Chapter 17 – Store Layout, Design, and Visual Merchandising
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• Organizing stock by style or item is
probably the most common presentation
technique.
merchandise, from nuts and bolts to apparel.
3. Color Presentation
• This is a bold merchandising technique
where products, especially seasonal fashion
goods, are displayed at the same place.
4. Price Lining
• Price lining is the technique when retailers
offer a limited number of predetermined
price points within a classification.
5. Vertical Merchandising
• Another common way of organizing
merchandise is vertical merchandising.
Merchandise is presented vertically using
walls and high gondolas.
6. Tonnage Merchandising
• As the name implies, tonnage
merchandising is a display technique in
which large quantities of merchandise are
displayed together to enhance and reinforce
a store’s price image.
7. Frontal Presentation
• Frontal presentation is a method of
displaying merchandise in which the retailer
exposes as much of the product as possible
Chapter 17 – Store Layout, Design, and Visual Merchandising
to catch the customer’s eye.
lighting, colors, music, and scent to
their purchase behavior.
V. Atmospherics
A. Lighting
• Lighting in a store is used to highlight
merchandise, sculpt space, and capture a
mood or feeling that enhances the store’s
image.
• Lighting can also be used to downplay less
attractive features that cannot be changed.
See PPT 17-38
strategically through the store.
1. Highlighting Merchandise
• A good lighting system helps create a sense
of excitement in the store. At the same
time, lighting must provide an accurate
color rendition of the merchandise.
2. Mood Creation
• Traditionally, U.S. specialty and department
stores have employed incandescent lighting
sources to promote a warm and cozy
ambience
Ask students if they ever noticed dramatic
mood changes in the ambiance of various
departments in a department store, or going
from one store to another in a mall.
17–15
3. Energy Efficient Lighting
• As the price of energy soars and retailers
and their customers become more energy
conscious, retailers are looking for ways to
B. Color
• The creative use of color can enhance a
retailer’s image and help create a mood.
• Warm colors fired and yellow) are thought to
attract customers and gain attention, yet
they can be distracting and even unpleasant.
See PPT 17-39
Have students choose two very different
stores, like a men’s and a women’s clothing
store, and compare the color schemes.
C. Music
• Music can either add or detract from a
retailer’s total atmospheric package.
• Unlike other atmospheric elements,
however, music can be easily changed.
See PPT 17-40
Ask students if they are aware of stores that
use music to their advantage/disadvantage.
Chapter 17 – Store Layout, Design, and Visual Merchandising
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D. Scent
• Many buying decisions are based on
emotions, and smell has a large impact on
our emotions.
See PPT 17-41
Ask students if they notice a scent in a store.
E. How Exciting Should a Store Be?
• The impact of the store’s environment
depends on the customer’s shopping goals.
The two basic shopping goals are task
completion and recreation.
• When customers are shopping to complete a
task that they view as inherently
unrewarding, they want to be in a soothing
and calming environment.
See PPT 17-42
VI. Web Site Design
• Retailers should also consider design
elements when creating their web sites.
See PPT 17-43 and 17-44
Ask students to describe retail web sites they
consider to be well and poorly designed.
A. Simplicity Matters
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merchandise and alternative assortments.
B. Getting Around
• The web site design should incorporate
many local links internal to the site to help
customers navigate easily.
colors and sharpness.
C. Let Them See It
D. Blend the Web Site with the Store
• The design should visually reassure
customers that they are going to have the
same experience on the web site that they
expect from the retailer’ stores.
E. Prioritize
F. Type of Layout
• The design should strike a balance between
keeping customers’ interests and providing
them with a comfort level based on
convention.
G. Type of Layout
Chapter 17 – Store Layout, Design, and Visual Merchandising
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• Closing off the checkout process
VII. Summary
• Some objectives for a store design are to:
(1) implement the retailer’s strategy, (2)
influence customer buying behavior, (3)
provide flexibility, (4) control design and
maintenance costs, and (5) meet legal
Chapter 17 – Store Layout, Design, and Visual Merchandising
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ANSWERS TO “GET OUT AND DO ITS”
Look at examples posted in their retail subpage. How can this information of latest trends assist
with store layout, design, and visual merchandising?
