Definition of "merchandising"

(also attributively) gerund of merchandise

1. (archaic) Trade in merchandise.  quotations

   Quotations

   • May not the miſerable ruine of Conſtantinople, their impregnable vvalles, riches, and pleaſures laſt taken by the Turke (vvhich are but a bit, in compariſon of their novv mightines) remember vs, of the effects of priuate couetouſneſs? […] His [the Byzantine emperor's] pouertie vvhen the Turke beſeiged, the citizens (vvhoſe marchandizing thoughts vvere onely to get vvealth, little conceiuing the deſperate reſolution of a valiant expert enemy) left the Emp[eror] ſo long to his concluſions, hauing ſpent all he had to pay his young, ravv, diſcontented Souldiers; that ſodainly he, they, and their citie vvere all a prey to the deuouring Turke.

     1616, Iohn Smith [i.e., John Smith], A Description of New England: […], London: […] Humfrey Lownes, for Robert Clerke; […], page 34

   • The Diſcommodities of Vſury are: Firſt, that it makes fevver Merchants. For vvere it not, for this Lazie Trade of Vſury, Money vvould not lie ſtill, but vvould, in great Part, be Imployed vpon Merchandizing; VVhich is the Vena Porta of VVealth in a State.

     1625, Francis [Bacon], “Of Usurie. XLI.”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland for Hanna Barret, page 240

   • Profanation of the lord's day, or ſabbath-breaking, is a ninth offence againſt God and religion, puniſhed by the municipal lavvs of England. […] And therefore the lavvs of king Athelſtan forbad all merchandizing on the lord's day, under very ſevere penalties.

     1769, William Blackstone, “Of Offences against God and Religion”, in Commentaries on the Laws of England, book IV (Of Public Wrongs), Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Clarendon Press, page 63

   • [A] Ocadh, in the South of Arabia, there were yearly fairs, and there, when the merchandising was done, Poets sang for prizes:—the wild people gathered to hear that.

     1840 May 8, Thomas Carlyle, “Lecture II. The Hero as Prophet. Mahomet: Islam.”, in On Heroes, Hero-Worship and The Heroic in History, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1840, pages 44–45

   • [T]he old Triton, at his fountain-sport, / Bernini's creature plated to the paps, / Puffs up steel sleet which breaks to diamond dust, / A spray of sparkles snorted from his conch, / High over the caritellas, out o' the way / O' the motley merchandizing multitude.

     1868, Robert Browning, “I. The Ring and the Book.”, in The Ring and the Book. […], volume I, London: Smith, Elder and Co., page 47, lines 898–903

2. (originally US) The promotion of goods for sale in a store, especially through advertising, attractive displays, discounts, etc.; also (generally), the promotion of any goods or services for sale.  quotations  examples

   Quotations

   • Now, these strikers: Honest, they're not such bad people. Just foolish. They don't understand the complications of merchandizing and profit, the way we businessmen do, but sometimes I think they're about like the rest of us, and no more hogs for wages than we are for profits.

     1922, Sinclair Lewis, chapter XXVII, in Babbitt, New York, N.Y.: Harcourt, Brace and Company, section V, page 318

   • With the ubiquitous branding and expert merchandizing of museums today, it is easy to forget that graphic design was once a low priority for them.

     2009 February 27, Steven Heller, “Noel Martin, inventive catalog designer, dies at 86”, in The New York Times‎, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, archived from the original on 8 February 2022

3. (specifically) The promotion of a film, music group, theatre production, etc., through the sale of goods bearing motifs associated with the subject being promoted; also, such goods themselves collectively; merchandise.  examples

present participle and gerund of merchandise  examples