Abstract
Retailers need accurate movement pattern analysis of human-tracking data to maximize the space performance of their stores and to improve the sustainability of their business. However, researchers struggle to precisely measure customers’ movement patterns and their relationships with sales. In this research, we adopt indoor positioning technology, including wireless sensor devices and fingerprinting techniques, to track customers’ movement patterns in a fashion retail store over four months. Specifically, we conducted three field experiments in three different timeframes. In each experiment, we rearranged one element of the visual merchandising display (VMD) to track and compare customer movement patterns before and after the rearrangement. For the analysis, we connected customers’ discrete location data to identify meaningful patterns in customers’ movements. We also used customers’ location and time information to match identified movement pattern data with sales data. After classifying individuals’ movements by time and sequences, we found that stay time in a particular zone had a greater impact on sales than the total stay time in the store. These results challenge previous findings in the literature that suggest that the longer customers stayed in a store, the more they purchase. Further, the results confirmed that effective store rearrangement could change not only customer movement patterns but also overall sales of store zones. This research can be a foundation for various practical applications of tracking data technologies.
Highlights
A visual merchandising display (VMD) develops a systematic floor plan that highlights the benefits of products, enabling customers to understand the characteristics of the store, brand, and products at a glance
After the VMD rearrangement, the average daily sales of the first floor increased by about 10.6% from $5490 to $6070
In Study 1, we relocated display mannequins placed in the right-side zone near the entrance on the first floor (1F-right) to the inner side zone (1F-inner) and placed hangers with more clothing lines in that location
Summary
A visual merchandising display (VMD) develops a systematic floor plan that highlights the benefits of products, enabling customers to understand the characteristics of the store, brand, and products at a glance. VMDs are a commonly used strategy in the retail industry to maximize profits and deliver brand images to customers [1] This strategy includes window displays, in-store product displays, product placement, and point-of-purchase displays. The placement of goods involves planning product displays by considering the purchasing behavior of customers and the characteristics of the goods or arranging products for easy buying and selling [7,8]. Proper placement of goods provides customers with easy-to-find merchandise and clarifies the image of the store It affects customers’ movement flows in a store, such as the length of stay in the store and moving distances [3]. An efficient floor plan can maximize the use of store space and make products stand out
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