The six rights of merchandising ensures products are displayed correctly and for maximum impact. Visual merchandisers working in retail are often involved in both the physical visual implementation and also the planning.
Often the role covers window displays; in–store displays; stock merchandising; planograms; ticketing and upholding and maintaining company standards.Your influence and role in visual merchandising will be more involved in the set-up and maintenance of in store displays than the initial planning phase, but it is important that you understand this phase by asking questions and working with your visual merchandisers and managers.
The Right product
The product range must be merchandise that the customer wants – following current trends or relevant brands. We expect to go into an Apparel retailer and see the ‘latest look’ for winter and when we are shopping in an electrical retailer for a flat screen TV we would expect to see common popular brands such as Samsung and Sony.
The Right place
The location of the product is of prime importance since it decides the accessibility to the customer. For example you would expect to see a ‘sale’ product on a trestle table near the front entrance; whereas you might see a new range displayed on a mannequin with accessories close by.
The Right time
A lot of merchandise is of a seasonal nature and must be on hand when most needed by the customer. Think about going into an electrical retailer on a hot summer day to purchase an air conditioner only to discover they are out of stock but can offer you many different brands of heaters!
The Right quantities
A retailer is always aiming for a profitable balance between the volume of sales and the amount of inventory in store. This is to make sure that there is always available stock for the customers to buy (avoiding out of stocks) and the opposite challenge of over stocking which can sometimes lead to discounting and a loss of profit.
The Right price
Having product at the ‘right price’ is a balance between making sure that it is high enough to make a profit and yet low enough to meet the competition and customers’ expectations.
The Right manner
Having Visual Merchandising standards which allow the team in store to deliver a consistent visual message to the customer. For example, colour blocking of wall units, the use of gondolas, or handwritten versus printed ticketing.
To learn more about visual merchandise practices, the ARA Retail Institute offers the Diploma of Retail Merchandise Management. This qualification reflects the role of individuals who undertake retail merchandise management activity to deliver profitable results for a retail organisation. They analyse merchandise performance results and follow an organisational strategy to plan and enhance ongoing merchandise performance.
These individuals operate with autonomy and are responsible for their personal outputs and undertake decision making independently and in consultation with others. Click on the link below to register.
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About ARA Retail Institute
ARA Retail Institute is Australia’s leading retail training provider for both accredited and non-accredited learning programs. For more information, please visit: www.retailinstitute.org.au
