What do you do if you want to excel in visual merchandising as a retail professional?

Yes,the basics its all about aesthetics, how things look,it could be what colour combinations you choose, it might be props that draw attention, the space between items is essential so the eye is not confused but is drawn to one item.

Know your audience and your market. It's key to grab the consumers attention with story-telling, balanced installations and attention to detail. Remember your job is to create needs and enhance sales.

To excel in visual merchandising, cultivate creativity and attention to detail. Understand the target audience and brand identity to create compelling displays. Keep up with industry trends and competitor strategies. Utilize principles of color, layout, and focal points to attract and engage customers. Regularly refresh displays to maintain interest. Collaborate with marketing and sales teams to align visual merchandising with promotions and campaigns. Seek feedback from colleagues and customers to continuously improve.

First and foremost LOVE what you do as Visual Merchandising entails a lot of physical activity! You will be moving around constantly and thinking about your next move as you go along. This is a very physical job but can also be rewarding. It’s very fast paced and your environment constantly changes depending on the directives you are given from your upper management. Planning ahead of your moves will help you tremendously. You are the look of the store!

Especially in retail you need a constant updated eye in fashion. Inspiration can come from many forms of pop culture or art. Always have a fresh proposal for your customer

Also social change and current affairs can influence display / design .Location, together with current trends in various industries. Music.. is always a great influence for me.

Avoid restricting the customers line of sight. Create walls if you must, but make sure you aren't creating dead zones in the process (unless this is your goal). Customers should be able to get a rough idea where to go, just by looking around.

A VM person should learn to see things in bigger picture. See store instead of wall. From there you can create your colour story nicely

Proper lighting, music and instore scent added more value to internal and external VM (window and interior) We’re not just selling products. We’re selling shopping experiences.

Be on trend or follow latest trends to be relevant with stories and ideas to contribute in present and for future displays so they come across clear to all audience.

Identify categories that enhance not detract, categories help align flow which is more visually appealing, draw upon the senses of customers. By doing so it limits the amount of energy for consumers to make practical decisions 🙃.

• Use data driven decisions to optimize visual merchandising strategies. •Personalize experiences for customers. • Measure the success of your efforts.

Some of the most important ways would be to visualise layout and planning making a picture of the product showing merchandise pricing, quality, uses and availability .

One thing that I find that can really drive sales with your merchandising, it's just how excited you might be to do the job that you have to do. Be excited about driving sales, take pride in what you've put together, and put some of yourself into it. Use your knowledge cross merchandise and don't be afraid to try something new or different. The key thing is to draw the eye of the customer to the product.

1. Educate yourself: Learn about the principles of visual merchandising, including color theory, lighting, and space utilization. Attend industry conferences and seminars to stay up-to-date on the latest trends and best practices. 2. Observe and analyze: Study the visual merchandising displays in your own store and other retailers to identify what works and what doesn't. Analyze how they use visual cues to guide the customer's eye and create an engaging shopping experience. 3. Develop a plan: Develop a visual merchandising plan that aligns with your store's overall brand and marketing strategy. Consider the store layout, product placement, signage, and other visual elements.