Successful customer-facing brands know that visual merchandising is the secret sauce of storytelling in retail. Storytelling keeps customers engaged when they step into the store, and visual merchandising (VM) helps tell great stories.
VM is indispensable, more so when the customer journey is long and iterative, as in the case of modular kitchen retail. It helps retailers create an engaging shopping experience and empowers customers to make complex decisions. For businesses, VM ultimately helps enhance brand preference and loyalty and sustain in a fiercely competitive retail market.
Retail design guru Shradha Kurup swears by VM and believes that retailers will not succeed if they do not remain focused on how their brand communicates within the store. Kurup, head of retail marketing & group head for visual merchandising at Raymond Lifestyle Ltd, shares some interesting takes on VM. She is also on the Jury for India Kitchen Congress Awards 2025.
Why is visual merchandising becoming an essential part of customer engagement and conversion in retail?
In my view, retail has changed drastically from merely being centred around products and spaces. Now retail is about providing visitors with reassuring experiences. Conventional retail principles and retail rules are crumbling. Stacking products or standard offerings on the shelves isn’t enough anymore. People desire stories that weave magical narratives, and they want to step into experiences that are worth sharing. VM is the key to creatively telling stories, building experiences, helping shoppers make informed decisions, and eventually converting them into buyers.
How important is in-store visual merchandising in a traditionally assisted-selling segment like kitchen solutions?
VM is critical to retail since it directly connects the customer with the brand. In the kitchen segment, VM helps curate a personalised journey for the customer, to inspire, educate and engage through scientific yet experiential methods. Such a participative journey enables customers to co-create the most suitable kitchen solution. This method augments the traditional ‘assisted-selling’ process and improves informed decision-making. Eventually, it leads to better brand connection and higher brand loyalty.
What expectations and behaviours, in your opinion, are driving a change in how retailers treat their customers?
The customer today has evolved is well-informed and well-travelled, and looks for experiences that are worth spending their time and money on. You see, they already have digital access to anything they want at the click of a button. However, when they decide to step out, they prefer locations that deliver ultra-convenience blended with magical moments. This, in my view, is the most significant behaviour change we are witnessing currently. Retailers who recognise this are elevating the store experience by integrating tech infrastructure, design, service, and products at high points in the customer journey. This approach helps to simplify decision-making and create dynamic and theatrical environments that deliver memorable experiences.
How are retailers using visual merchandising design for social branding and to meet the social connect expectations of the consumer?
Retailers are investing more time and effort to curate experiences and visual journeys that are linked to their brand ethos. They are creating larger-than-life installations that make customers stop and notice. These installations are designed to spell out the brand narrative and create awe. We often see that people love taking pictures, having lots of selfies, and sharing experiences with their social world. Brands have recognised this need; they have woven their offerings into this beautiful form of storytelling that customers love to capture. Eventually, these stories cascade through customers’ networks and build associations that last.
What should be the purpose of visual merchandising in a kitchen retail outlet?
The fundamental purpose of visual merchandising is to attract, engage, and convert browsers into buyers. The use of the sensory pyramid (primary – sight; secondary – sound and touch; tertiary – smell and taste) helps deliver such brand experiences that build associations for a lifetime. When we empower our customers with meaningful information and storytelling through visual merchandising, it helps them to co-create their personalised journeys through the store and in dealing with the brand. From a physical branding perspective, visual merchandising helps reinforce the brand’s proposition and positioning. The immaculate storytelling and theatrical articulation of the brand’s narratives invite crowds in ways that can often go viral.
How can retailers and brands equip themselves for this new need?
All retailers and brands must equip themselves with new techniques, technologies, and innovative materials. An understanding of their customers’ expectations helps develop customer-centric VM strategies that articulate the brand’s proposition with clarity and conviction. Creative thinking gives them what they have never experienced before, and keeps them wanting more, compelling them to come back again. The use of new themes, new materials and new mediums of storytelling helps keep the excitement alive by creating a brand vibe and buzz that helps differentiate in a fiercely competitive marketplace.
