Visual Merchandising Effectiveness Scale

What it measures

Measures consumer perceptions of visual merchandising effectiveness — window displays, product presentation, and in-store visual communication. Captures whether visual merchandising attracts attention, communicates product information, and motivates store entry or product trial. Widely used in fashion retail, pop-up store, and luxury retail research.

Response format

Likert (1–7, strongly disagree to strongly agree)

Scale items

Attention Capture — ability of display to attract customer attention (Likert 1–7, strongly disagree to strongly agree)

• This display caught my attention.
• This display made me stop and look.
• This display was eye-catching.

Product Information Communication — effectiveness of display in communicating product features

• This display gave me useful information about the product.
• This display clearly communicated what the product is for.
• This display helped me understand the product's features and benefits.

Store Entry Motivation — extent to which display motivated customer to enter or explore

• This display made me want to enter the store.
• This display made me want to find out more about the products shown.

Full scale items shown. Always cite the original source when using this scale in research.

Usage notes & scoring

Three subscale scores. Window display effectiveness predicts store entry rates; in-store display effectiveness predicts unplanned purchasing. Increasingly relevant for online visual merchandising and social commerce product page design.

Recommended companion scales

Citation

Sen, S., Block, L.G., & Chandran, S. (2002). Window displays and consumer shopping decisions. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 9(5), 277–290.

Keywords