Art of Sales — the History of Visual Merchandising

Hearing the term “Visual Merchandising” we immediately think about something very modern but the truth is a little bit different. This art has had its beginning a long time ago.

Trade isn’t a new disruption. Since the antiquity, merchants have touted their goods. They have always shown the juiciest fruits in the front of their booths, while greener ones were hidden somewhere in the back.

At the time when the salesman profession has started gaining more and more popularity, they had to find out a way of attracting customers to them. The turn of the 18th and 19th century is the beginning of stores in the form similar to the present one. In 1852, Aristide Boucicaut opened the first store — it was called Le Bon Marche. His goal was to create a commercial space and to attract crowds to his vision of a “city in the city” with a large exhibitional space.

Initially, the storefront was an ordinary window. The displaying of goods wasn’t popular. Merchants hold more valuable things at the support area of their shops and show them after customers request. The client knew why he came and what he wanted to buy, impulsive purchases were not likely to happen very often.

Trade has flourished in the 19th century. It was possible to found in shops almost everything, like in present outlets — space was often cluttered and the set up was random. At the beginning of the 1840s, due to the industrial revolution, the technology used in construction has changed. Large arcade-style windows have become fashionable and created a room for first storefronts.

In the 1900s visual merchandising has arisen in the modern understanding of itself — as an arrangement of the exhibitional space. Decorative elements and fashionable ornaments appeared in stores. Shop windows became an integral part of stores, it has started telling stories. Daises, shelves, and mannequins were slowly gaining popularity. This is not just a window anymore.

In 1909, Gordon Selfridge left the light on in his shop, even when it was already closed. Because of it, the pedestrians were still able to look inside the shop and see the exhibition.

In London in 1960, Mary Quant firstly used mannequins in their natural size. She presented her collection in an innovatory way and tried to appeal to the trends in society.

The development of the 20th-century society and the mass media changed shop windows into an integral part of marketing campaigns. They become colorful and eye-catching. This situation is still in good standing. There are no stores without a shop windows — virtually the most important element, which can guarantee the success.