RM - Ch 16 - Store Layout, Design, and Visual Merchandising

grid layout

-easy to locate merchandise (used best when customers want to explore entire store) -does not encourage customers to explore store/ limits impulse buy (limited site lines to merchandise) - con -allows more merchandise to be displayed -cost efficient -used in grocery, discount, and drug stores pro: most amount of merchandise in least amount of space keeps costs down

Rebecca Minkoff

-seamless omni-channel experience in Soho store tripled sales - customers feel as though their experience is personalized - 30% of customers while in the fitting rooms request complementary items to try on with their previously selected items

visual merchandise: fixtures

1. straight rack 2. rounder 3. four way fixture 4. gondolas

objectives retailers must consider when designing a store

(1) implement their strategy (2) influence customer buying behavior (3) provide flexibility (4) control design and maintenance costs (5) meet legal requirements Because few store designs can achieve all of these objectives, managers make trade-offs among objectives,

Free-Form (Boutique) Layout

- fixtures and aisles arranged asymmetrically - provides an intimate, relaxing environment that facilitates shopping and browsing (pro) - pleasant relaxing ambiance doesn't come at a low cost - small store experience (con) - inefficient use of space (con) - more susceptible to shoplifting - salespeople can not view adjacent spaces (con) - used in specialty stores and upscale department stores

racetrack layout (loop)

- loop with a major aisle that has access to departments - draws customers around the store - provide different viewing angles and encourage exploration, impulse buying (pro) - used in department stores such as JCPenney's and Kohls

Target remodeled their stores

- more mannequins - more lighting increased sales

multichannel mirror functions

- scroll through curated look books of styled merchandise - order drinks to the sales floor - shop other product offerings aside from in-store inventory - increase or decrease brightness in the fitting room - request different sizes from sales associates on call - check out in the fitting room

increase sales on visits

Store design has a substantial effect on which products customers buy, how long they stay in the store, and how much they spend during a visit.

store atmospherics

The design of an environment through visual communications, lighting, colors, music, and scent to stimulate customers' perceptual and emotional responses and ultimately to affect their purchase behavior - color - lighting - scent - music

Store Design and Retail Strategy

The primary objective of store design is implementing the retailer's strategy Meets needs of target market Builds a LSCA Displays the store's image increase sales while controlling costs (keeping shoplifting down, save on utilities)

store layouts

To encourage customer exploration and help customers move through the stores - use a layout that facilitates a specific traffic pattern - provide interesting design elements *types of store layouts* - grid - racetrack - free form

digital signage

Visual Content delivered digitally through a centrally managed and controlled network and displayed on a LCD screen - superior in attracting attention - enhances store environment - provides appealing atmosphere - overcomes time - to - message hurdle - eliminates costs with printing, distribution and installing traditional signage

color

Warm colors (reds, oranges and yellows) - produce emotional, vibrant, hot, and active responses Cool colors (blues, greens and white) - have a peaceful, gentle, calming effect primary colors - fun, young, and energy earth tones (natural, organic) culturally bounded - Chinese: red= lucky - US: green = lucky

rounder fixture

aka bulk or capacity fixture sits on a pedestal smaller than a straight rack, holds maximum amount of merchandise easy to move - can turn into a mess - no frontal view found in most stores

four way fixture

aka feature fixture A fixture with two cross-bars that sit perpendicular to each other on a pedestal. holds a large amount of merchandise and allows customer to view entire garment - portable all merchandise must be of similar color or style on an arm harder to maintain used by fashion oriented apparel retailers

retailer's spend so much time and money on design

because it increases sales

color presentation/organization

bold merchandising For instance, Ralph Lauren stores often have entire collections in one color hue, all merchandised together. White House/Black Market women's apparel stores take color presentation to an extreme—most of its merchandise is black, white, or a combination of the two.

usage of signage and graphics

call to action - "buy, explore, enjoy, discover" (verbs!) category signage - identifies types of products and located near the goods promotional signage - relates to specific offers - sometimes in windows ("white sale") point of sale (POS) - near merchandise with prices and product information lifestyle images - creates moods that encourage customers to shop. reinforces retailer image (Great Clips) digital - growing (video in refrigerator)

within an arm's reach

coke's version: "to put a coke within arm's reach of every consumer in the world" candy by the check out cheese by the pasta syrup by the waffles limes by the corona

visual merchandising pt 2

consistency - displays - message and design simplicity - less packaging - better lighting - limited and purposeful imagery

promotional calendar

document that outlines the major promotional events that are planned at the beginning of the year needed to merchandise the store for the entire year (for the store and suppliers)

