In a context where every square meter of store space must create value, brands can no longer settle for simply being visible — they must be high-performing. Long perceived as an aesthetic exercise, visual merchandising is now establishing itself as a genuine strategic lever. Thanks to data and digital tools, it is now possible to manage product placements and measure their impact. Raphaëlle Guigui, COO of IWD Retail Software, tells us more.
Read full interview below 👇 French version here
Q: WHAT ROLE DOES IWD PLAY FOR BRANDS?
Raphaëlle: For over 25 years, our role has been to provide more than 500 brands (primarily in fashion and beauty) with a digital platform that enables them to efficiently prepare and manage their visual merchandising strategy.
IWD plays a structuring role by enabling brands to move from an often intuitive approach to merchandising toward a data-driven approach that is more collaborative, faster, and consistent across their entire network.
In concrete terms, teams design their planograms autonomously, ensure consistent in-store execution, and precisely measure the impact of their actions.
Raphaëlle: Brand consistency can generate between 10-20% additional in-store growth, according to a McKinsey study. Brands therefore know how essential it is to ensure homogeneous execution of their strategy across their entire network.
Consistent execution is precisely this ability to translate brand intent in a clear, visual, and operational way, so that field teams can deploy it quickly and without interpretation.
But broadcasting a global campaign is not enough. Each market has its own specificities — whether in terms of store architecture, know-how, or cultural codes — and IWD makes it possible to reconcile this demand for consistency with the need for local adaptation, by facilitating the duplication, adjustment, and deployment of directives.
Raphaëlle: Today, performance and desirability are no longer at odds — they reinforce each other. Brands are no longer just looking to sell more, but to sell better.
We are observing a strong trend toward premiumization: points of sale are becoming experience destinations, where products and brand universes are showcased. This often results in fewer references on display — which may seem counterintuitive — but with more demanding staging, designed to strengthen desirability over the long term.
The challenge is then to manage these choices with precision, relying on data to measure their impact and continuously adjust the setups.
Raphaëlle: For over 25 years, we have been developing expertise dedicated to merchandising with a clear objective: connecting in-store creativity with commercial performance.
In practical terms, our tools make it possible to link sales data to product placements. Performance becomes directly visible on the planograms, helping teams understand what works and quickly adjust their decisions.
Raphaëlle: We have been working on it for a long time. The integration of artificial intelligence, planned for 2026, is a natural continuation of what we have been developing at IWD for over 25 years.
It will make it possible to accelerate analysis, bring objectivity to decisions, and offer recommendations tailored to each market. AI will not replace the expertise of teams — it will amplify it.
Thank you, Raphaëlle!
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