Merchandising

What is Merchandising?

Merchandising is the promotion of the sale of goods that can employ pricing, special offers, display and other techniques designed to influence consumers’ buying decisions. The concept of merchandising is based on presenting products at the right time, at the right place, in the right quantity and at the right price to maximize sales.

Merchandising Strategies

When it comes to merchandising strategies, a “one size fits all” approach won’t suffice. Depending on the overarching objective for the retailer, brand, and category, the merchandising strategies should vary by category or even by segment to target a specific goal, such as developing customer loyalty, increasing sales, driving footfall/traffic, raising awareness of your brand, and so on.

In a retail setting, some of the most popular methods to compel shoppers to buy include:

Interactive displays that use scent, sound, and motion technology
In-store and window displays in unique shapes
Shelf signage
Creating themes to bundle products together (e.g. school lunch, barbecue season, Christmas, etc.)
Free tasting sessions and in-store demonstrations
Giveaways and samples
Well planned, eye-level product placement
Well-stocked shelves and displays

In an eCommerce setting, the most effective ways to entice people to make a purchase include:

Customer service

Live chat support to aid customer purchase decisions
Placing the search bar in a prominent position on the site
Offering free shipping
Status bar to show progress during checkout
Season-specific and holiday-based collections, curated landing pages and special offers
Product descriptions that use images, copy, attributes, videos and other digital data
Product recommendations
Advertising banners
Ratings and reviews
Cross-selling, upselling and bundling
Effective product categorization
Ribbon overlays that visually accentuate something special about a product (bestseller, free shipping, sale, newly added, etc.)

The Importance of Merchandising

Variety: Merchandising can show customers the variety you have within your store so they have a good selection of products to choose from.
Product placement: With a great merchandising strategy you can place addition products within your customer’s reach, both on and off line, for them to buy.
Promoting: Placing your onsale products in a specific area on your website, or in store, means that people will be more willing to browse products around it.

Benefits of Merchandising

Since merchandising is all about selling, the ultimate benefit of effective merchandising is higher sales and better profit. Stores that manage to create a seamless shopping experience and effectively guide consumers to purchase completion, enjoy an array of benefits including:

Higher profits
More satisfied shoppers
More engaged buyers (longer on-site time)
Faster inventory turnover
Increased brand loyalty
Increased brand recognition

impulse buyers

Differences Between Sales and Merchandising?

Although sales and merchandising are two closely related functions, they are not the same thing. Merchandising is the process of leading a customer to a sale, while the term “sales” refers to a consumer actually selecting a product and completing a purchase transaction. For example, a prominently displayed banner leading to a special gift guide can inspire and entice a consumer to add a product to their shopping basket (that’s merchandising) and when the customer completes checkout, it’s classified as sales.

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