In praise of visual merchandising

Now is the visual merchandiser’s moment. An early spin on the bicycle along Regent Street this morning revealed that Hackett, Penhaligons and yes, even National Geographic, had all changed their window schemes in an attempt to catch the eyes of the army of shoppers that pass through the area every day. And what was interesting about this was that even while trying to avoid being killed by bendy buses and men in white Luton vans it was still almost impossible not to look; testimony – if it were needed – to the skills of those involved.

Time was short but, if it had allowed, a similar progress along Oxford Street would have shown equal amounts of visual merchandising skill being deployed. The Selfridges centenary windows are a treat and later this week Marks & Spencer will doubtless be making the most of its extensive Oxford Street frontage to celebrate its 125^th anniversary and the launch of its “penny bazaar”.

Had the stores been open (it was about 7.20am), it would also have been worth paying a visit to H&M at Oxford Circus. The building occupies a strategic site on what is probably the best-known shopping street in Europe and it also has one of the most glamorous low budget interiors at the moment. Pillars covered in paper sunflowers and a ground floor ceiling raft with fronds of paper foliage dangling from it are reminiscent of Topshop in New York – which went very big on paper florals when it opened last month. It’s a moot point which retailer chose to do this first and whether the fact that they are both in-store at the same time is just a matter of coincidence and capturing the zeitgeist.

What is worth noting is that at a time when retailers have come through what is debatably the worst six months in recent memory, stores are looking better than ever. You might judge this to be symptomatic of desperation, but that would be churlish. Yes, of course retailers are trying harder, but it does mean that rather than prices slashed-style promotions, the outcome is improved shops.

That is unless you are H&M. With like-for-like sales growth of 8 per cent last month, said by analysts to be the result of warm weather and the right stock (there’s a surprise), H&M’s Oxford Street interior deck-out not only chimes with the times, but seems to be helping to create a climate in which shoppers reach for their purses.