Omnichannel merchandising refers to creating a unified customer experience across all possible touchpoints of the customer journey. For retailers with physical and digital stores, omnichannel merchandising involves creating a seamless customer experience—even if the customer moves from one to the other as in the Bonobos example above. Omnichannel merchandising also referred to as omnichannel retailing is a topic of increasing interest and research—especially because physical stores are increasingly embracing digital.
Additionally, omnichannel retailing is often used to describe all of the elements within a single customer journey—regardless of where each element takes place. A customer visits a digital store through finding an organic piece of content via a Google search. From there, they search the online store and build out their cart, but then at the last minute they abandon their cart.
The customer accepts the offer and completes their purchase. This experience could be referred to as an omnichannel merchandising experience because the customer moved from a search engine, to on-site, to their email, and then back to on-site.
The types of merchandising and certainly the merchandising examples covered below can be understood on a deeper level when paired with knowledge of a few merchandising techniques. Consider the technique of cross-merchandising, where items that are in some way related are displayed in close proximity to encourage additional sales such as bread with peanut butter.
Again, this is not meant to be a complete list of merchandising techniques, but it can serve as a base from which to improve your overall merchandising knowledge. Making a strong first impression in merchandising is a critical aspect—whether it is to entice window shoppers at a physical store or those who have recently landed on the home page of your website. Retail merchandisers try to control as many variables as possible, knowing that those first initial moments are what may influence the customer to stay and browse around.
While these physical first impressions may certainly impact that first step into the store, first impressions are increasing formed digitally—through an advertisement on television or Instagram, for example. Similarly, making a strong first impression in digital merchandising is about controlling a variety of variables. Take site speed, for example. Speed is also a critical component when it comes to customers searching on your site.
Site search is often one of the first ways a potential customer engages with a site, so making a strong first impression here can lead to a better customer experience and even revenue increases. Unfortunately, many digital retailers are still asking customers to type in their product search, click submit, and then hope that they stumble on something relevant.
For the above reasons, more and more retailers are taking site search seriously. Our own research revealed that intelligent site search is one area where elite retailers are separating themselves from the pack. Manipulating light is an important part of all types of merchandising.
Just as a theatre production uses light to convey moods and highlight characters and scenes, modern merchandisers use light to display products, highlight particular promotions, and even influence the mood and energy of their potential customers. The use of color plays an important role in purchasing decisions, and lighting can be used to highlight certain colors and even steer customers in certain directions.
Apple, for example, is known for using clean white backgrounds to display their steel gray computers—and they keep this consistent whether you are in their physical store or shopping on their site. This color and lighting contrast conveys modernity and mechanical or technological precision—elements that many people would associate with the Apple brand. Every type of merchandising is influenced by traffic.
This can include everything from the foot traffic of customers walking into your retail store to the digital traffic of potential customers visiting particular product pages. Physical traffic can be influenced by end caps, floor plans, and product displays. Digital traffic can be influenced by search engine optimization, social media, and other digital marketing initiatives. Consider how many major supermarket chains place the milk in the back of the store.
In this metaphor, Crestodina says that understanding your digital traffic flow is critical to understanding how to optimize your site for the customer journey. There are many merchandising metrics, and merchandising techniques can be determined by which merchandising metrics are considered the most important.
The sales-per-square-foot metric, for example, is one popular efficiency metric. It determines the ratio of sales to total floor and shelf display space. Easterling, Ellen L. Flottman, Marian H. Jernigan, and Beth E. Wuest may be a helpful resource. Science plays a large role as it relates to influencing which merchandising techniques will work the best in particular environments and sectors. The authors of this article are associated with Dept. The information provided on this website is for educational or information purposes only.
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We use cookies for better user experience. By continuing to browse this site you agree to its Cookie Policy or can decide to change your browser settings anytime. Got it. Toggle navigation Fibre2Fashion. Make to Order. ShanghaiTex Tue, November 23rd, Featured Fairs. Get your copy. By: M. The roles and rules of merchandising are experiencing an evolution.
Chief merchants, formerly concerned mainly with the selection and presentation of products, now have broader accountability and a heavier hand in customer experience, as well as the development of design and talent related to display and marketing design.
Innovation and experimentation have a central role in retailers' merchandising strategies. In the United States, the routine retail cycle starts at the beginning of January. During this time, merchandising includes the promotion of Valentine's Day and St. Patrick's Day products and related items. Shortly following this, Presidents' Day is represented through special sales and discounts.
The next major holiday in the United States is Easter. During this time, not only the holiday is promoted, but springtime and associated warmer weather are also accounted for. Most promoted products at that time of year include clothing items appropriate for warmer weather, in addition to tools and other items suited for outdoor activities, such as gardening and picnics. These items are typically made available mid-winter and heavily marketed and promoted to move such items from shelves to make room for the next batch of products.
Merchandising typically varies within retail chains but will vary greatly depending upon the region of the country and within states themselves. As the name suggests, a merchandising company engages in the sale of tangible goods to consumers.
These businesses incur costs, such as labor and materials, to present and ultimately sell products. Service companies do not sell tangible goods to produce income; rather, they provide services to customers or clients who value their innovation and expertise.
Examples of service companies include consultants, accountants, financial planners , and insurance providers. Merchandising, broadly speaking, refers to any entity that engages in selling a product. Under this definition, there are two types of merchandising companies, namely retail and wholesale. Retailers sell their products directly to consumers, while wholesalers buy from manufacturers and sell to retailers.
Essentially, merchandising is the promotion and sale of products. It often is used to mean retail sales itself in that its goal is to influence the buying decisions of consumers. However, it should not be confused with the sale itself. It is the process leading up to a sale. It includes the determination of quantities, setting prices for goods and services, creating display designs, developing marketing strategies, and establishing discounts or coupons.
A merchandising company, both wholesale and retail, sells tangible goods to its consumer. These companies incur costs, such as labor and materials, to present and ultimately sell products.
Service companies do not sell tangible goods to produce income. Instead, they provide their expertise as a service to their clients. Examples of service companies include consultants, accountants, and financial planners. Financial Statements. Fundamental Analysis. Warren Buffett.
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