it or not.

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Every store has another similar store that it competes with, which is why visual merchandising is vital for a store to do so that they can separate themselves from everyone else and make themselves stand out to be more attractive. Retailers have found that customers will almost always make a purchase through their emotions so they try and make a connection with them. A lot of thinking then has to go into this, for example retailers have to think about who will be buying the product, so they will know how the customer will feel when they pick up the product.

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Tangible techniques can come in a wide range of forms such as locations of stores, designs of stores, signage, fixtures, windows, displays or packaging.Retailers have to know how to use these different ways to visual merchandise in an appropriate and effective way to appeal to the customer and persuade them to make the purchase.

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LOCATION
It is important that a business is located in a good place as it could mean failure if they are not able to find. For example, if a business is located in a not well known place or poor location then a customer will be less likely to go there even if the business is better than the one in the good location.

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DESIGN
Design is what is going to get the attention of the customer to both encourage them to go into the store as well as pick up a product because they like how it has been designed. Retailers have to be sure that the aesthetics and details to the store are appropriate and linked to what products and services that they are trying to sell to also make sure that they are misleading customers into thinking the product is something that it is actually not. An example of this is a that a low end clothing shop might use basic designs and a high end clothing store might use expensive decorations and unique designs to show wealthy people that is the place to go.

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STORE WINDOWS
This links to decoration of a store itself as good windows at the front of a store will make the customer notice it and stand out by also using some products as part of the decoration to make it look good. An example of a company that uses store windows to engage customers to maximise profits is Harrods who have an unveiling of their Christmas themed store window entrance.

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TRANSITION ZONES
These are used at the front entrance of a store and can show promotions and special offers of certain items to customers are gold they came into the shop. Also, by doing this, a shop can start the theme by having decorations as soon as people walk in. This however can sometimes be a hindrance as no one will stop to read something at the transition zone as they haven't even gone inside yet.

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FIXTURE POSITIONING
Customers notice what is inside of the shop, too many fixtures could make the shop look cluttered and not a nice place to walk around. As well as this, retailers need to have the right height of fixtures as customers will likely buy things that they can see at eye level because they have just caught a glimpse of it without meaning to look for it, they wouldn't be able to do this if the product what on the fixture to high. This is why in supermarkets sweets are placed lower on shelves so children can see, this also goes for children's cereals.

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SIGNAGE
Customers want to shop in the easiest way possible, not just by located the products but paying for them as well. This means that if a customer feels like it is too difficult to obtain and purchase products they will go somewhere else that is easier to do so. Stores with multiple floors need to make sure they do this so customers will know what type of products are on what floor.

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DISPLAYS
These are physical objects that are located in different areas of a shop to promote products effectively. Using displays can show that a store is organised and a customer can find special offers more easily.

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IN STORE ANNOUNCEMENTS
These are messages from the shop itself to tell customers if there are any new products out, if certain products have been reduced in price or of any special offers or promotions that are only on for a limited amount of time. This can be done by having an employee talking through a speaker so everyone inside the store knows about them, or messages on signs or decorations around the store and outside the store to pull people in.

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PACKAGING DESIGNS
A lot of market research and trends has to be completed so visual merchandisers know how to design the product packaging as it is part of the shopping experience, because a customer will not by something that doesn't look good or low quality.

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Intangible techniques help create a certain atmosphere for customers to help make that connection between shops and customers by understanding their feelings, their subconscious minds and their perception of how they see things in their own way.

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ATMOSPHERICS
Atmospherics are ways of showing how you should feel when buying and using the products in a subtle way. For example these methods can be using music, lighting and mirrors to reflect light around the whole room.

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VISUAL EFFECTS
This is the way customers will actual view the products and create an opinion on them. for example colours will interest customers and using brighter colours will attract attention to people, some colours may even make the customer feel more calm and relaxed when shopping.

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SENSUAL ENVIRONMENT
This specific method of getting through to customers feels is important as our senses influence the decisions that we make which manipulate the buying behaviour of the customer. Examples of sensual environments are taste, touch, sight, sound, temperature and even what you smell.

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Technological techniques is a great way of getting more of a message across to your customer about the product they are interested in. This can be more effective than signs around the store as customers find it easier and more interested to use technology as long as it is easy enough for them to use without any assistance.

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Electronic displays are used to bring the customers attention to them in order for the shop to broadcast a certain message, or even a slideshow of multiple different messages. For example, they could do this through the use of TV screens. Messages can also be changed a lot more easily without wasting more materials which also benefits stores at the same time. Waiting areas a good place to put electronic displays as it will give customers more time to read all of the necessary information whilst they wait.

