A definition of merchandising could be the set of techniques that are put in place at the point of sale with the purpose of motivating the customer to buy. It can be said that the placement or location of the articles in a store influence sales since in some cases they push the purchase by reminder or impulse.
The concept of merchandising includes a series of terms such as place of sale, product, sales increase and techniques. This term is widely used by marketing departments and sales teams.
When it comes to merchandising, it is necessary to value above all that which influences the end consumer when buying, which encourages them to make an acquisition. Hence, it is necessary to make a certain item as visible as possible and tempting to the customer.
Merchandising example
A very clear case to explain what merchandising is can be the placement of products in a store window. This way you will have more visibility. This is what textile establishments tend to do. For their part, food businesses manage to give certain items more presence when they are located near checkouts. An impulsive purchase is thus facilitated, one of the most important aspects of merchandising. This will be beneficial for both Suppliers as for manufacturers.
Other techniques used can be the speeches made by loudspeaker on a certain article or its placement in special gondolas.
The term merchandising is often confused with promotional gifts that companies make. However, this is only a small part of this concept encompassed within the marketing area of a company.
Among the values that merchandising brings to a business are:
- Greater inventory rotationof the articles.
- Decrease in purchase time.
- Instead of 'dispatching' items they would be selling.
- Better use of the point of sale.
- There is an active presence instead of a passive presence.
- The 'magnet' products are promoted.
Types of merchandising