A study on merchandising methods for large‐scale commercial facilities

Abstract

Abstract This paper aims to analyze the merchandising (MD) of commercial facilities, clarify the basic components and essential functions, and explore the characteristics of the MD that promote “walk‐around behavior.” MD was created by architects in the 1960s to attract people from different areas into commercial facilities and create a lively walk‐around. MD has since been developed and utilized outside the architectural field in commercial consulting. As architects, we reexamine the MD of commercial buildings in Japan and the U.S. based on the components of these buildings at the time. We also define and add new features to further clarify the MD and provide examples of how MD has been used in applications other than commercial facilities. As a result, we will demonstrate that this planning method can be a method to create revitalization of towns other than commercial facilities.

Keywords

• merchandising
• potential facilities
• primary customer attractor
• secondary traffic attractor
• walk‐around behavior