6011 62517
How should we set out the shop and why?
Visual merchandising are the techniques used in retail to enhance products and services' presentation to emphasize
their features and qualities. Such visual merchandising aims to entice, engage and motivate customers towards making
a purchase. Therefore, the better the visual merchandising is, the more likely products will sell. Visual merchandising
techniques consist of window displays, product placement, product segmentation, themes, coordination, colour,
repetition, focal points and branding/signage. Therefore, visual merchandising is the fulfilment of factors to increase
the likelihood of selling products to consumers.
https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-visual-merchandising-definition-objectives-types.html
In 1874 John Lewis founded the brand ‘John Lewis’ with their first store opening on 132 Oxford street. To this day, the
flagship store is set upon the same street as the founding premises. John Lewis is a national business with 42 stores
in the UK and has stated they have no intention of expanding internationally. They only distribute to external countries
by selling to international consumers through their website and online presence. Thus, they primarily focus on their UK
markets and consumers, which keeps their visual merchandising domestic as they focus upon what British people
desire and need. By appealing to one market, John Lewis can put full focus upon their UK product range and target the
UK holidays, seasons etc. ‘John Lewis is described by fans as Good quality, Good customer service, Excellent
customer service, Trustworthy and Good Service’. John Lewis has built a reputable brand image that has sustained a
loyal customer base. John Lewis is a high-end department store and operates as a partnership PLC. Therefore, all
internal stakeholders are provided fiscal benefits depending on business performance and have a say within the
business direction. They offer a wide range of products from food, clothing, furniture, and appliances, allowing them to
cover a vast market by providing consumers with multiple items within each of these categories. They also offer finance,
tailoring, and home styling, further increasing their scope and revenue streams. The brand generated £3.887billion in
revenue in 2019. This is a £100million decline on the year before; however, since 2009, they have sustained continuous
growth with an overall increase of £1.5billion annually.
https://www.johnlewispartnership.co.uk/about/who-we-are.html
https://yougov.co.uk/topics/consumer/explore/brand/John_Lewis
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/11133932/John-Lewis-rules-out-international-
stores.html
https://johnlewismemorystore.org.uk/content/branch_finder/branches_o-r/oxford_street/early_days-7-
2/john_lewis_and_the_foundation_of_the_oxford_street_department_store
https://www.johnlewis.com/our-services
Tesco PLC was founded in 1912 by Mr Cohen and since has amassed over 7005 worldwide stores with 3968 in the
UK. The brand is the biggest UK supermarket chain and generates £63.91 billion in annual revenue. They operate
within 13 different counties with 420,000 employees. Tescos offers foods, clothing (F&F), appliances, homeware and
their own brand items. They are designed to sell volume as they are operating on low-profit margins and to be
competitive, they have to offer prices below or the same as rival superstores. Tescos provides branded products and
sustains a wide range of goods to consumers, allowing for a continuous flow of customers. Tescos also provides
services such as Tesco mobile, which has amassed a further £790million to their total revenue. Therefore, the best
way to describe the business is ‘retailing and associated activities. ‘Tesco is described by fans as: Fresh, Good quality,
Good value, Cream of the crop and Family-friendly’. This infers that Tescos has a welcoming environment, and
customers appreciate the selection of foods available for the price. Tesco offers its own brand, Tescos finest and
Everyday value. Tescos finest is its top of the range product with the best quality and is the most expensive. The
everyday value is much cheaper, accessible and has a much lower quality. As a result, Tescos have increased their
customer base on both sides of the spectrum.
, 6011 62517
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/0/history-tesco-rise-britains-biggest-supermarket/
http://www.tescopoly.org/worldwide
https://markets.ft.com/data/equities/tearsheet/profile?s=TSCO:LSEhttps://www.dnb.com/business-directory/company-
profiles.tesco_mobile_limited.a30b8945528ed9d2811819e3b9f66c6b.html
Visual merchandising display techniques;
Product placement;
Product placement is crucial when maximising sales. To increase sales, businesses may choose to place products in
places within the store which will maximise attention and traffic. Therefore, the retailer can place specific products in
areas which increase the likelihood of sales. By putting products in the store window, a retailer may bring in new
consumers who purchase items which increases the businesses customer base and may create a loyal customer.
