Do Shelving and Arrangement of products in merchandising leads to picking

those products.

Purchase Decisions of customers are affected by several set of factors. Marketers have
found Shelving and Arrangement of products can affect the decisions of customers to a
considerable extent. The consumer items such as the FMCG products can be placed in the store
in a manner to attract the attention of the consumer and hence generate more sales. The intention
of marketers is to sell maximum number of products to a customer once he enters the store. This
is carefully planned by placing the products at particular (planned) positions that will gather
maximum attention of the customer and will attract the customer to buy it.

This concept embarks to increase the sales in a retail store by:

i. Analyzing the experiential world of the customer- By gaining insights into the socio-
cultural context of consumers.

ii. Building the experiential platform- developing a strategy that includes the positioning
of products to create a kind of experience the brand stands for (“what”), the value
proposition of what relevant experience to deliver (“why”), and the overall
implementation theme that will be communicated (“how”).

iii. Designing the Brand experience- implementing the experiential platform in the look
and feel at retail spaces to enhance the brand experience.

iv. Structuring the customer interface- implementing the experiential platform in the
dynamic and interactive interfaces including face-to-face, in-stores, during sales visits or
at the check- in desk (point of purchase)

v. Engaging in continuous innovation- implementing the experiential platform and fine-

tuning the experience at every point of contact.

The findings were that-

A. 69% of all FMCG products are purchased on impulse.

B. 13% more money is spent by an average shopper when they are exposed to excellent
merchandising. This is over and above the amount they intend to spend on shopping trip.

C. 72% of all brand decisions are made in-store.

So when the decisions are made before the shelves there might be some attributes by which
purchase decisions are made in-store. Many marketers hence use the concept of in-store
merchandising by shelving and arranging the products in a store. This concept is also used to
increase awareness of company or brand image, to create or reinforce perceptions of key brand
image associations and to create experiences and evoke feelings.

Retail stores hence concentrate on the impulse and planned purchases of the customer.

-Impulse purchases include purchase of goods such as Candy/gum, Beer, Carbonated Soft Drink,
Chips, Greeting cards, Desserts, Ice Cream, Newspapers/Magazines, etc.

-Planned purchase items include Baby food, Bread, Coffee, Eggs, Laundry Detergent, Meat,
Milk, Poultry, etc.

Thus retailers have found that placing butter at a shelf near to that of Bread had increased the
sales of both bread and butter. This works fine for impulse purchases. In case of planned
purchases retailers try to place the items far to each other and include impulse goods in between
as the customer will find the shelf where the planned good is placed and at the mean time will be
attracted towards the impulse goods. Hence increasing the sales of the retail store as whole.
 VISUAL MERCHANDISING
Definition:
Visual merchandising is creating merchandise display to communicate store's fashion Message
to prospective customers.

It involves activity of promoting the sale of goods, especially by their presentation in retail
outlets. This includes combining product, environment, and space into a stimulating and
engaging display to encourage the sale of a product or service, promotion of latest collection and
to attract appropriate buyers.

The management decides as to the Image store design to reflect, products store is going to sell,
movement of customers and how to create warm, friendly and approachable atmosphere for its
potential customers.

Visual merchandising is one of the final stages in trying to set out a store in a way that customers
will find attractive and appealing and it should follow and reflect the principles that underpin the
store’s image. Visual merchandising is the way one displays 'goods for sale' in the most attractive
manner with the end purpose of making a sale. "If it does not sell, it is not visual
merchandising."
 Article: “Retail Store Planning and Design”
By Grant, Jeff
2008

Interior Design of a retail store has to be carefully done to create an enhanced visual
experience. And hence create a customer-friendly interface which will further generate greater
sales. Retail design is a creative and commercial discipline that combines and utilizes many
different design concepts together in the conceptualizing and construction of retail space. Retail
design is primarily a specialized practice of architecture and interior design, however it also
incorporates elements of interior decoration, graphic design, ergonomics, and advertising.

Retail design is a very specialized discipline due to the heavy demands placed on retail
space. Because the primary purpose of retail space is to stock and sell product to consumers, the
spaces must be designed in a way that promotes an enjoyable and hassle-free shopping
experience for the consumer. The space must be specially-tailored to the kind of product being
sold in that space; for example, a bookstore requires many large shelving units to accommodate
small products that can be arranged categorically while a clothing store requires more open space
to fully display product.

The best store windows can generate great excitement and talking point for an entire city.
They contribute to the environment by entertaining pedestrians, while simultaneously
communicating the products and services on offer. The retail store should be built in a manner to
make it easier for the shopper to locate the desired category and merchandise, make it easier for
the shopper to self-select, make it possible for the shopper to co-ordinate & accessorize,
providing information on sizes, colours & prices.

Hence the retail store should-

1. Sell by showing and promoting.

2. Create an emotional connect between the viewer and the display.

3. Encourage the shopper to enter the store.

4. Get the customer to pause and “shop” the selling floor.

5. Establish, promote, and enhance the store’s visual image.

References:
1) P Elanganayiru (2007) - Do Shelving and Arrangement of products in merchandising
leads to picking those products.

2) Mathew, Henry (2005)- Visual Merchandising to improve sales, Harvard Business

Review, 9(1)

3) Grant, Jeff (2008) - Retail Store Planning and Design

GAURAV KUMAR
ALLIANCE B SCHOOL
BANGALORE