VS Fashion Visual Buyer Merchandiser

Visual merchandisers work in retail stores to plan organise and build store displays in an appropriately pleasing way to increase sales They research trends, best sellers and societal interests to psychologically design a store so that the customer feels like they’re experiencing a journey throughout the store instead of ‘just shopping’. By creating an experience customers are more likely to buy things they didn’t plan on buying just because of the pure excitement and hype of the product There is an artistry behind visual merchandising as they have to have artistic visions to create displays that suit a brands ethos - for example “stacking a limited supply of 500 boxes of specialty merchandise together in one place creates a sense of urgency to buy in customers and passerby” (Cardenas H, 2022). VM’s focus on specific design elements like colour, texture and order to create emotional and physiological responses cause an increase in sales

Fashion buyers work in head offices of retail stores to pick fabrics materials and products within collections that they know will drive sales and match current trends as well as adhering to consistent best-selling demands (like basic white shirts and denim jeans) Similarly, to visual merchandisers, fashion buyers have to do extensive research into what their clientele are currently buying so that they can figure out what they want in future collections The difference between them is that FB’s are part of the making of the clothing and VM’s focus on the displays Both of these job roles work together as visual merchandisers need to know the products that they have to display and fashion buyers will be able to inform them of the quantity, quality and their desired outcome of the collection.

To conclude, I would personally prefer to be a visual merchandiser as the psychological side of store displays really interest me Additionally, with my current job (working at House of Fraser) I have worked alongside visual merchandisers and admired their creativity and eye for merchandising Learning the ins and outs of store displays and why things are placed where they are really interests me and I am excited to go to university to learn more