MKT 231

Visual Merchandising

Retail marketing is a highly charged, highly competitive component of the marketing discipline. Consumers everywhere and of every age and economic category, are well informed by internet sources. Driven by access and awareness, they are looking to be courted and enticed to buy one merchant's goods over another. Visual merchandising is the art and business of creating such attraction, using merchandise that is color coordinated, accessorized, sparkling, exciting, and causing shoppers to stop, take a closer look, and buy. Visual merchandising is retail theater at its best, complete with costumes, props, and sets. Like all marketing, however, visual merchandising has a clear purpose - sales- and therefore is strategic in nature, a component of a larger marketing picture. This course addresses the creative and strategic nature of visual merchandising, connecting students with both the flair and fancy of visual merchandising and the nitty-gritty of strategic planning, and clarifying the connection between them.

Units: 3.0