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These are used especially when there is a new product out to give the customer a chance to see what the product or service will offer them. this is usual done in store for short periods of time to give customers a chance to see what they are and what they do, just to make sure they are being noticed.

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Some stores have iPads or other tablets around their stores to offer additional information on a product if a customer really needs it. They can also be used so a customer can call an employee to them for help and assistance making their shopping experience a lot easier. Examples of stores that are most likely to use touchscreens are travel agencies, stores like Argos or technology stores.

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These are bar codes storing a lot of information, so that when customers scan them on their phones, they can get a wider range of information on the product as it takes you to a website. QR codes are normally found on the back of a products packaging.

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An example of a store that uses a closed window display that I have found is H&M. As you can see they use a basic but effective design as they use bright lights and white walls so that customers can be attracted to the display even at night.

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Visual merchandising has to always be done with coordination and a very good example of this is colour coordination. This can like with the previous mentioned technique as it can go with a story that is trying to be told. Clothing stores can be used as a prime example of colour coordination as they often use opposite ends of the colour wheel where there are whole outfits displayed. As well as this a Florist would use this technique when selling flowers because they use a range of shades in just one colour as customers are interested in the texture.

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A store that I have found uses colour coordination is H&M, they use this so their clothes look more appeal to the customer and do this appropriately instead of putting different bright colours together. The reason why this works well is because the colours white, black and dark red go well together and could encourage a customer buy all of them items as they know how to match the items.

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How River Island and Tesco use Psychological Techniques

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How River Island and Tesco use Psychological Techniques

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River Island and Tesco are completely different type of stores selling different products. This means that some of their psychological techniques will differ in order to effectively impact the customers feelings and emotions. For example music is used differently in the two shops. As mentioned previously, music is an atmospheric psychological technique and it is used to put the customer in a certain mood. Tesco will always be getting customers based on their low priced products meaning music is less likely to determine whether or not a customer will come back, whereas music will impact River Island as the music they play reflects on the clothes that they sell as people want to buy the trendiest and most fashionable products and river island creates this brand image of fashionable by the music they play in their shops and by putting customers in a certain mood.

Another example of a similar psychological method both stores use that are slightly different from each other is the inside design of their products and payment methods. As Tesco is a massive supermarket, it means that a customer will have to venture all the way inside the store and walk past hundreds of products that they might not have been looking for but have been attracted to and then when they want to pay they have to walk all the way to the entrance to pay again. This is so Tesco can get you to go through the whole store to get to places so customers are likely to purchase extra products that they might not have known about. however, whilst Tesco have their tills at the front of the store, river island have their tills at the back of the store. this is so that as soon as a customer walks in they can see the whole shop and displays showing off clothes in hope that they will find more items that they originally planned to buy.

Overall both businesses use the same types of psychological techniques but differ in order to be appropriate to their type of market in order to successfully manipulate customers to effectively increase profits.

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How River Island and Tesco use Technological Techniques

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How River Island and Tesco use Technological Techniques

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More and more businesses are using technology in their stores to make a customers shopping experience easier to encourage them to shop there again. Although they are two different types of business both Tesco and River Island use technological techniques for their visual merchandising. River Island use technology to help customers find what they are looking and what they have in stock. They do this by teaming up with Google so customers can go online and find the nearest River Island store. Tesco also use technological techniques to give customers a unique shopping experience by using their own barcode and QR code scanners so customers can pick up a product and scan it on their phone to pay for it. As well as this, they have self checkouts where the customer uses an interactive screen to scan and purchase the products without having to wait at a till for an employee to do it for them.

Overall, both River Island and Tesco use technological techniques to make customers have more information about products so they can find out where it was manufactured or what is in it, or even how much stock they have of that product in a specific store before a customer even goes in. As well as this, they use technology so it is easier for customers to pay for the products. This works well for businesses as the less hassle a customer has, the more likely they will come back again.

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How visual merchandising is affected by legal and safety regulations

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How visual merchandising is affected by legal and safety regulations

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Visual merchandisers always have to consider legal and safety regulations when designing and setting up any type of display and carry out risk assessments. It is important to carry out risk assessments when using visual merchandising to see what potential dangers there are to any customers or employees when walking past the displays. This means that if they think the visual merchandising displays are too dangerous then they can't use them as they have a duty to protect their customers. As well as this legal regulations affect visual merchandising as businesses must make sure they are not misleading their customers by display false information, no information, or not clearly not displaying prices next to product. Overall, this means that if businesses do not follow set safety and legal legislation then the visual merchandising could give the business a poor brand name which can decrease profits for the company.