Article | Marketing area | Year 2016
 

The Impact of Visual Merchandising Management on Customer Attraction in Retail Stores

by Rungarun Benjamapornkul; Sirisuhk Rakthin; Prattana Punnakitikasem
  
  UTCC International Journal of Business and Economics 8(1), p.133-149

Abstract

Shelf visual merchandising techniques can maximize product attractiveness, create good store atmosphere, and attract more customers accordingly. These techniques allow brand managers to differentiate their offerings from other competitors. This study aims to investigate the effective visual merchandising techniques that influence customer awareness during a buying decision making process at the point of purchase. Using an experiment method together with customer interviews, the findings indicate that the interplay among appropriate position of shelf facing, in-store promotion, and shelf decoration strongly attracts customer attention when entering a store and influences customer evaluation of brands displayed on shelf. For example, left side of both eye-and touch-level shelf positions gain more attention than other level shelf positions because Thai people usually read or write from left to right. The results also reveal how different brand characteristics affect shelf setting and highlight the impact of promotional sign on customer attention and buying decision. In summary, this research study provides insights into how retailers or brand managers could deploy shelf visual merchandising techniques to increase customer attention and purchasing evaluation at the point of purchase. The results could be used as a part of strategic marketing planning in retailing businesses.

Keywords: visual merchandising, store display, customer buying decision, brands, marketing