A Review on Apparel Fashion Trends, Visual Merchandising and Fashion Branding

Abstract

Visual merchandising encourages customers to enter the store by making it appealing to them and influencing their perception of it. It is the art of putting together effective display designs and ideas in order to boost store traffic and sales. It's also a way to engage with customers and influence their purchasing decisions. A fashion trend occurs when a particular item, silhouette, color, or other new look rises in popularity. It changes with the seasons, and the store serves as a hub for communicating these changes to potential customers. Because items must be sold within a certain time frame, several display tactics are used to best present the merchandise and communicate the current fashion trends to customers. Visual merchandising becomes a key aspect of difference from merchants in the same category as retail firms, particularly fashion brands, try to compete in an already saturated market. Effective branding is now a vital success component for all types of fashion firms. Fashion brands may use effective branding tactics to build equity, promote consumer brand loyalty, and increase profitability. Visual merchandising is critical for inferring various customers' perspectives and adding value to businesses. Its major goal is no longer to make items appealing in order to sell them quickly; it is rather to stand out, develop the correct brand image, and give the greatest possible customer experience. Visual merchandising aspects, when employed correctly, can infiltrate the buyer's brain and prompt them to generate a favorable opinion of the store, allowing it to leverage its brand image. In this context, this research review focuses and aims to study the link between visual merchandising and Apparel Fashion trends, to study the relationship between visual merchandising and fashion branding and to find out the research gaps and scope for future research directions in the area of visual merchandising applied in fashion apparel industry.

Impact of Fashion Trends on Visual Merchandising for Promoting Fashion Apparel Brands

“…Mannequin displays also should display the best of the merchandising so the consumer sees it and can think how the same would look on them and can empathize with the apparel. Akhilendra & Aravendan (2023) present that Store Branding works as a signal. It allows consumers to quickly recognize the place and product as one they are familiar with or one they like.…”

The Effect of Visual Merchandise and Store Atmosphere on Purchase Decision with Hedonic Orientation as Moderator

“…Visual merchandising is a general term in product management where product appearance in retail stores is of great concern (Chasity, 2012). One of the goals of visual merchandising is to make consumers feel comfortable and ensure that consumers can stay in the store longer to increase their buying decision opportunities (Thomas, 2018;and Akhilendra & Aravendan, 2023).…”