If a picture says a thousand words, then can a picture window do the same?

The wordless presentation of apparel in store and window displays is a very powerful way of reaching consumers, whether in North America, South America, the Far East or Western Europe.

Alison Embrey Medina, executive editor of Display & Design Ideas magazine, says a window can be as important as a marketing campaign.

"If you're trying to introduce a U.S. company to global soil, it's the first way to establish a new culture with the consumer," Medina says. "If you want to have a young retail attitude or luxury couture, you can do that in your window. It's the first impression you make, whether in your own country or in a new one."

Globally, 55% of consumers get their apparel ideas from in-store displays/window shopping, making it the top source of clothing inspiration, according to the Cotton Incorporated and Cotton Council International 2010 Global Lifestyle MonitorTM Survey.

The Global Monitor survey indicates consumers are most influenced by window and store displays are those in Japan (84%) and China (69%). Displays tie with family members as the top influencer in Colombia (41%). And in the U.S., displays are the second most popular source of apparel ideas (38%), behind what Americans already own and like (68%), according to the Cotton Incorporated Lifestyle MonitorTM survey.

Brazilians get their ideas for clothing from in-store displays more than they did in 2008, 52% in 2010 versus 40% two years ago, Global Monitor data show. Other important sources are what they already own and like (49%), family members (44%), and friends and colleagues (40%).

United Kingdom shoppers tend to rely on window shopping (54%), and what they already own and like (40%). Among women, 61% are likely to get ideas from browsing in a store, compared to 46% of U.K. men, according to the Global Monitor survey.

Germans get their clothing ideas primarily from store displays (50%), followed closely by what they already own (49%), and friends and colleagues (42%).

Of course, visual merchandising can also appeal to the impulse shopper. Slightly more than four out of 10 global consumers (42%) are inclined to buy apparel on impulse. Thai consumers lead the trend, with 70% saying they "agree or somewhat agree" that they buy on impulse, followed by consumers living in Germany (63%), the U.K. (50%), China (47%), Japan and India (40%), Italy (30%), Turkey and Brazil (28%) and Colombia (21%).

The long recession has had an impact on impulse shopping in the U.S. The Monitor survey reveals 31% of shoppers buy apparel on impulse, while 69% say their purchases are planned. This represents a significant change from five years ago, when Monitor data show 59% planned their purchases and 38% bought on impulse.

Understanding the changing consumer behavior pattern has become a hot topic among retail designers, says Brian Shafley, president of Chute Gerdeman, a strategic retail design and branding company. While speaking at the 2010 Design Firm Roundtable sponsored by Visual Merchandising and Store Design (VMSD) Magazine, Shafley said stores are asking, "'What's this customer doing now?' Clients are asking for our insights as to how to address those customers who have time on their hands but not money."

Medina says retailers could potentially scare off customers with opulent displays. "Everything has to be appropriate to the audience you're speaking to. You can show aspirational items, putting things in the window that shoppers want but can't have � but you want to do it in a language for the brand that people can relate to."

Windows are meant to be aspirational, Medina says, because even if a shopper doesn't walk in to buy the entire outfit on display, "if you see something that makes you laugh or smile, you might go in to see what else is offered."

For retailers looking to keep costs down, visual merchandisers are experts at using inexpensive props and re-using or re-purposing items.

The National Retail Federation's Daniel Butler, vice president of retail operations, says he worked in department stores for 25 years.

"Visual merchandising is all about being creative," he says. "My people could really make things look great on limited resources. With a bit of extra work, they could take an idea done at the flagship, and replicate it with the right look and feel for other locations."

Globally, 67% of shoppers say they love or somewhat like clothes shopping, according to Global Monitor data. In India, 96% of consumers say they love or somewhat like clothes shopping, followed by those consumers in Brazil (82%), Colombia (79%), Italy (77%), Turkey (74%), Japan (70%), China (65%), Germany (62%), the U.K. (60%), Thailand (55%) and the U.S. (49%).

For those consumers who love shopping, though, a poorly-designed window display can have the opposite effect. Medina cites one example. "With the holiday season coming up, for instance, observances are very different from culture to culture. You would want to pay attention to that before you put a big Santa in your window."

Cultural trip-ups aside, window displays are the easiest way for designers and retailers to get the message across � no translation required.