What Is Visual Merchandising and How Can You Turn it into a Career?

An inside look at a career in visual merchandising and how to move up the retail ladder

By Isabel Thottam

If the questions “what is visual merchandising exactly?” and “how do I get into work in this industry?" are on your mind, you’re in the right place.

As a visual merchandiser, you’ll get to use your creativity every day. You’ll envision, plan, and execute a brand representation in stores to enhance customer experience and, in turn, support profit growth. The beauty of this job is that you’ll get to work both with the most important key players of brand management and retail in your company, but also with those that work in the storefront or digital store.

In this article, we’ll guide you through all the information you need to know to become successful in this field. Plus, keep reading to find out also the locations with the highest demand for this profession.

What Is Visual Merchandising?

Visual merchandising is a marketing technique used by retailers to arrange and present products in stores. It’s a crucial selling tool since it attracts customer attention, emphasizes product characteristics, and facilitates and encourages purchase. To achieve this and form a consistent brand identity, visual merchandising relies on various mediums, such as:

  • lights
  • colors
  • music
  • strategic display of products
  • technology

Visual merchandising tactics are used in both physical and online stores. In the former, we see it in the interior space, windows, and mannequin-style displays for instance. In the latter, it shows up in the website layout, characteristics of product images, item bundling, and recommendations.

What Does a Visual Merchandiser Do?

Now that we’ve answered the question “what is visual merchandising?” you might be wondering what exactly the responsibilities of a visual merchandiser are. Here are some of the most common:

  • Create and execute a visual merchandising strategy in line with the store brand, targets, and other requirements.
  • Work alongside brand managers, marketing specialists, and buyers to create the visual element of promotions and advertising campaigns.
  • Organize store layouts and procure materials for displays.
  • Oversee the installment of in-store and window displays, points of purchase, and signage.
  • Maintain coherence of visual merchandising throughout all brand stores.
  • Update the displays when new products or campaigns launch.
  • Keep up with the latest industry trends.
  • Track costs in line with the budget.

How to Become a Visual Merchandiser?

If you’re looking for the answer to “what is visual merchandising?” then, you’ll likely also want to know how to enter this field and make it your career. Aspiring visual merchandisers need at least a high school diploma with design and marketing courses as well as some retail experience. However, if you really want to get ahead in your career faster you can take one of the following courses:

  1. a two-year visual merchandising associate degree that includes a work experience component
  2. a bachelor’s degree in advertising, marketing, art, graphic design or similar

If you choose these higher education paths, some of the essential components you’ll need to include are consumer behavior, displaying graphics, color theory, visual communication and art, and fashion merchandise.

To become a good visual merchandiser, you’ll also have to commit to continued learning. It’s crucial to deeply get to know the brand with whom you work, as well as to keep yourself up to date with the latest trends in the industry.

Finally, work on hard and soft skills alike, such as:

  • teamwork
  • attention to detail
  • communication
  • problem-solving
  • presentation skills
  • the ability to work both under pressure and without supervision

How Much Does a Visual Merchandiser Make?

The average visual merchandiser salary is $49,445 per year. However, depending on various factors including your education, experience, and location, that figure could be lower or higher for you. For example, visual merchandisers in Los Angeles make around $59,045 a year, while in New York it’s $66,555 per year. The top-paying states for visual merchandisers are Washington, Maine, Massachusetts and New Jersey.

Plus, if we consider the specific sector of fashion merchandising, salary earnings will be even higher.

If after “what is visual merchandising?” your next question is “how much can I make as a visual merchandiser in my city?”, simply head to Monster's Salary Calculator. We’ll provide you an estimated salary for your role in your town, plus suggest locations with high- demand as well.

How to Find Visual Merchandising Jobs

The secret to finding any job faster is writing your resume in a way that’s optimized for your professional goals. Use it to present your experience and skills but also show companies that you’re exactly what they’re looking for. This means keeping your resume easy to read with coherent paragraphs, bullet points, and strategic use of bold text. On top of this, don’t forget to carefully scan the job listing you are interested in and find specific industry keywords to include in your resume.

Finally, always send out your resume with a well-crafted cover letter. Describe in more depth what makes you stand out as a candidate and what you could bring to the company with your talent.

Where Do Visual Merchandisers Work?

Visual merchandisers work in retail storefronts or digital businesses of any kind, like:

  • grocery stores
  • superstores
  • department stores
  • specialty stores
  • malls
  • drug stores
  • e-commerce stores

Although typical of retail, you can also find visual merchandisers in museums, hotels, and tourist attractions as well.

As for the industries with the highest levels of employment in visual merchandising, we suggest you look into:

  • building materials and supplies dealers
  • merchant wholesalers
  • advertising, public relations, and related services
  • general merchandise stores
  • beverage manufacturing

So, if you’re looking for visual merchandiser jobs, you have the luxury of almost infinite options. You could land a role anywhere, but we suggest looking into the following five states since they have the highest employment level for visual merchandisers:

As far as the best metro areas in the U.S. for this profession go, check out:

Show Off Your Talent on Monster to Find Your Next Job in no Time

Here at Monster not only do we have the answer to the question “what is visual merchandising?”, but we also guide you right into the corresponding career faster and without stress. Start today and create a free candidate account. Upload your resume and tell us what you’re looking for and we’ll send you customized alerts as soon as new listings hit our website. Plus, companies and recruiters will be able to find and contact you directly.