Revamping something is exciting, whether it’s clothing, a store, or a house where ideas can come true. Has this ever happened to you? Then you should try to pursue a career in visual merchandising. Visual merchandising is the practice of designing and showcasing products in a retail outlet with the aim of attracting customers and increasing sales. It emphasises the promotion and depiction of specific products to draw in buyers. With the proliferation of malls, retail shops, and boutiques across the country, the profession has become more appealing. Visual Merchandising acts as a silent seller by enticing customers to enter the store, guides them through directional signage , helps them find the correct size and style through customized visuals and graphics and supports the store to achieve desired sales.
Visual merchandising is about enhancing the shopping experience by focusing on display and promotion of merchandise with a primary objective to boost sales.
Brands have installed huge windows, invested a lot on lighting and mannequins, so that it can grab the attention of customers and convert passers-by to shoppers.
Who is a visual merchandiser?
Visual Merchandiser is responsible for making the store look presentable at all times. They should have a keen eye for detail with a strong sense of fashion and design.
Visual Merchandisers are not only responsible for beautification of the store but to make the shopping experience more convenient.
Some broad responsibilities of visual merchandisers are –
.To maintain the look and feel of the retail store.
.Planning and execution of store specific visual content such as product launch or to reflect a festive season or theme.
.Train store team members on brand display guidelines.
.Communicate and coordinate with other team members and stakeholders for better understanding of business and to formulate visual merchandising strategy accordingly.
.To manage in-house/third party vendors for getting timely execution and installation of posters, banners and fabrication of props, mannequins and other brand communication for stores.
Planning to make a career in visual merchandising?
If you are planning to become a visual merchandiser, there are certain things which you should understand. For becoming a visual merchandiser, creative flair is a must. If you consider yourself creative, you can do great in this field.
Another consideration could be love for fashion and a fast paced retail environment. If you like the fashion industry and are inclined more towards the business and management part of fashion, Visual Merchandising could be a great career choice for you.
One important thing to consider is that the retail environment is very competitive and versatile, If you are someone who loves innovation and is willing to multitask most of the time, You will do great as a Visual Merchandiser.
How to become a visual merchandiser?
You can go for a bachelor’s degree in any form of arts, Space, Interior and Communication designing to be specific or you can go for short time Visual Merchandising courses. There are numerous degrees and diploma courses. Duration of a diploma course is 6 months to 1 year, Degree courses in designing range from 3-4 years.
There are numerous post-graduation courses with 2 years duration.
If you don’t have a design degree, don’t be disheartened. There are specific courses on Visual Merchandising too. One can opt for courses such as Fashion Business Management which emphasises on practical leaning on various subjects required for surviving in a creative retail environment such as understanding of fashion, retail and economics.
Once you complete such courses you can directly start working with brands. Initially you might work as Visual Merchandiser for a specific retail store or cluster of stores but as you gain experience you can work at Regional level or work directly with a brand’s international team or might work as a freelancer. The sky’s the limit.
Job role and responsbities
Visual merchandisers typically develop a strategy using their creative talents for showcasing fashion items through the use of visual presentation, marketing, and also establishing various promotional activities to interact and advertise to the target customers.
The visual merchandiser’s job is to capture customers’ imaginations both inside and outside of a store. The best visual merchandisers may transform the window area of their store into a captivating art display or cleverly arrange a shelf to increase the likelihood that its contents will be purchased. Effective visual merchandising can raise public awareness, attract customers to a store, and significantly increase sales. Generally speaking, a visual merchandiser is in charge of organising and constructing store displays, which on a daily basis entails moving inventory and equipment, making signage, setting up lighting, and maximising both creative and financial impact.
What are the average salaries and job prospects for visual merchandisers?
.Visual merchandising is in high demand.
.The course’s cost is moderate. Students must spend between three and four lakhs on this course.
.Those that work in visual merchandise get very high wages. For students, the median annual salary is higher than 5 lakhs.
.It takes students a year to prepare for the entrance exam for visual merchandisers due to the moderate level of preparation for this field.
(The article writer, Anshuman Srivastava , is the assistant professor, Fashion Business Management, IIAD)
