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This paper outlines recent research which demonstrates that the re‐naming of display as visual merchandising has led to centralisation and professionalism of the function. Centralisation of visual merchandising has given the function a strategic profile which has to date been neglected within the literature. The move towards centralisation and therefore increased professionalisation and sophistication of the creative process is discussed and includes the following benefits outlined by the respondents: (1) communicating a cohesive brand image; (2) differentiating the offer from the competition; (3) integrating promotional effort across the brand; (4) increasing availability of technology to facilitate the process. The paper concludes with future research avenues and recommendations.

Visual merchandising has a direct impact on shopping experience, making it pertinent for the retailers to ensure that their store environment has an effective design. This study blends fuzzy numbers and Analytical Hierarchy Process to create a fuzzy evaluation model prioritizing the relative weights of visual merchandising dimensions of online fashion apparel store. This study will help the fashion retailers in creating more engaging and informative online stores leading to subsequent increase in online retail sales.

Visual merchandising dimensions and sub dimensions used by retailers for online stores were identified through review of literature and discussion with experts. Twenty experts were interviewed and their responses captured. The responses were analyzed using Fuzzy AHP technique resulting in prioritizing the dimensions according to the weight. For testing the stability of the results, sensitivity analysis was conducted.

Four key dimensions and sixteen sub dimensions were extracted. Weights were calculated using FAHP. “Pictorial Presentation” has the highest weight followed closely by “Product Information” dimension. Amongst the sub-dimensions “Number of Product Images” scored highest followed by “Product Presentation mode”. “Alterable Background” scored the least weight.

Previous studies have identified Online Visual Merchandising dimensions and have also studied the impact of some of these dimensions on consumer buying behavior, but the relative significance has not been determined yet. This study fills the gap.

This study aims to discern emerging trends and provide a longitudinal perspective on merchandising research by identifying relationships between merchandising-related subdomains/themes.

This study sourced 657 merchandising-related articles published since 1960, from the Scopus database and 425 from Web of Science. After processing and normalizing the data, this study performed co-word and thematic network analyses. Taking a text mining approach, this study used topic modeling to identify a set of coherent topics characterized by the keywords of the articles.

This study identified the following merchandising-related themes: branding, retail, consumer, behavior, modeling, textile and clothing industry and visual merchandising. Although visual merchandising was the first type of merchandising to be used in-store, only recently has it become an emerging topic in the academic literature. There has been a further trend over the past decade to understand the adoption of simulation technology, such as computer-aided design, particularly in supply chain management in the clothing industry. These and other findings contribute to the discussion of the merchandising concept, approached from an evolutionary perspective.

The conclusions of this study hold implications at the intersection of merchandising, sectors, new technologies, research methodologies and merchandising-practitioner education. Research trends suggest that, in the future, virtual reality and augmented reality using neuroscientific methods will be applied to the e-merchandising context.

The different dimensions of merchandising can be used to leverage store managers’ decision-making process toward an integrated store-management strategy. In particular, by adopting loyalty merchandising tactics, the store can generate emotional attachment among consumers, who will perceive its value and services as unique, thanks to merchandising items designed specifically with that aim in mind. The stimulation of unplanned purchases, the strategic location of products and duration of each merchandising activity in the store, the digitalization of merchandising and the application of findings from neuroscience studies are some of the most relevant practical applications.

This study provides the first-ever longitudinal review of the state of the art in merchandising research, taking a holistic perspective of this field of knowledge spanning a 60-year period. The work makes a valuable contribution to the development of the marketing discipline.

Fashion merchandising hold a paramount position within the realm of retail marketing. Currently, the purpose of this article is that the assessment of display effectiveness predominantly relies on the subjective judgment of merchandisers due to the absence of an effective evaluation method. Although eye-tracking devices have found extensive used in tracking the gaze trajectory of subject, they exhibit limitations in terms of stability when applied to the evaluation of various scenes. This underscores the need for a dependable, user-friendly and objective assessment method.

