Why you need to start thinking about fundamental VM guidelines

Seasonal and product focused VM guidelines are often a tool in ensuring the success of a retail strategy, but they aren’t the only merchandising guidelines you should think about. Arguably, they are not even that crucial. A more important key element that can be easy to overlook when a business is caught up in the day to day of a retail program, is what we can call « Fundamental VM guidelines ».

Let’s explore how fundamental VM guidelines grow your business.

At their core, fundamental VM guidelines are all the guidelines that help the retail employees and VM team showcase your brand and products in a consistent and attractive way while maximizing the profitability of your store. This means they go from how to style mannequins to explain brand specific cross-merchandising strategies in order to increase UPT.

Fundamental VM guidelines create the necessary framework for your brand stores, retail partners and outlets. They give guidance on how your brand and products must be presented.

We call them fundamental because they are the foundation supporting all other VM work.

Over our years of experience, we’ve identified a few ways in which those guidelines help grow businesses. Here are 5 of them:

1. Customer Experience

Welcoming the guest with an exceptional Customer Experience is one of the key points of VM. A well-executed visual merchandising strategy creates a cohesive and inviting atmosphere that entices customers to explore the store. Maybe you want to go for a minimalist feel, maybe your customers are looking for a rich melting pot in which to get lost. Either way, guidelines on standards and maintenance, or the overall style and tactics of your VM presentation, are an important step for an outstanding guest experience.

2.       Brand Identity

All stores should show up with a cohesive look and feel which lines up with the identity of the brand. Meaning that no matter where in the world you visit a store, what size it is or whether it is a brand store, an outlet, or a SIS, the recognition value for the customer is elevated. To reach a high recognition value, the stores need some guidance on dos and don’ts. This starts with the look of the store and should go all the way to music or even scent.

3.      Customer Journey

A clear visual merchandising set-up guides the guest through the store, leading from an attractive first touchpoint to a journey of discovery and exploration up to your key items and best sellers. A guideline on optimized floor planning is crucial to keep the sales space updated and interesting.

4.      Communication

Cohesive signage, visual cues and displays inform the guest and drive sales. They should guide the customers through the space and help them navigate the USP and technologies that make your brand stand apart. A guideline on how to use and structure the communication elements enables your team to inform the customer without risking overwhelming them.

5. Sales Tracking

Great visual merchandising drives sales and maximizes profitability. By strategically positioning products, highlighting key features, and creating eye-catching displays, stores can capture the attention of shoppers and increase conversion, average order volume and sold units. The appropriate guideline will teach your staff how to track and analyse sales data correctly and motivate them to optimize presentations.

In short, creating fundamental VM guidelines ensure a cohesive and successful implementation of your VM strategy in all locations. Bringing your guest experience to an exceptional level and increasing the customer loyalty.

Fundamental VM Guidelines include topics as:

• Optimized Floor Planning

• KPIs and Sales Data Tracking

• Activity and Destination Presentations

• Intentional Placement of Supporting Elements

These are only some of the topics you need to create guidance for, to implement a successful retail business.

In a future post, we’ll dive in more detail in those guidelines, with clear examples of what some of them should be.

In the meantime, feel free to reach out if you want help establishing a successful fundamental VM guideline strategy.