Windows therefore are the face of the business and are a crucial opportunity for product placement. Aisle ends are a
place of high traffic. People moving up and down the Aisle will inevitably reach the end. Thus, having a stand there will
increase the likelihood of sales. Also, it increases the amount of products retailers can have on display as it optimises
space. On escalators, retailers often put some sort of advertising on the journey down. This gives the retailer a period
of time to show consumers what goods they are offering. Some stores choose to put product examples on the escalator
to engage the consumers. Using this engages an undistracted customer to examine the product. Therefore, by
displaying on escalators, it increases the odds of sales. If an item has low performance sales, having items clearly on
display may help the chances of purchases. People moving up and down stairs usually have nothing to look at. This is
why businesses choose to place product examples throughout the staircase as consumers have nothing to look at and
it drives attention to the goods. Therefore using this empty space may encourage people to purchase the items. In
summary, the aim of product placement is to drive sales by placing items in specific areas of high traffic to increase the
likelihood of sales.
https://www.wallpaper.com/gallery/fashion/most-beautiful-staircases-luxury-retail-design
https://www.unibox.co.uk/news-inspiration/visual-merchandising-techniques-guidelines
https://www.brex.com/blog/visual-merchandising/
John lewis have a simplistic but sophisticated way of displaying their products. They keep their products widely spread
below or at eye level. As their products are more premium, their product range on display may be less than a value
store. In the photo, they invite the consumers to look at the goods by placing them towards the consumer. This gives
the customer the confidence to touch and examine the goods. As a john lewis store does not have conventional aisles,
they use plinths to show off the products towards the audience. They place their products in an organised fashion with
displays on the top and sealed items on the bottom. By offering the display pieces on the top, consumers can take the
unhandled items from the bottom. Customers also have 360 degree access which increases the traffic to each stand.
https://www.feast-magazine.co.uk/shopping/retail/john-lewis-targets-1bn-turnover-homeware-9944
https://www.theexeterdaily.co.uk/news/local-news/we-take-you-inside-new-exeter-john-lewis-store
https://www.cityam.com/take-look-inside-john-lewis-new-heathrow-store/
, 6011 62517
Tescos are designed to sell in volumes as they need to profit as they are operating upon small profit margins. Therefore,
Tescos stack the aisle to the fullest by placing goods above eye level to maximize the number of products on display.
They use the space at the end of each aisle to place promotional items as when walking horizontally through the
walkways, it's in direct view of consumers. Also, as consumers use aisles, they will inevitably get to either end, making
the ends of the aisles high traffic areas. Tescos also place treats such as gum, chocolate, sweets and crisps in the
queue to the tills as this causes consumers to act on their cravings as they purchase goods with little thought. As till
aisles are high traffic, this is the right way for Tescos to increase sales within the area and increase sales of specific
goods.
https://www.mclh.co.uk/our-projects/tesco-strand-road-londonderry
https://www.essexlive.news/news/essex-news/visited-sainsburys-tesco-morrisons-asdas-3632731
https://www.slideshare.net/FraserTant/tesco-extra-watford-uk-igds-guide-to-tescos-destination-hypermark
https://www.thesun.co.uk/archives/news/833164/tesco-to-chuck-out-chocs-at-checkout/
Product segmentation;
Retailers often use product segmentation to display or place products according to these different categories; themes
promotion, events and seasons. This aids retailers to tailor promotions to consumers, which increases the probability
of sales. Promotion in ‘sales’ is a decrease in sales price to engage consumers to capitalise upon offers. Retailers
make less on each product; however, they can clear inventory of the harder to sell goods due to the deals. Therefore,
promotions release cash from backed-up inventory, allowing firms to reinvest and provide consumers with great
discounts. Events such as the Olympics and the world cup generate lots of media and public attention. Retailers often
capitalise upon this and manufacture and sell products surrounding the event. They may sell items relating to the UK
and England as their biggest consumers are British. Therefore, they fully utilise their audience by offering goods relating
to the relevant events. During the Christmas season, sales increase exponentially. Retailers offering Christmas goods
often provide a vast selection of products to engage all audiences. By providing Christmas products, retailers can
capitalise upon the demand of the season.
In summary, the items most associated with the event, promotion or season will be segmented into groups on aisles to
maximise sales as they are all related by the categories. Therefore, product segmentation groups products together as
they are related. For example, England in the world cup - alcohol (beer), snacks (pringles), apparels (England shirts)
and BBQ food may all be grouped for consumers to find easily.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/mar/27/supermarket-special-offers-contribute-to-obesity-says-report
https://www.essexlive.news/news/essex-news/reviewed-christmas-ranges-asda-tesco-4525240
https://account.retail-week.com
John Lewis always uses product segmentation through seasons, promotions and events themes. They often have a
whole Christmas area dedicated to selling Christmas goods during the winter period. They allocate Baul balls into one
place so consumers can look at all the options available. Also, treats and foods have their area in the Christmas section
to make it easier for the consumer to find items. During the Easter period, John lewis also does the same with stands
full of easter eggs and treats. During the 2012 Olympics, John lewis opened its fully themed London 2012 Olympic
store to celebrate it. They sold apparel, merch, accessories etc. The garments had their own section in the store with
caps, T-shirts, shorts and backpacks grouped.
