Visual Merchandising is an emerging career field. So, if one has a good sense of design, colour and style with creativity and imagination, and is aware of the latest trends in fashion, then a career in this sector is lucrative, says Rc Dalal
Visual merchandising is an emerging career. It includes a wide spectrum of innovative ideas applied in the creative presentation of a particular item or service or place. It is the art of presentation, which puts the merchandise in focus. It educates the customers, creates desire and finally augments the selling process.
This is an area where the Indian textile and clothing industry, particularly, the Small Scale merchandisers lack adequate knowledge and expertise. Hence, the term visual merchandising was been conceived. This includes combining products, environments, and spaces into a stimulating and engaging display to encourage the sale of a product or service.
It starts with the store building itself. The management then decides on the store design to reflect the products the store is going to sell and how to create a warm, friendly, and approachable atmosphere for its potential customers. Many elements can be used by visual merchandisers in creating displays, including colour, lighting, space, product information, sensory inputs such as smell, touch, and sound as well as technologies such as digital displays and interactive installations.
It isn’t a science; there are no absolute rules. It is more like an art in the sense that there are implicit rules but that these also exist to be broken for striking effects. It is one of the final stages in trying to set out a store in a way that customers will find it attractive and appealing. It should follow and reflect the principles that underpin the store’s image. Visual merchandising is the way one displays goods for sale in the most attractive manner with the end purpose of making a sale. If it does not sell, it isn’t visual merchandising.
It’s the art of implementing effective design ideas to increase store traffic and sales volume. It is a tool to achieve sales and targets, a tool to enhance merchandise on the floor, and a mechanism to communicate to a customer and influence his decision to buy.
SCOPE
In today’s challenging economy, people avoid designers or visual merchandisers because they fear unmanageable costs. But in reality, visual merchandisers can help economies by avoiding costly mistakes. With guidance of a professional, retailer can eliminate errors, saving time and money.
Adapting the course in merchandising career, there is great scope to innovate the ideas in presenting particular object or rendering service. This course can be adapted only by professionals who have the passion to absorb unchangeable art while presenting, showing and at the same time try to draw their customers attention in the retail shapes, exhibitions in fashion boutiques and in museums.
Visual merchandising is also very helpful in providing experience in retailing anything successfully relating to fashion designs like interior design, lighting music etc. After the successful completion of the course, one may get appointed as a merchandiser, merchandising assistant, merchandising director, merchandising coordinator in shopping malls, boutiques, five star hotels, set designing of theaters, organisation of theme-based parties, etc.
The textile industry of India also recruits visual merchandisers to enhance the aesthetic appeal of textiles and organise International textile exhibitions with the help of visual merchandisers.
There are limitless employment opportunities for visual merchandiser. They can also work individually. Those who want to work on part-time or self-employed basis, this course can be very advantageous.
Nature of work
The challenge and job opportunities of a visual merchandiser is to add that extra zing to the shops, boutiques to attract customers by virtue of their creative designs in graphics, interior decoration, lighting, window displays. The job responsibilities include supervising the visual merchandising implementation in shops, implementation of attractive shop window designs, coordinating with the sales team and change the decoration to woo customers, constantly innovate ways and means to change the manikins, display, music and lighting of the retail store, emporium, boutiques.
ElIGIBIlITY
Many colleges, institutes and universities in India offer degree, diploma and certificate courses in visual merchandising and for this minimum eligibility criteria is 10+2 pass in any stream. People who work in the visual merchandising field are highly benefited through these workshops and seminars from time to time.
Remuneration
Visual merchandising is highest paying professions. Remuneration in visual merchandising industry is decided by personal skills and abilities of the person concerned. The normal pay packages of fresh graduates are Rs25,000 to Rs30,000 per month. With some years of experience and extraordinary talent one can easily reach up to Rs40,000-Rs50,000 per month.
(The writer is executive director, JD Institute of Fashion Technology)
