The Impact of Visual Merchandising on the Consumer Decision Process for Intimate Apparel

Intimate apparel has been regarded as a personal issue and the ultimate purchase intention is based on the degree of wearability in terms of the various functional considerations. Previous researches have seldom focused on its unique feature regarding consumers’ decision process and there is one by Hart and Dewsnap (2001) specifically deals with the issue. However, focuses were put on the physical conditions of intimate apparel such as functional support; decline in aesthetic appearance of a bra and normal product replacement and the interaction between a retailer and a consumer has not been stressed. In contemporary intimate apparel retailing, the fashion and trend element becomes another key reason for consumers to purchase new intimate apparel and in order to be distinctive in the marketplace; intimate retailers has paid a close attention to intensify its retail identity by unique Visual Merchandising strategy to arouse purchase. In this study, Visual Merchandising of fashion-conscious and function-oriented intimate apparel retailers were included to test its impact of decision process. Focus group interviews were conducted to collect in-depth understanding on the impact of various strategies. The results show that mannequin format is an important criterion to influence the awareness stage and shop entry and the sensory pleasure inside a store. The combination of mannequin, lighting and props in a window display and a store highlight can further intensify the decision process where the former affects the affective pleasure of consumers and help them determine the suitability of a store’s retail identity to personal preference, the latter intensifies the sensational feeling of consumers and encourage the tendency to try on or purchase which directly relates to the pre-purchase stage. Intimate apparel retailers can adopt the results as an reference to develop the corresponding Visual Merchandising strategies according their target segments.