COMMON ERRORS IN WINDOW DISPLAY

Common errors in Visual Merchandising

Definition of window display in visual merchandising- A display window, most commonly called shop window (British English) or store window (American English), is a window in a shop displaying items for sale or otherwise designed to attract customers to the store.

    ·    LIGHTING                  

    ·       MERCHANDISE DISPLAY        

    ·       LACK OF UNDERLYING THEME

    ·       TOO MANY PROPS                                                  

    ·       CHANGED TOO SELDOM                                

    ·       MAINTENANCE OF THE DISPLAY                        

    ·       LIMITED OR NO DISPLAY BUDGET              

    ·       LACK OF ATTENTION TO DETAIL                          

    ·       TOO MANY SIGNAGES

    .       SELECTION OF PROPS AND MANNEQUINS 

LIGHTING

Use more light for dark colors, less light for light colors.

Lighting is essential in calling attention to merchandise in a display. A shopper’s eye is drawn automatically to the brightest item or area.

 Lighting treatment may be used to draw attention to some parts of the display, or to coordinate parts of the total display area.

Intricate design does not need too much light, if glare comes to the intricate parts, detailing will not be visible. Eg- for jewelry shop they measure the required light first (according to the sign, glaze and intricacy).

 To measure the light value they use Dosimeters normal value of AI (average luminance) should be in-between .5 to .8

MERCHANDISE DISPLAY

TOO  MUCH  MERCHANDISE

There is no rule that specifically states how much merchandise should appear in a display area. But oftenly it has been seen that it is related to the price of merchandise.  The more expensive the item, the fewer displayed.Example - If you go to Gucci, Prada, Armani..etc you will see only one or two merchandise is there in the window. But If you see Brand factory outlet they put as many as they can.

TOO LITTLE  MERCHANDISE

A window or display area with too little merchandise makes a store appear to be going out of business, or indicates to the customer that the establishment is less than prosperous.

If the items needed for the display are unavailable, the dimensions of the display area need to be reduced to make it appear in proportion with the available merchandise. Or use the props which complement the look/theme so that it give a feel of luxury and complete.

LACK OF UNDERLYING THEME

Merchandise is often placed in a space with no selling message, theme or motif. A display needs to have a strong message or underlying theme.  A Visual Merchandiser must work on a particular theme and season, doing this, the customers/viewers have a solid message about the offerings /store identity/merchandise mix. So that the consumer should be able to understand the concept presented in the display in a few seconds.

TOO MANY PROPS

It is true that without props(theme related objects) make your display complete, but at the same time few Visual Merchandisers using too many props/objects unnecessarily, which sometimes become frustrating. 

The error of over propping a display can be more serious than using too few props.

The type and number of props are dependent on the merchandise.

CHANGED TOO SELDOM

Frequently  changing display presents a positive message to the community, provides an opportunity to show more merchandise and presents more messages to the shopper. If you will not change it at a certain period of time your, store/brand identity will become static,  customers may think that you don’t have innovation.

MAINTENANCE OF DISPLAY

Maintenance a display for long can be a problem. The display areas should be checked throughout the day to see that they have not suffered from tapering. You should check your display regularly. Keeping your display for long duration the intensity of colors may appear faded, some pins and signage may be displaced so you need to check it properly.

BUDGET

Avoid  the “low-budget look” by using such things as crepe paper, tissue paper, construction paper or perishable, but generally free, items like grass, weeds, logs, branches and other things provided by nature. Do not use too many poster board signs. Creativity is needed to plan and execute a great display with no budget. Remember one thing; simplicity is also a great design tool. If you're planning and creative thinking is in the right ways you can achieve a good display even in very less amount.

LACK OF ATTENTION TO DETAIL

Detailing of the window is the most essential part this is generally the first thing the customer notices. When a Visual Merchandiser display, they think that customer do not notice these small things, but believe me small-small detailing create a great finished look.

So, you must:-Remove pins or hide them. Clean and dust all surfaces. Clean glass. Be sure; signs provide all the necessary information. Use some form of border on all signs. Always check the display area from all angles. Be sure all merchandise is easily visible and aesthetically pleasing.

TOO MUCH SIGNAGE

Signs are any kind of visual graphics created to display information to a particular audience. Signage is distinct from labeling, which conveys information about a particular product. The use of signage should be informative and concise.  Signage may be discount, offer, directional or informative. But putting all these in haphazard manner will create a messy look.

SELECTION OF PROPS AND MANNEQUINS

Selection of mannequins (dress form/ dummy) is also an important part of the display, it should go with the brand positioning/ brand image. For example- the types of the mannequins Reebock are using are entirely different from the brand Zara.

. But putting all these in haphazard manner will create a messy look.

Note- The photographs used in this blog post are not owned by the author( Ranjeet Rana), and it is not for commercial use. These blogs are for educational purpose only, the students of Fashion Design, Retail Management, Fashion communication, Knitwear Design, Fashion Technology and Accessory Design department of the different fashion designing institutes are  the beneficiaries.