To develop a cost-effective and convenient evaluation method, the authors introduced an image processing framework for the assessment of variations in the impact of store furnishings. An optimized visual saliency methodology that leverages a multiscale pyramid model, incorporating color, brightness and orientation features, to construct a visual saliency heatmap. Additionally, the authors have established two pivotal evaluation indices aimed at quantifying attention coverage and dispersion. Specifically, bottom features are extract from 9 distinct scale images which are down sampled from merchandising photographs. Subsequently, these extracted features are amalgamated to form a heatmap, serving as the focal point of the evaluation process. The authors have proposed evaluation indices dedicated to measuring visual focus and dispersion, facilitating a precise quantification of attention distribution within the observed scenes.

In comparison to conventional saliency algorithm, the optimization method yields more intuitive feedback regarding scene contrast. Moreover, the optimized approach results in a more concentrated focus within the central region of the visual field, a pattern in alignment with physiological research findings. The results affirm that the two defined indicators prove highly effective in discerning variations in visual attention across diverse brand store displays.

The study introduces an intelligent and cost-effective objective evaluate method founded upon visual saliency. This pioneering approach not only effectively discerns the efficacy of merchandising efforts but also holds the potential for extension to the assessment of fashion advertisements, home design and website aesthetics.

This article presents a history of the visual merchandising of American firearms from the mid-19th century until the present day. Although the scholarly literature has investigated visual representations of guns in advertising and popular media, it has paid far less attention to how sellers have displayed these objects at or near the point of purchase.

Primary sources include frescoes, engravings and photographs, plus papers, advertising and illustrations in popular newspapers and trade magazines. These and other period visual data are supplemented by secondary sources from a variety of fields, especially retailing and firearms history.

Evidence shows that American firearms were merchandised visually by Samuel Colt at three world expositions in the 1850s, by gunmakers and retailers in the latter 19th century, by Winchester and Remington dealers in the 1920s and 1930s, by high- and low-end retailers in New York in the first half of the 20th century and by gun stores, auctions and shows up to the present day.

The history of visual merchandising generally has focused upon major department stores, their alluring street-front windows and their fancy interior displays. This research explores past and present visual merchandising of firearms by manufacturers and smaller retailers. To the best of the author’s knowledge, it is the first such history of the subject.

The aim of this article is to investigate the relationship between visual merchandising elements and consumer affective response by focusing on a function‐oriented product – intimate apparel.

In this paper, a different perspective on visual merchandising is offered through the different types of intimate apparel retailers (from fashion‐oriented, mass market‐oriented to fashion forward). This is presented in an interpretive study of Hong Kong Chinese female consumers, between the ages of 25 and 35. A qualitative approach is employed and the grounded theory method is chosen. A total of eight focus group interviews are conducted with 64 subjects.

The findings indicate that participating subjects have two points of view when evaluating visual store displays, which include utilitarian and hedonic aspects. The utilitarian aspect relates to the actual needs of consumers, such as garment deterioration, seasonal changes and occasions. The hedonic aspect finds that the perceived female image governs consumer interpretation and acceptance of visual displays. It also reveals that the need to be feminine sets the guidelines to evaluating visual stimulus in stores. Display elements, such as mannequins, colour, lighting and props that emphasize feelings of feminine sexuality, tend to trigger negative affective responses in consumers which finally affect purchase intentions.

The authors aim to explore consumer affective response on visual stimulus in stores by considering the aesthetic, symbolic and cultural perceptions of a function‐oriented product – intimate apparel. The literature to date tends to focus on the interaction between individual visual merchandising elements (e.g. colour, lighting) with consumers. However, the product nature and its symbolic meaning have not been seriously taken into consideration. Due to the immense market potential in the East, applying western‐developed theories may not be universally appropriate. There may be different results and patterns in consumer behaviour. Thus, this study aims to enrich existing knowledge of atmospheric management by including the interaction of Eastern values and product nature on affective responses.

