Consumer Behavior: Building Marketing Strategy 13th Edition by Delbert Hawkins, David Mothersbaugh

Exercise 6

Mannequins, More Than Just Store Dummies
Perhaps equally as true as the statement "the clothes make the man" 11 is the statement "the mannequin makes the clothes." Forty-two percent of consumers polled in a recent study stated that what they saw displayed on a mannequin influenced their purchase decision. 12
With the forecast that "All department stores will become museums, and all museums will become department stores," threatening to become ever more real with online retail encroachment into their sales, brick-and-mortar stores are fighting back with an army of mannequins. The plain white faceless, sometimes headless, torso mannequin that quietly blended unnoticed into the background has been replaced with a new breed of mannequins that scream with attention-arresting poses, and astoundingly realistic physical features.
To be more than the colorless, uniform clothes-hanger mannequins of yesteryear, mannequins today are being created to personalize the brand. For example, Nike mannequins come alive in action poses to communicate the energy and dynamism of athleticism, and the runway model poses of Guess mannequins exemplify fashion sophistication and confidence.
Mannequins have long been the silent salespersons, ranking third, after friends and family, in influencing purchasing behavior. It turns out that realistic, larger-sized mannequins are better sales people. Recent research shows that women are three times more likely to buy clothes when they see them on a mannequin related to their size. Macy's, Nordstrom, and the British Debenhams department stores are using or report plans to use more realistic, full-bodied mannequins. Developed after an extensive study that involved scanning thousands of women's bodies to arrive at a better understanding of women's proportions, the mannequins in David's Bridal, the largest chain of bridal stores in the United States, have thicker waists and realistic imperfections.
Another trend in mannequin realism centers not so much on creating more realistic body types, but on providing mannequins with realistic details including pierced ears, tattoos, movable limbs to better display clothes, and articulated fingers to better show off rings. Mannequins have progressed beyond being a silent salesperson. Some mannequins are also data collectors. EyeSee Mannequins are traditional-looking mannequins, except they have eyes fitted with a camera lens that captures data on passersby. The data are fed to facial recognition software; mined for shoppers' age, gender, and ethnicity; and used in forecasting models to develop marketing campaigns and store displays. Mindful of consumer privacy, EyeSee mannequins do not record or send data of a sensitive nature such as biometric data.
Much more than just store dummies, mannequins contribute to the brick-and-mortar shopping experience, exuding appeal to entice consumers to visit stores, poising provocatively to capture consumer attention, and sized and detailed to motivate consumers to make purchases. Mannequins serve as a store ambassador, evangelizing brand image and selling clothes.
Have you noticed the new mannequins in stores where you shop for clothes What is your reaction