Have you ever walked into a store and had that feeling of wonder and awe?
All the clothes are neatly folded and curated. The design of the shelving and colors all around bring you a sense of calm and relaxation.
There is a faint, comforting scent of flowers in the air and the barely noticeable music makes you want to hum along.
Well, all of these things combine and make you want to stay a while, browse around, and then take something you like home.
This is what smart visual merchandising can do to you.
Retailers have been using this nifty trick for ages to visibly lure you and then entice you into spending more time shopping in their stores.
It is basically a practical and psychological way that stores use to visually appeal to your senses and make you want to spend more time in their stores.
So, when you walk into a store, nothing in there is random.
From the first moment you walk in, to finding a product that catches your eye, to the checking out experience.
Everything you see and feel is an elaborate plan to make you want to spend your money and time in the store.
While these were used exclusively in the brick and mortar stores, visual merchandising is now also being adapted to the world of e-commerce.
These smart merchandising solutions not only help in promoting product discovery but also bring an increase in both customer conversion and average order value.
DID YOU KNOW?
More than 93% of shoppers consider visual impressions when they are trying to buy a product online. And 64% of women say images influence their purchasing decisions when shopping for apparel on mobile.
It is pretty much a combination of both intuition and science.
Many brands oftentimes use pretty bold aesthetic choices backed by psychology.
Good visual merchandising can have a great effect on the end-to-end journey of customers.
You know, shopping is a pretty visual thing for many people.
Strong visual merchandising gives you some great and unique selling propositions. It allows you to give your shoppers an engaging and consistent shopping experience.
This also allows you to give your customers more personalized product suggestions at every point on your site.
This also helps ensure that the right kinds of products are shown exactly at the right time.
This is a pretty important step for many brands that have more than 1000+ kinds of items in stock.
And, once the customer clicks through to your homepage, search, or menu, you need to create a visual for them so that they are directed right to the thing they are looking for.
Well, you need to understand that your online shop is pretty different from a physical shop.
You need to look for different ways to entice customers into shopping.
But there is a good thing about online shopping too.
Unlike the physical store, you have a whole new set of tools and ways to get customers to come to your online store.
Smart algorithms can pretty much group the products or look at the customer’s search patterns to show them the products they might be looking for.
It can also help you come up with new pricing models and respond to market changes based on demand and stock.
This basically means that each of your customers will get to experience your shop as if it were made just for them.
By using the latest technological innovations like augmented reality, you can give your customers the feel of seeing your products in a real-world setting.
They can use their smartphones to see what your products will look like in their hands.
Videos are a pretty great way that give your customers a 360° view of your products.
3D viewpoints in eCommerce can be a make-it-or-leave-it kind of thing when your customers are making decisions for their purchases.
With the help of videos and 3D modeling, you can show your customers what clothes look like in motion with advanced fabric simulation.
This will give the customers the impression of the quality and feel of the product without touching it.
While you cannot give your shoppers a physical feel of your products, you can give them a feel of realism with good high-resolution photos of your products.
Plus you can also set the stage and lighting according to your theme and showcase your products in a more realistic setting.
This can make the products look more appealing to the eye.
You know, visual merchandising is not just about putting your products in front of your customers.
You need to actively appeal to their senses and aesthetics and make them want to spend more time in your store and ultimately buy something.
Here are some of the major benefits of having a good visual merchandising for your online store:
It can be put into practice on every part of your site.
You can take your customers on a pretty enchanting and exciting journey through your store.
It also helps you to show them the right products at the right time.
And once they step in, you give them a shopping experience that will leave them wanting to come back for more.
Shoppers identify the way you present your products to them and it can easily make the way you present things stick with your brand.
For example, if you regularly put upon site inspiration galleries with UGC from social media then they will start connecting your brand with real-life images inspired by social proof.
Visual merchandising is not just a conversion tool for your store, it is a way for you to build up your brand in the long term.
Merchandising is all about appealing to your shoppers.
For first-time buyers, the images, galleries, and videos on your site will give them a general feel of what the products would look and feel like.
The visuals will act as a buffer and help immerse the shoppers to spend more time in your shop rather than going to your competitors.
Plus, if they like the experience you’re selling, then they are more than likely to recommend your shop to even more people.
The concept of visual merchandising is no longer exclusive to just the brick-and-mortar stores.
Many e-commerce brands use the appeal of visual merchandising to entice their customers to spend more time exploring their stores and buying their products.
It also helps provide brands with a way to give their shoppers a near-custom shopping experience that makes them feel at home.
Plus the the stores can build up a brand that is more identifiable and unique to them this way.
eCommerce brands are now able to use the tried-and-tested tactics consumers still love and rely on to create truly immersive shopping experiences online.
