What's Your Store Like?

Author: Laurel Brock

First Authored: April 13, 2012

Last Revised: June 13, 2018

Introduction

This is a single lesson plan that includes lecture, discussion, practical application, and presentation. This lesson focuses on store display and visual merchandising concepts. This lesson is split up by individual guided practice and student collaboration.

Goal: To illustrate store display and visual merchandising concepts in a presentation that correlates ideas about these concepts with a chosen type of retail business.

Related Instructional Objectives

Activities in this Lesson

Video

Hooks / Set

Norstrom: Writing with Light

Resources and Materials

Class Discussion

Other

 

Pull up a search for "Window Displays" on google and click over to images. (There is an example PowerPoint presentation and supplemental handout attached). Preview the images with the class. (If time permits, you could plan a field trip to several local retail stores to supplement this discussion with a hands-on experience)

Talk to the students about retail stores possibly seen in your area that change their window displays. Use an example of a local retail store to facilitate the discussion. We have a local store called "Styles" that the teenage girls tend to shop at a lot. I have facilitated this discussion by asking them what differences they may have noticed when the store changes from winter-wear to spring-wear collections.

Relay the definition of Visual merchandising to the students: "The display of products which makes them appealing, attractive, accessible, engaging, and enticing to shoppers in a retail store. Visual merchandising utilizes displays, color, lighting, smells, sounds, digital technology and interactive elements to catch customers' attention and persuade them to make purchases. Visual merchandising helps convey the image of the brand and reflects the personality of the target markets that the retail store wants to attract" (Farfam, n.d., p. 1).

Ask the students if they have any examples they would like to share that demonstrate visual merchandising.

Brainstorm with the students (write down their ideas on the whiteboard in the front of the room or display on a presentation screen) about what is included when we talk about visual merchandising.

The instructor can check for understanding by the student responses during the discussion.

Resources and Materials

Visual Merchandising - Part 1

Guided Practice

 

PowerPoint (Store Layout and Visual Merchandising) - Part 1

Before you start the presentation, ask the students to take out a piece of paper and write down a type of retail business that they would like to own. The business must have a location that requires customers to come in and purchase their merchandise.

Write the terms below on the whiteboard in the front of the room, and ask the students to write down each concept on a separate line down on the left side of the paper leaving space to add information (or copy/distribute the attached student supplemental handout). Let the students know that they will be deciding the following in relation to the business they have chosen:

Show the Store Display & Visual Merchandising PowerPoint presentation- Part 1.

As you complete the slide(s) that corresponds with each concept above, stop and allow the students to reflect. Let the student fill in their ideas in relation to their selected business on their paper. Give the students about 3 minutes for each concept.

Resources and Materials

Check for Understanding

Check Understanding

 

Walk around and ensure that the students understand and don't have additional questions.

Gain Attention

Hooks / Set

 

Choose one of the videos ... they are both a little over 4 minutes each.

Resources and Materials

Visual Merchandising - Part 2

Guided Practice

 

Store Display & Visual Merchandising Presentation - Part 2

Write the terms below on the whiteboard in the front of the room, and ask the students to write down each concept on a separate line down on the left side of the paper leaving space to add information. Let the students know that they will be deciding the following in relation to the business they have chosen:

Show the Store Display & Visual Merchandising PowerPoint presentation- Part 2.

As you complete the slide(s) that corresponds with each concept above, stop and allow the students to reflect. Let the student fill in their ideas in relation to their selected business on their paper. Give the students about 3 minutes for each concept.

Resources and Materials

Check for Understanding

Check Understanding

 

Walk around and ensure that the students understand and don't have additional questions.

Presentation

Group Work

 

PowerPoint Presentation

You will want to start this activity on the second day.

Ask the students to share their retail store ideas with each other and group together by matching retail store selections.

Students will collaborate to create a presentation that will be presented to the rest of the students at the end of the class.

Students should use the internet to find examples and images that demonstrate their ideas for store display and visual merchandising for the retail store business they selected.

Give students at least one hour to complete their presentations. If they have not completed them by the end of the class period, assign it to be completed as homework.

PowerPoint presentations should include each of the concepts discussed above and the following:

Students need to print out the notes page before their presentation.

Students should email the PowerPoint as an attachment to their instructor and print out their slide notes for use during the presentation.

 Students will share their presentations with the class during the last 45 minutes of class.

Resources and Materials

Check for Understanding

Check Understanding

 

As the instructor, you should walk around while the students are creating their presentations to answer questions and offer input.

Presentation Evaluation

Formative Assessment

 

The instructor will evaluate the students' presentation based on the following:

The instructor will evaluate each group's presentation based on format, content, and public speaking ability during the presentation. See the rubric for more detailed information regarding the evaluation. The instructor will evaluate the groups' slide notes after the class session. Students need to submit the slide notes to the instructor's basket after their presentation.

Instructors will share feedback from the presentation evaluation with students in the next class period.

Closing

Closure

 

Ask students to individually write down what they learned in this lesson. Ask them to demonstrate their understanding by writing down their own definition for visual merchandising. Ask the students to submit their definition to the instructor's basket before they leave the classroom.

Teachers can review the definitions for additional understanding of what their students learned in the lesson.

Assessment

Assessment Types: Writing Samples, Demonstrations, Observations

Students are assessed throughout the lesson by the instructor periodically checking for understanding.  The instructor will evaluate the observed presentations.