Free Online Visual Merchandising Courses

1. Introduction to Merchandising

Great for beginners, this free course delves into all aspects of merchandising, including what visual merchandising techniques are best to draw customers’ attention to your inventory.

2. The Basics of Merchandising

Another practical foundational course, the material breaks down all aspects of merchandising so you can understand product life cycles, the use of ERPs and how to track market trends.

3. Visual Merchandising Essentials

Once you know merchandising is the field for you, go ahead and learn about shop layouts, window dressing and the use of music, colour and light to make retail spaces appealing.

Traditionally, visual merchandising (also known as a shop or window dressing) was a trade in which you were often an apprentice first, learning the basics from an experienced window dresser in a specific shop.

Nowadays, visual merchandising is far more scientific with ongoing research into why consumers will enter one shop but not another, why some layouts (till at the front or back, for example) have different uses, and what colours can impact a customer’s mood positively or negatively. Global brands spend big budgets to research trends and create unique retail areas and displays to sell their services or products. Because the job is much more focused on analysis and data - as well as the science of selling - formal courses are imperative. You can create your Alison account for free and do as many visual merchandising courses as you like, boosting your knowledge with other courses in retail managementso you can show potential employers how well rounded you are.

Our courses are not only for those who want to work for big brands: if you dream of running your own shop or outlet, you will benefit from understanding how to make a retail space that is practical, safe, attractive, easy to maintain and converts browsers into buyers!

Essentially, a successful visual merchandiser needs to understand:

1. Branding
2. Human senses
3. Display

You need to understand the elements of the brand you are working on. Who is its target market? What colours are suitable for it? What props would be strongly connected to the brand? For example, a brand that appeals to children would have very different branding to one marketed to retired or older people.

Our senses are crucial in merchandising. What we see, hear, touch, smell, and even sometimes taste, in the case of food retailers, can significantly impact whether an item or service sells or not. Does the music you play match the mood? Do the shop fittings like carpets create a certain atmosphere? Would you have dim lighting in a shop for older clientele?

The most obvious part of visual merchandising are the actual displays that you create. In the past, this might have been dressing up a shop dummy in the newest clothes; now it could entail creating a high quality video that plays on large screens. Do you need to create posters to highlight a sale? What about signage to indicate change rooms or points of sale? Every detail of your display needs to fit the brand and appeal to the senses. Getting all three to be in harmony - on a budget! - is the sweet spot for an effective visual merchandiser.