How does visual merchandising in fashion retail stores affect consumers' brand attitude and purchase intention?

Consumers' perceptions of visual merchandising can arouse consumers' in-store merchandise exploration, such as interacting with products, differentiate a retail brand among competitors; contribute to brand preference; and encourage purchase intentions. However, the combination of topics, visual merchandising and cognition, remains relatively unexplored. Thus, Study I develops measures of visual merchandising cognition and Study II examines the impact of visual merchandising cognition on brand preference, with a focus on fashion brands. This research used mixed methods and an experimental design to empirically test the influence of visual merchandising cognition on fashion brand preferences. Confirmatory factor analysis finds three dimensions of visual merchandising cognition: in-fashion, attractiveness, and function. A structural equation model confirms a conceptual framework for the influence of visual merchandising cognition on brand preferences. In-fashion and attractiveness have a significantly positive effect on brand aesthetic attributes. Function has a significantly positive effect on brand utilitarian attributes. Favorable attitudes toward visual merchandising directly transfer to favorable brand attitudes that are positively associated with purchase intentions.