The principal purpose of this study is to analyze the consumer emotions on virtual merchandising in the context of social consumption ecosystem driven by value and lifestyle across the big middle consumer segment.

The qualitative information has been collected from 114 respondents selected through snowballing technique within the metropolitan area of Mexico City. A semi-structured research instrument was used to conduct the in-depth interviews online.

The results of the study indicate that technology-led virtual merchandising stimulates arousal and merriment among consumers, which converges the self-image congruence and appearance similarity. The subjects of the study have endorsed that visual stimulus leading to self-image and body image congruence develop consistent arousal and merriment, which lead to positive purchase intentions and buying decisions and inculcate the perception as seeing is experiencing.

The samples drawn for this study may also limit the possibilities of generalization of the study results and map the consumer behavior in a predetermined pattern.

This study is founded on the theoretical maxims of theory of visual perceptions, cognitive theory of reasoning, theory of appearance and reality and Heider’s balance theory and contributes to these theories by explaining the relationship between the social self-concept and self-image congruence.

Firms retailing online fashion apparel should also be engaged in developing user-generated contents through communications on social media encouraging experiential videos, slogans and reviews.

This paper significantly contributes to theoretical and practical implications on virtual shopping, emotions and beliefs and consumption culture.

The aim is to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting‐edge research and case studies.

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

There is less expectation for products with universal functions to conform to local values, but when the product itself ties to social and cultural experiences, the local context should not be disregarded. When drafting strategies for the store environment, intimate apparel retailers should take this suggestion into account. This is especially true for international well‐known brands. A unified cooperate image is important, but perceived localness is also critical. For products tied to aesthetic and social elements, the degree of perceived localness becomes a critical point regarding product acceptance.

The article provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world's leading organizations.

The strategic insights and practical thinking can have a broader social impact.

The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy‐to‐digest format.

The purpose of this study was to examine visual merchandising (VMD) elements of apparel retail web sites, to describe the state of apparel online VMD and to develop a taxonomy of online VMD cues whose effects can be studied empirically.

A total of 50 US and 50 Korean web sites were content analyzed in terms of environment, manner of presentation, and path finding.

Results of the study revealed that many VMD features of offline stores have been implemented online. In addition, some VMD features of online apparel stores do not have a direct offline parallel. The taxonomy of VMD cues can be used by researchers to systematically study the effects of the cues following the SOR Model.

Because of the descriptive nature of the study important discussions about possible effects of various VMD elements on consumer behaviors cannot be addressed. Future research needs to investigate the effects of different VMD features introduced in the study on diverse consumer behaviors.

Using the VMD categories developed and coded in the study, online apparel retailers may be able to gain knowledge about online VMD features they can use to create desirable effects simulating those of in‐store VMD.

In spite of the strategic importance of VMD in online apparel stores, specific online VMD features that may influence consumer attitudes and behaviors have not been identified. Findings provide a comprehensive list of online VMD elements available from apparel web sites that are comparable to traditional offline VMD.

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the relationship between strategic remodelling of the retail store and the performance of companies in the retail sector.

The method used was a quantitative and descriptive survey of 93 cases from a sample of 329 retail stores from three chains that had remodelled some of their retail stores.

The results showed that strategic remodelling improved the performance of the stores surveyed, demonstrating the importance of retail store management as a strategic resource that can improve performance and competitiveness. Applying the balanced scorecard (BSC) perspectives, the retail store strategies had a greater influence on the dimension of internal processes than on other dimensions. Specifically, lighting is the redesign strategy that provides the best performance result.

The findings offer support to managers who are considering modifications to the retail store. Decisions about strategies related to external visual communication, internal layout, internal visual communication, fixtures, painting of the store, lighting, location of the store and visual merchandising can make a difference in the pursuit for better performance across a range of dimensions.

This paper contributes to both the retail strategy and marketing literature by evidencing the link between specific retail remodelling strategies and performance using the BSC dimensions.