Visual Merchandising as Tool for Creating Differentiation for Furniture Outlets: Perceptual Mapping

Abstract

Differentiation of one’s offering in this competitive market becomes crucial. Furniture products till now were usually customized by Indian customers. Now, these products are also sold in organized market. National and international players have entered the market with their brands in this category. Hence, differentiation and positioning of these products becomes difficult as there is hardly any change in design and style. Visual merchandising is a unique technique to create differentiation as merchandise offered by retailers has lot of similarity. This study focuses on studying consumer perception for store visual merchandising. The dimensions used to measure consumer perception for furniture outlets of Ahmedabad viz @Home, Home Town, Durian, Godrej Interio and Housefull, are Window display is eye-catching, Atmospherics is excellent (Temperature, fragrance, lighting and music), Room Setting display is attractive, Merchandise display is creative, Fixtures are good, Signages are interesting, Accessories are good and Store front is attractive. The findings of this can be used to develop dimensions of visual merchandising stronger so as to create a unique positioning of the store in this competitive environment and enhance sales of retail outlets.

Note: This paper was presented at the 19h Nirma International Conference on Management (NICOM 2016) on the theme of “Empowering Trade, Industry and Society in challenging and competitive Environment” organized by the Institute of Management, Nirma University (IMNU), Ahmedabad, India during Jan. 7-9, 2016. Paper is uploaded with the permission of IMNU and its contents may be cited with its source for academic purpose such as the brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses as permitted by copyright law. However, the copyright of this paper remains with (IMNU) and its permission is necessary for any commercial use.

Keywords: Visual Merchandising, Furniture Outlets, Window Display, Atmospherics, Room Setting, Merchandise Display, Signages

JEL Classification: M1, M3, M30, M31, M37, M39, L8, L80, L81