space management

involves three decisions: (1) allocating store space to merchandise categories and brands, (2) locating departments or merchandise categories in the store, and (3) determining the appropriate store size to determine how much floor or shelf space to allocate to merchandise: - the space within stores and on the stores' shelves are fixtures is a scare resource - productivity of allocated space (sales/square foot, sales/linear foot, GMROI) - merchandise inventory turnover - impact on store sales - display needs for the merchandise determining store size - bigger is not always better - improvements in supply chain management help stores decrease size but still provide inventory - stores benefit from less rent, fewer employees, lower payroll costs, gain access to new markets

gondolas fixture

island type of self-service counter with tiers of shelves, bins, or pegs versatile, used extensively but not exclusively folded clothes - can't see everything - can turn into a mess

vertical merchandising

merchandise is presented vertically using walls and high gondolas. vertical display generates more sales than similar merchandise with a diagonal display. Customers shop like they read—from left to right, going down each column, top to bottom. organize to follow the eye's natural movement. Many grocery stores put national brands at eye level and store brands on lower shelves because customers scan from eye level down. display merchandise in bold vertical bands of an item.

item presentation

most common technique of organizing stock is by style or item. Discount stores, grocery stores, hardware stores, and drugstores employ this method for nearly every category of merchandise, as do many apparel retailers. customers expect to find all items in the same location. Arranging items by size is a common method of organizing easy to locate

digital shelf strips signage

motion interactivity online dynamic pricing promotions interactive touch screen omni-channel with retailer website

price lining

occurs when retailers offer a limited number of predetermined price points and/or price categories within another classification that are merchandised together. helps customers easily find merchandise at the price they wish to pay. For instance, men's dress shirts may be organized into three groups selling for $49, $69, and $99

location of merchandise within a category

plan-o-gram - a diagram that shows how and where specific SKU's should be placed on retail shelves or displays to increase customer purchases and maximize category profit - category management tool retailers and vendors are constantly using research to determine which planogram maximizes sales, margin, and profitability

cross- merchandising

promoting a product in one form to sell it in some other form Nilla wafers and banana pudding - needs more coupons and recipes to better sell it

starter gap

so everyone is comfortable to grab one won't be afraid to mess up the beautiful display displays need to be safe and shoppable taking a chip to the dip before people get to the party so no one is afraid to be the first

visual merchandising

the presentation of a store and its merchandise in ways that will attract the attention of potential customers AT&T store of the future - 40% sales increase - more open - checkout on iPads

shopper marketing

the use of displays, coupons, product samples, and other brand communications to influence shopping behavior in a store pictures of haircuts at a beauty salon how to increase purchase decisions at the point of sale

Idea-Orientation Presentation

50% of women get their ideas for clothes from store displays or window shopping Present merchandise based on a specific idea or the image of the store Encourage multiple complementary purchases - women's fashion - furniture combined in room settings - super bowl grocery store display

Prime Locations for Merchandise

Highly trafficked areas - Store entrances (strike zones) - Near checkout counter Highly visible areas - End aisle - Displays look at not just what they bought but what they bought with it (impacts sales) put the product in the proximity of the customers - if there are no fish then no point of the worm being there

merchandise presentation techniques

Idea-Oriented Presentation Style/Item Presentation Color Organization Price Lining ($39/$49/$59) Vertical Merchandising- ribbon Tonnage Merchandising - large quantities of merchandise displayed together ("stack it high and watch it fly") - implies popularity and on sale - low price Frontal Presentation - display as much of the product as possible to catch the customer's eye

location of merchandise categories

Impulse Merchandise- near heavily trafficked areas Demand/Destination Merchandise- back left-hand corner of the store Special merchandise - lightly trafficked areas (glass pieces, women's lingerie) Adjacencies - cluster complimentary merchandise next to each other (shirts and ties, seafood and wine, paint and brushes)

first position - left to right

want to placed in the beginning/first position of the aisle for the customer to see yours first before competitors

shelf placement

• High Margin - At your shoulder • Low Margin - At your ankles super premium is high value is low

straight rack fixture

A type of fixture that consists of a long pipe suspended with supports going to the floor or attached to a wall. pro: easy to grab, see everything, logical, can hold a lot con: can't see front of item, cannot effectively feature specific styles/colors often found in discount and off-price apparel stores

Legal Considerations

Americans with disability act (ADA) - "reasonable access" 32 inch wide pathways lower most cash wraps and fixtures so they can be reached by a person in a wheelchair make bathroom and fitting room fully accessible

displays store's image

Apple - clean, sophisticated, high tech Bass Pro - fish tanks, animals on walls - feels like you're on a hunting trip