The images on The Cool Hunter’s website change frequently. However, students will likely find
improve the layout of their stores and respond to changing customer trends.
3. INTERNET EXERCISE VMSD is the leading resource for retail designers and store display
professionals, serving the retail industry since 1869 (then called Display World). Go to their web
visual merchandising.
Some items in the current trend watch:
– Stores designed by famous architects
How does this marketing research consulting firm support retailers by collecting consumer
information to assist with store layout, design, and visual merchandising?
From the company website:
Observational Research
Chapter 17 – Store Layout, Design, and Visual Merchandising
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Customer Experience Analysis
– In–Store Consulting: qualitative assessment in context of Envirosell’s 25 year
knowledge base.
ANSWERS TO DISCUSSION QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS
1. One of the fastest growing sectors of the population is the over-60 age group. But these
customers may have limitations in their vision, hearing, and movement. How can
retailers develop store designs with the older population’s needs in mind?
Student answers for this question will vary. Some ideas to address these problems are: use
“cool” colors such as blue, violet, and green separately; use “warm” colors such as orange
and red separately; use different colors on adjoining wall and floor surfaces so the change
2. Assume you have been hired as a consultant to measure a local discount store’s floor
plan and space productivity. Look back at Chapter 6 and decide which analytical tools
and ratios you would use to assess the situation.
Chapter 17 – Store Layout, Design, and Visual Merchandising
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Most retailers measure the productivity of space on a sales per square foot basis since rent
and land purchases are assessed on a per-square-foot basis. Under some circumstances,
however, it is more efficient to measure profitability using sales per linear feet. For instance,
3. What are the different types of design that can be used in a store layout? How does this
impact the types of fixtures used to display merchandise? Describe why some stores are
more suited for a particular type of layout than others.
The types of design used in the layout for a retail store are grid, racetrack, and free-form. A
grid layout contains long gondolas of merchandise and aisles in a repetitive pattern. This type
of layout is good for shopping trips in which the customer plans to move throughout the
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4. A department store is building an addition. The merchandise manager for furniture is
trying to convince the vice president to allot this new space to the furniture department.
The merchandise manager for men’s clothing is also trying to gain the space. What
points should each manager use when presenting his or her rationale?
The merchandise manager for furniture should emphasize that because furniture is generally
very large, then it is only sensible that a large amount of space be allotted to it. He/she
5. As an architect for retail space, you are responsible for Americans with Disabilities Act
compliance. How would you make sure that a store’s retail layout meets both
accessibility requirements and enables the company to reach profitability objectives?
Students should become familiar with the report “Maintaining accessible features in retail
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6. What are the advantages and disadvantages of offering virtual dressing rooms from the
retailers’ perspective?
Virtual dressing rooms are advantageous for retailers because they provide additional
services for customers including: size recommendations, body scanners, and fit adjustments.
7. Complete the table below to describe how different retail formats could use each of the
following areas to enhance the store’s image and atmosphere.
Area
Drug Store
Clothing Store
Restaurant
Walls
Windows
Merchandise Displays
Cash Wrap
Entrance
8. Re-read Retailing View 17.2, “Walmart Goes Green and Lowers Its Energy Costs”.
Which environmental practices discussed do you think will be implemented by other
retailers? Explain your response.
Other stores will likely adopt most if not all of these environmentally friendly practices to
lower costs and stay competitive:
Chapter 17 – Store Layout, Design, and Visual Merchandising
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– More energy efficient stores
9. Reread Reailing View 17.3, “A Hedonic Maze Filled with Utilitarian Products.” What do
you think about IKEA’s layout? Does it provide them with a competitive advantage?
Explain your answer.
Students’ answers will vary. Some students love IKEA because of the low costs and the
feeling of satisfaction they get after they find the perfect item. However, other students may not
10. How can signage and graphics help both customers and retailers? Consider the
following types of retail formats that you likely have visited in the past: discount store,
department store, office super store, and a card and gift store. Describe which retail
formats have implemented the best practices for coordinating signs and graphics with
each store’s image and which formats should improve this aspect of their store layout,
design, and visual merchandising.
Students’ answers will vary based on their own experiences with various types of retailers. It
is likely they will report larger, chain store retailers having more coordinated signage and