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The advent of globalization
has compelled retailers to
differentiate themselves from others to excel in the competitive
environment. Visual Merchandising (VM) is used by modern
retailers with the basic objective of luring customers and increasing sales. It
includes various methods of displaying products, color schemes used in
the interiors, fixtures and lightings, signage, themes, window
display, background music and so on. All these create an environment,
which stimulates and affects the consumer's buying behavior. VM helps
retailers in creating a unique image of the retail outlet in the minds of
consumers, and, at times, it also leads to impulsive buying decisions.
VM is more professionalized and well-established in western
countries than in India. However, of late, the Indian retail industry is waking up
to this concept and has started making efforts to implement the same in
an effective manner.
Retailing, in India, is changing at a rapid pace. The Indian
retail market, the fifth largest globally, is rated as the second most
attractive market for investment.
According to McKinsey's Report titled "Indian Consumer Market", it is
estimated that by 2025, the Indian consumer market is going to quadruple.
The retail sector is expected to rise to $833 bn by 2013 and further to
$1.3 tn by 2018, growing at 10% annually. It is also estimated that
the number of operational malls would exceed 400 by 2010 and further
increase to over 700 by 2015. This clearly indicates the significant
shift of the Indian retail industry towards organized retail through large
format retail chains, spread across the country. |
