Visual merchandising and store design might at first glance appear to be two different and distinct topics. The truth is that they are…and they aren’t. Here’s what I mean:

Visual merchandising and store design are like many other attributes of your store in the sense that they should both contribute to your store’s shopping environment.  But more importantly and from a shopper’s perspective, visual merchandising and store design help create what the shopper will sense, albeit perhaps only subconsciously, as their “feelings” about your store.

Of course there is more to generating “good feelings” about your store than just visual merchandising and store design, but once you have a sense of the synergy of the entire shopper interface you begin to understand how to positively affect the shopping experience.

Store design deals with elements such as the location of categories and product placement within those categories. In good store design thought is given to geometry and symmetry of sales space, which fosters balance and can improve shopper flow.  Color and aroma and elements of sound and displays that encourage the tactile involvement of your shoppers are all too, part of store design.

But when one talks about visual merchandising, whether it is in the context of colorful eye-popping displays or perhaps just the dominant color themes within a category’s sales space, she is still talking about store design.

I know, I know, I’m splitting hairs here. But here’s my point. Although you might consider visual merchandising more dynamic and store design more static and perhaps “ a once every 5 years or so” pursuit, they must always work together. The balance that must be achieved is one of totality and not just bits and pieces. Therefore you must have a master plan and know how it all fits together.

But now this all takes us back to the question of identifying your “ideal” customer. You must know what customer profile you want your visual merchandising and store design to appeal to. Read more about it in the  book. In Discovery Based Retail I discuss visual merchandising and store design at length.