Future of Visual Merchandizing: A need to invest in the power of sight

When jewellery is selling online now, the most important factor is how you present the imagery. Vision Board Studio, through its presentation at the Retail Jeweller World Dubai Forum 2021, taught the industry how it is imperative to invest in visual props to drive sales

The future of the gem and jewellery industry is fast moving from the touch-and-feel factor to what a customer can “see”. Appealing to a client visually is something that most jewellers are looking at today. Futuristic technology that augments the customer experience through visual props is a segment that jewellers across the globe are investing in heavily today, and why not, when the pandemic has made it imperative to focus on sight as the primary sense today.

The Retail Jeweller World Dubai Forum 2021 had a smart partner in Vision Board Studio, founded by Aditi Kotak and Deepesh Deshmukh, which caters to the visual merchandizing needs of jewellers. The brother-sister duo came up with an interesting presentation that was quite an eye-opener for the delegates drinking in the knowledge being poured out on stage.

Deepesh Deshmukh took the audience through the importance of visual merchandizing. “It helps maximise the aesthetic of the product. It attracts shoppers to your window, and they stop and stare. When they like what they see, they walk into the store, which increases footfall. Once they are in your store, they may love something that is on display and this entices them into impulse shopping. The result, a customer ends up buying four times what they had originally intended to. You make your sale and it is a win-win situation for both sides,” he said.

When Covid hit the industry and most top managements were cutting the fat from their operations, one of the first things they thought of doing away with was visual merchandizing. The Vision Board Studio presentation forced every jeweller to retrospect because it is imperative to invest in this area, rather than overlooking it.

“Visual merchandizing should be considered as an investment. When we sell, there is always a target customer. If we look at the customers, we will be serving ten years from now, it is Generation Z. They are the next big consumer pool,” said Deshmukh.

An IBM survey says that Gen Z, although always on the virtual world through their phones, loves to shop for jewellery at brick-and-mortar stores provided there is some kind of technology around them. They want to see interesting new things happening around them and not just traditional mannequins or busts with jewellery on display.

“Technology brings in new visual possibilities. A lot of apparel showrooms are using technology. Zara is an excellent example. You walk into the store, like a piece of clothing, and scan a picture on your phone. It immediately takes you to a page with a well-known model wearing the same piece. Gucci has started with hallucination campaigns with augmented reality. Brands today are also using LED screens as marketing tools. If the apparel industry is doing it, its imperative that the jewellery industry follows suit, because both are linked,” said Deshmukh.

Visual merchandizing helps elevate the customer experience. Deshmukh said it is not just about sales. If we also give the customer and amazing experience, he will want to come back to the store, resulting in customer loyalty. “Don’t transact. Deliver an experience to customers and sales will automatically happen,” he added.

When he gave the floor to Aditi Kotak, she immediately jumped into the pros of a brand like Vision Board Studio, and why jewellers should invest in great visual merchandizing.

“We have started our operations in Dubai for four months now. Good visual merchandizing grabs the attention of your customers. Give your product the attention it deserves. You can have props on display, but when you add something more, the way your jewellery looks at the end of the day becomes extremely eye-catching. We want your jewellery to be the hero,” she said.

Vision Board Studio helps a brand with its old collection when a new one makes its way into the mix. “When you need to sell that old piece of jewellery, we come in and make it look stunning with our ideas and props. We work with jewellers according to their space and accentuate how the old piece looks with just certain accompaniments. We work around collections, seasons and festivals, and even make generic jewellery look very special. We can display your jewellery the way you want. We use different materials to make the products look good. For example, with coloured stones, the display will have colours complementing the pieces,” she said.

When it comes to online jewellery shopping, there has to be a way in which a jeweller displays his products. The images that the customer sees will need to have an impact on them. Visual merchandizing drives into them an urge to buy what they are seeing. “If you have a good branding, backdrop and props when there is a video wall, it creates the effect you are looking for. There is constant retention of the kind of brand you are looking at,” said Kotak.

The newest kid in the block is movement in windows. “Static windows don’t attract as much as movement does. At a high shopping street, imagine what your sales would be like if amid all the static windows, yours is the only one that shows movement? The feeling of disbelief at what people see can take your sales through the roof,” said Kotak.

Courtesy: Retail Jeweller World News