As customer expectations continue to evolve, traditional retailers and brands in India are increasingly embracing immersive in-store experiences to stay relevant and drive footfall. Chennai-based VM and branding agency ‘Imagine That’ has steadily carved a niche for itself in this shifting retail design landscape, delivering impactful work across regions throughout the country.

Founded in 2021, the agency combines branding, visual merchandising, signage, styling, and experiential storytelling to deliver holistic retail solutions tailored to each brand’s identity. Imagine That has worked with well-known retailers including RmKV, Navaneetha Silks and Prince Jewellery, where the agency’s integrated approach to visual experience have increased footfall and contributed to increased sales.

In conversation with Retail4Growth, Dhurgha Niranjankumar, Design Consultant & Visual Merchandising Head of Imagine That, shares insights into the growing importance of visual merchandising in traditional retail, the shift towards experience-led store environments, evolving mannequin and display trends, and how thoughtful VM can directly influence footfalls, customer engagement, and sales.

You offer a wide spectrum of services – from branding and logo design to planogramming, window displays, and complete visual merchandising. How does bringing all these elements together help create a more cohesive and impactful retail brand experience for clients? 

So far, it has been a win-win for both our clients and us. When we started, our focus was primarily on visual merchandising, where branding wasn't a significant part of our offering. My business partner comes from a strong graphic design background, and while we always wanted a more holistic approach, we were initially sceptical, as most clients were only looking for VM services.

That changed as we worked on projects alongside architects like Saran Associates and 4Dimensions Retail Design. We quickly realised that every retail space naturally calls for visuals, signage, posters, and other branding elements, so bringing branding and VM together became a natural progression for the business. Over the last five years, the company has grown steadily, and by 2025, nearly 80–90% of our projects were integrated branding and VM assignments rather than standalone VM work.

What has been your experience in working with traditional retailers and brands?

We always felt there was a strong gap and opportunity in that segment. These retailers have the budgets, but they are often unsure about where and how much to invest, especially in areas like visual merchandising. Since many of them come from long-standing family businesses, they naturally expect a very high return on investment. So, convincing them initially can be quite challenging. However, over the last two to three years, we have seen a significant increase in awareness and acceptance of visual merchandising across retail spaces.

Family-run legacy retail brands are often cautious about investing in visual merchandising.

How do you convince them of its value, and how do you demonstrate measurable business impact through VM? 

There are mainly two ways we approach this. First, we showcase the quality of our work and the fact that none of our projects are repetitive. Every client gets a tailored and brand-specific approach because we spend considerable time understanding the brief before execution.

Second, with traditional retailers, physical presence matters a lot. They are used to working closely with people on the ground, so we make sure we are present during installations, briefings, and executions. Respect, humility, and constant communication are extremely important while handling such projects. 

We also maintain complete transparency in budgeting. We clearly separate our professional consulting charges from material and production costs, with no hidden charges involved.  

Have there been any projects where your visual merchandising strategy directly contributed to increased footfalls, customer engagement, or sales performance? 

While I may not have exact numbers, we’ve received extremely positive feedback from clients regarding the impact of our work. One such example is the recent Navaneetha Silks project in Trichy. The client told us that customers absolutely loved the displays, that also doubled up as selfie spots because every installation was thoughtfully curated and visually engaging. 

Another major project was the Diwali display we created for RmKV across all their stores a couple of years ago. Since RmKV usually changes its displays only once a year, we wanted the festive concept to feel completely fresh and impactful. The response was extremely positive and contributed to a noticeable increase in footfalls.

Similarly, the kids' wear floor revamp we did for RmKV in Coimbatore also created a noticeable impact. We redesigned the planogram and reduced the stock density from nearly 14,000 pieces to around 10,000–12,000 pieces. That change improved the overall shopping experience, increased footfalls, and eventually contributed to better sales performance as well.

With digital and dynamic screens becoming more prominent in storefronts, how do you see the future of window displays evolving?  

Almost 90–95% of the clients we work with still prefer static displays. Even when digital screens are used, they don’t replace visual merchandising, they simply add to it. Usually, digital screens are integrated into the facade or window display, and we ensure that both the digital content and the physical display follow the same concept and storytelling. We don’t want the screen and the VM to look disconnected.

Static displays continue to create a strong visual impact because the products, styling, and garments keep evolving regularly, while digital screens add an extra layer of engagement. Together, they help create a more holistic retail experience, especially for younger audiences like Gen Z, who connect quickly with dynamic visual content.

When it comes to mannequins and storefront displays, what are you seeing in terms of trends, styling or localisation?

Fabric mannequins and dress forms with articulated hands are becoming increasingly popular because they offer more styling flexibility compared to regular fibreglass mannequins. 

At the same time, some clients are opting for unbreakable mannequins, but those come with limitations. The poses are quite restricted, and the matte finish doesn’tdeliver the same premium visual appeal as glossy artistic mannequins. 

Traditional retailers, especially saree brands, still prefer mannequins with very specific saree-focused poses. But personally, I feel the styling and draping itself can completely change the attitude of a mannequin. Even a western-style mannequin can appeal to Gen Z audiences if the saree is draped in a more contemporary way. That space, in my opinion, is still largely untapped in Indian retail visual merchandising. 

How receptive are national and traditional retailers toward sustainable VM solutions, and what does this actually mean in this space? 

When it comes to sustainability in traditional retail, the biggest focus is actually on longevity. Unlike large modern retail chains that change displays every month or every season, traditional retailers usually expect a window display to last for at least six months. So the materials and props we use have to be sturdy enough to withstand daily wear and tear. 

A lot of our work goes into researching materials, finishes, and structures that balance aesthetics with long-term usability. At the same time, I feel sustainability in visual merchandising is still a fairly evolving and blurred space, especially because budgets continue to play a major role. 

What we usually do instead is upcycle and repurpose existing elements wherever possible. For example, we may retain the same backdrop for multiple festive seasons and only change certain props or decorative elements. We’ve done this regularly for brands like RmKV, where a festive display setup gets slightly modified for Christmas and then restored later. This helps clients save costs while also reducing wastage.

What’s the biggest challenge when it comes to visual merchandising in traditional retail and brand stores?  

One major challenge with traditional retail is that the staff often doesn’t understand that ‘less is more.’ There is always a mindset that more stock on display means better sales. However, in reality, overcrowding the floor reduces product visibility and eventually leads to deadstock and excessive discounting.That’s where we step in and help clients understand that a cleaner, more curated display can still drive strong sales.  

We’ve also seen stores that looked extremely well-designed during launch eventually become cluttered because the staff believed every product had to be displayed. Ultimately, visual merchandising only works effectively when the leadership truly understands its importance and drives that mindset internally. Once that happens, the impact becomes clearly visible across the retail experience.