Visual Merchandising Strategies for Small Businesses

Abstract

The sole purpose of this research was to focus specifically on visual merchandising strategies for small apparel stores since little research had been done on these types of stores. Visual merchandising literature to-date left small apparel retailers with little guidelines in deciding which visual merchandising strategies are more appropriate for their operations. This study addressed how participants responded favorably to six visual merchandising strategies (store layout/design, color, lighting, music, fixtures, and window displays) and how applying these strategies may benefit small apparel stores. The results suggest that these six visual merchandising strategies were instrumental with increased purchase intentions, traffic, loyalty, and the overall success for small apparel businesses. The findings were consistent with previous literature which evaluated the benefits of visual merchandising strategies for large businesses. This study will be useful to small apparel businesses looking to expand their knowledge base on visual merchandising strategies.