Merchandise Planning is a crucial part of the retail business, focusing on selecting the right products, deciding quantities, and ensuring timely availability to meet customer demand. In Class 10 Retail subject, this topic helps students understand how retailers plan, forecast, and manage merchandise effectively. These notes cover the meaning, objectives, importance, and steps of merchandise planning, helping students prepare for exams and real-world retail operations.
Merchandise Planning Class 10 Notes
A product or merchandise is anything that can be offered to a market or to the customer that might satisfy a need. Merchandising means making products look good and easy to buy in a store. It includes:
- Choose the right product.
- Putting them in the right place
- Making them look attractive
- Offering excellent prices and deals
Merchandise planning is useful to the organiser for attracting customers, increasing sales, maximising profit and reducing expenses.
Session 1: Kinds of Merchandise
What Is Merchandise Reporting Hierarchy?
Merchandise Reporting Hierarchy is a structure used by retail to organise their products and plan how to sell them. Merchandise reporting hierarchy helps to know which product is selling well, keeps similar products together for better display and helps the buyer to understand what to order and when.
Kinds of Merchandise
There are various types of merchandise which can be purchased by the ultimate users for their daily needs.
It includes the following types of products:
1. Consumer products:
- Staple: used for daily needs, e.g., bread, milk, groceries, etc.
- Impulse: instant purchasing, e.g., chocolates
- Emergency: purchase on the needs, e.g., medicine
- Convenient: conveniently purchased, e.g., vegetables
- Luxury: costly products, e.g., cars, jewellery
- Comforts: purchase for comforts, e.g., sofa set
2. Industrial: used by the industry, e.g., raw material, machines
- Department: Big sections in the store like Men’s Wear, Women’s Wear, Games Zone, etc.
- Class: Specific product type in the department, like shirts, pants, etc.
- Subclass: More detailed categories like designer shirts, basic shirts, etc.
- Price: The customer chooses the product based on the budget.
- Style: Fashion trending products, like style, may have a logo of any brand.
- Colour and Size: Exact colour and size that fits the customer.
There are six types of rights of merchandising:
- Type
- Quality
- Price
- Quantity
- Time
- Place
The steps to determine the right assortment of merchandise are
- Assessing the target market
- Collecting information
- Analysing the data
- Determining breadth and depth of merchandise offerings.
Merchandising Tips
- The merchandiser must source products according to the latest trends and season.
- The merchandise should be as per the age, sex and taste of the target market.
- Merchandise for children should be in line with cartoon characters (like Barbie, Pokemon, etc.) to excite them.
Session 2: Role and Functions of Junior Merchandiser
In the business world, merchandisers play an important role in choosing and managing products. There are different types of merchandisers in the business world, like junior merchandisers, senior merchandisers and executives. The junior merchandisers do the basic jobs like checking samples and talking to suppliers. Senior merchandisers make big decisions like picking products and designing packaging. The executive checks how the products are selling. All these merchandisers help to make sure that the company has good products, enough stock and strong sales.
The basic functions of merchandise planning are:
- Retail merchandising refers to the various activities which contribute to the sale of products to the consumers for their end use.
- Every retail store has its own line of merchandise to offer to the customers.
- The display of the merchandise plays an important role in drawing customers into the store and prompting them to purchase as well.
- Merchandising helps in the attractive display of the products at the store in order to increase their sale and generate revenues for the retail store.
- Merchandising helps in the sensible presentation of the products available for sale to entice the customers and make them a brand loyalist.
The main functions of an admin junior merchandiser are:
- Managing site and location
- Managing the operative process at the stores
- Managing customer service
- Managing cash and stock
- Managing store facilities
- Managing security
- Managing personnel
- Crisis management
- IT management
Session 3: Visual Merchandising and Display
Visual merchandising is the activity and profession of developing floor plans and two- and three-dimensional displays in order to maximise sales. Visual merchandising is the art of displaying merchandise in a store to attract customers and increase sales.
It includes several aspects, such as
- The flooring and lighting used in the store,
- The colour co-ordination in the store,
- Uniforms of the staff,
- The way in which the staff interacts with the customers,
- The design of the trial rooms
Functions of the Visual Merchandiser
- Window Displays: Window displays show off the seasonal themes, like summer or festive, to attract the attention of customers.
- Brand Excitement: Creates visually stimulating setups that reflect brand identity and increase customer walk-ins.
- Staff Training: The staff should be trained regarding how to follow visual merchandising guidelines.
- Instruction Manuals: The staff follow the merchandising guidelines.
- Colour Coordination: Chooses and implements colour schemes that align with the brand and enhance product visibility.
- Slow-Moving Inventory: Identifies underperforming items and makes better placements to boost sales.
Principles
The principles of visual merchandising are:
- Make it easier for the customer to locate the desired category and merchandise.
- Make it easier for the customer to self-select.
- Make it possible for the shopper to coordinate and accessorise.
- Recommend, highlight and demonstrate particular products at strategic locations.
- Educate the customer about the product in an effective & creative way.
- Make proper arrangements in such a way to increase the sale of unsought goods.
Techniques
Many elements can be used by visual merchandisers in creating displays, including colour, lighting, space, product information, and sensory inputs (such as smell, touch, and sound), as well as technologies such as digital displays and interactive installations. A planogram allows visual merchandisers to plan the arrangement of merchandise by style, type, size, price or some other category.
Types of Visual Merchandising
- Window Displays: Window displays can communicate style, content, and price. Display windows may also be used to advertise seasonal sales or inform passers-by of other current promotions.
- Food Merchandising: Restaurants, grocery stores, and convenience stores use visual merchandising as a tool to differentiate themselves in a saturated market.
Session 4: Duties and responsibilities of a junior merchandiser
A merchandiser is responsible for managing specific product categories in a store, like men’s wear, women’s wear or kids’ clothes. The merchandiser’s job is to make sure that the right products are available, well-presented and selling well.
The four main duties of a merchandiser
- Planning: Set the rules and regulations for what kind of products should be sold in this section.
- Directing: Guide the buyer to understand the product.
- Coordinating: Make sure all buyers work together so the store looks consistent and matches the brand.
- Controlling: Check how well products are selling and how well buyers are doing their job.
Responsibility Not to Do the Things
- Don’t go overboard cleaning and prepping the merchandise.
- Don’t place your tables and clothing racks so close together that shoppers can’t get through.
- Don’t deliberately set out merchandise that’s been damaged beyond repair or recalled, and don’t lie about the condition.
- It’s fine to sell a nonworking vintage radio to someone who wants to repair or display it, but be honest about the condition.
- Don’t tell a shopper about the functioning of the products if it’s not.
- A feature display such as the one shown on the mannequin sets an expectation that items similar to it can be found in adjacent units.
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