Understanding the Importance of Visual Merchandising on Store Image and Shopper Behaviours in Home Furnishings Retail Setting

Abstract

The present study attempts to identify the important visual merchandising factors and examine the relationships of those factors with store images and shopper behaviours in the context of home furnishings retail setting. Factor analysis was employed to identify dimensions of the importance of visual merchandising and correlation analyses were implemented to examine the relationships among the variables in this study. Of four store image dimensions, Store Environment was significantly related to Layout/Organization and Creative/Inspirational Coordination factors of visual merchandising. New Style/Trend Information aspect of store image was significantly related to Window/Merchandise Display and Creative/Inspirational Coordination of visual merchandising factors. Merchandise Assortment construct of store image was significantly related to Layout/Organization and Creative/Inspirational Coordination aspects of visual merchandising. Appealing Exhibition dimension of store image was significantly related to Layout/Organization and Creative/Inspirational Coordination aspects of visual merchandising. Among five constructs, creative/inspirational coordination of the store was significantly and positively related to visit frequency. However, none of the importance of visual merchandising constructs was correlated to either amount of time spent shopping or the number of items purchased at one time shopping at home furnishings store. Based on the findings of the study, discussions and implications were provided.

Key words: home furnishings retail store, visual merchandising, store image, shopper behaviours.