Marketing and merchandising

and between
• Fashion Merchandising: A fashion merchandising job description is based
around crafting a positive consumer experience. From choosing what to
sell, to deciding how it’s displayed in stores, fashion merchandisers have a
customer-focused approach. They know that presentation counts. Fashion
merchandising experts subtly inspire consumers to see the possibilities in
their products.
• Fashion Marketing: Fashion marketers are not so subtle. It’s their job to
promote fashion. They want to generate interest in new styles and
products. Fashion marketing involves advertising, but it’s more than that.
Fashion marketers have to be on the cutting edge—endorsing the right
thing at the right time. They connect the public with the world of fashion,
and they help set trends.
• Fashion Buying: Fashion buyers have to be aware of the nuances of
trends. They have to anticipate where styles are going and what will catch
on with consumers. Not every new style will make it to the marketplace.
Fashion buyers make decisions about what to sell and how much based on
their knowledge of fashion history, market trends and customer
psychology.
• Merchandising is a form of marketing that focuses on
presenting the product itself when and where customers are
most likely to buy. Marketing is a broader effort that includes
all possible kinds of promotion, including longer-term brand
awareness. In a well-crafted marketing plan, marketing and
merchandising interface gracefully, with marketing laying the
groundwork for the merchandising that leads customers to
their final purchasing decisions
• The key to having a successful business is having the right products
in the right place, at the right price, at the right time. The 4 P’s;
product, placement, price, and promotions are basic components of
a marketing plan. When successfully integrated, the four elements
all work towards the same goals, sharing the same message in a
seamless relationship.

• In a retail setting, marketing and merchandising teams decide on

the 4 P’s. Marketing typically owns all aspects of customer
acquisition, such as driving brand awareness, customer loyalty and
retention, and increasing traffic. On the other hand, merchandising
handles the product strategy, such as category and brand-level
planning, managing in-season pricing and promotional activities,
and cross-channel inventory management. It is especially crucial for
these two teams to have a single source of truth to work with the
same information; this will result in better informed and aligned
strategic decisions and help integrate workflows effectively.