Must be in Times New Roman. The body of the document should be printed in standard 12-point font size. Indent paragraphs in all assignments and use double spacing between and within paragraphs. Must b

TITLE PAGE 1

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 2

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 2

CHAPTERS 3

INTRODUCTION 3

LITERATURE REVIEW 5

METHODOLOGY 6

DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS 7

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 8

APPENDICES 8

LIST OF REFERENCES 9

NDA – Non-Disclosure Agreement

Includes the list of tables & list of figures (pictures)

Example of List of Tables

Example of List of Figures

About The Research Topic

The research topic is about the role of visual merchandising in retail and e-commerce for luxury fashion brands worldwide and how it influences consumers. Visual merchandising is the process of presenting products to customers in a way that will impact their purchasing behavior, it usually includes creating the right display, fashion coordination, fashion events, and creating an appealing impact to keep the customer interested and wanting to engage (Mehta & Chugan, 2013).

This research will identify how luxury brands use visual merchandising to create strategic marketing choices that help grow the brand and attain brand power by captivating consumers' attention and influencing their purchasing power in both the retail and the e-commerce space.

Being one of the consumers who are affected by visual merchandising, this research topic is particularly important to me and hopefully to anyone who comes across this proposal as it will help us understand what causes impulse purchasing that often invokes us to overconsume. Whether it is the adrenaline rush, the belief of happiness, or even materialism (Mertz, 2022).

THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1. What strategies within visual merchandising are luxury fashion brands depending on?

2. How are companies using visual merchandising to gain brand power and be at the top? (Connect this to the research and broaden it)

3. How is visual merchandising different in luxury retail and e-commerce environment?

4. When consumers purchase luxury products, what do they consider?

5. What has caused today’s generation specifically, to overconsume? (Specifically link it visual merchandising and how visual consumption might lead to overconsumption. Analyse it’s relevancy to the context of the study)

Research Objectives

1. To understand the role of visual merchandising in luxury retail and e-commerce space and its effect on consumers.

2. Identify reasons why consumer behavior is heavily reliant on luxury brands.

3. Determine the marketing choices brands make after reflecting on the visual merchandising concept.

4. Propose effective ways luxury fashion brands can advertise without overstimulating consumers.

This report aims to understand how luxury fashion brands promote visual merchandising and how consumers respond to it with the help of the research objectives above.

The analysis will be done using research methods that will consider multiple countries; for example, US, France, Italy, Middle East and cultures to get diversified results as no person or group of people are the same. Further looking into a comparison of how different countries advertise and cater to their luxury consumers in different segments, for example, status quota, cultural background, etc. To be able to differentiate themselves from their competitors.

• What have others said, written or research about your topic?

• What theories support your topic?

• How does the theories relate to your research qns?

• This section should be fully referenced. That means every statement you make about the theory surrounding this topic must state the author and date of the publication from which you found it. E.g. Holt (1998) in a study of firms who had gained an environmental management standard notes that the main benefits appear to be.

• The literature review must conclude with a concise summary of the relevant themes and the main concepts you will use in your study. This may also be an appropriate point to introduce your conceptual framework, model(s), theory or hypothesis to be tested.

• Evidence of comprehensive knowledge and full critical review of the literature relevant to the study;

• Clear links to aims and objectives;

• Up to date, making good use of entirely academic sources

• Citation and referencing are entirely accurate and consistent, using the Harvard method.

For the research method, Qualitative research will be used which includes surveys to get a better understanding of luxury brands and consumers' expectations and responses. Surveys with consumers on specific luxury fashion brands and reach out to the brands' marketing teams to get an insider’s look at what influences their decisions and the strategic goal.

Both Primary data [interviews] and Secondary data [online articles and research journals] will be used to reach a concise understanding of the use of visual merchandising and how it influences brand marketing and consumers’ decisions.

SURVEY RESULTS PROVIDED, check the attached paper for the questions asked and results.

The Analysis will be using Thematic Analysis as the main research will be conducted using Qualitative data.

• Relevant and appropriate methodology with clear links to aims and objectives

• Clear justification, with supporting and referenced evidence, of methodology adopted indicating a full understanding of its values and limitations.

• Implementation of data collection methods highly appropriate and relevant

• Clear presentation of fully justified findings

• Clear and extensive evidence of a high level of analysis using appropriate techniques, and in line with the aims and objectives;

• Exceptional and critical appraisal of issues arising from findings.

• Clear and logical conclusions, based upon the research evidence, which demonstrate the ability to critically evaluate the research results;

• Demonstrate clear linkage to aims and objectives

• Critique of accuracy of recommendations, and of contribution of research to knowledge and/or practice

Bailey, S. and Baker, J. (2014) Visual Merchandising for Fashion. 1st edn. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. Available at: https://doi.org/10.5040/9781474218580.

Cant, M. C., and Y. Hefer. (2012) ‘Visual Merchandising Displays: Waste Effort or Strategic Move? The Dilemma Faced by Apparel Retail Stores.’ The Journal of Applied Business Research 28 (6): 1489–1496.

Charleston, B.D. Based on original work by Harold Koda. ‘Christian Dior (1905–1957).’ In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/dior/hd_dior.htm (October 2004)

Kim, H.-S., Lee, J.-H. and Yoo, S.-H. (2020) ‘Is consumer neural response to visual merchandising types different depending on their fashion involvement?’, PloS one, 15(12), pp. e0241578–e0241578. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0241578.

Li, P. et al. (2022) ‘The effects of visual-audio merchandising elements on consumers’ impulsive purchase intentions in apparel e-customization’, Textile research journal, 92(23–24), pp. 4678–4694. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/00405175221109626.

Mehta, N.P. and Chugan, P.K. (2013) ‘The impact of visual merchandising on impulse buying behavior of consumer: A case from Central Mall of ahmedabad India’, Universal Journal of Management, 1(2), pp. 76–82. doi:10.13189/ujm.2013.010206.

Mertz, B. (2022) Social media usage: Implications on consumer well-being and maladaptive behavior, Louisiana Tech Digital Commons. Available at: https://digitalcommons.latech.edu/dissertations/976/ (Accessed: 10 January 2024).

Nobbs, K., Foong, K.M. and Baker, J. (2015) ‘An exploration of fashion visual merchandising and its role as a brand positioning device’, Journal of global fashion marketing, 6(1), pp. 4–19. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/20932685.2014.971491.

Park, H.H., Jeon, J.O. and Sullivan, P. (2015) ‘How does visual merchandising in fashion retail stores affect consumers’ brand attitude and purchase intention?’, The International review of retail, distribution and consumer research, 25(1), pp. 87–104. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/09593969.2014.918048.