This research aimed to analyze the visual merchandising elements of the Top 3 department stores of South Korea. The elements of visual merchandising consist of spatial, display, presentation, and service element. The objective of the research was to a...
This research aimed to analyze the visual merchandising elements of the Top 3 department stores of South Korea. The elements of visual merchandising consist of spatial, display, presentation, and service element. The objective of the research was to analyze and identify these elements in each department store. The result of the analysis is as follows First, in regards to the spatial element, the most noticeable difference was in the stores` layouts. In order to lengthen the time of stay of the customers, Hyundai Department Store differentiated its materials. In addition, environmentally friendly columns were emphasized. Each department store had distinct layouts. Lotte Department Store had the most traditional maze and chessboard layout, while Shinsegae Department Store had the widely preferred S-shape layout, and Hyundai Department had a modified S-shaped layout which took customers` variability into consideration. Second, in respect to the display element, there was a difference in lighting among the department stores. Lotte Department Store had high level lighting which spotlighted the products while Hyundai Department Store applied low level lighting to add sophistication to their display. Third, in regards to the presentation element, Shinsegae Department Store made excellent use of space while Lotte and Hyundai Department Store emphasized customer traction by utilizing many inducement devices. Fourth, in respect to the service element, Shinsegae Department Store had service areas for customer convenience and its rest zones composed of a complex space which emphasized color and material whereas, Hyundai Department Store has shown that it deeply considers its customers` convenience by constructing an environmental friendly space and emphasizes effective facility convenience in voluntary purchase decisions.