Considering Product Adjacency when Creating Planograms

Product adjacency is a principle of space organization in stores that defines how food and other goods should be placed to ensure their safety and convenience for customers and optimize sales.

This approach considers hygiene standards, storage conditions, product features, and consumer behavior to create a comfortable shopping environment and minimize losses.

What is the Purpose of Product Adjacency in a Store

Competent organization of merchandise adjacency in stores provides comfort for customers, facilitates navigation in the sales area, and increases the average check due to cross-selling. For example, placing sauces beside pasta or wine beside cheeses increases spontaneous purchases. However, product neighboring of food products is not only important from a commercial point of view - it also helps to prevent the mutual adverse effects of different products on each other.

Its main objectives are:

1. Ensuring sanitary safety. It prevents unwanted contact between incompatible merchandise. For example, raw meat should not be near ready-to-eat products to avoid microbiological contamination.
2. Preservation of product quality. Each type of product has its storage conditions. Fruits that emit ethylene (apples, bananas) can accelerate the ripening and spoilage of other fruits and vegetables.
3. Space optimization and convenience for shoppers. Logical product placement makes it easier to find items and allows shoppers to shop faster. Bread next to butter or jam forms a cue for a complex purchase.
4. Increased sales. Merchandise adjacency in the store accommodates impulse buying tendencies. The arrangement of goods that complement each other encourages customers to spend more.

In addition, adequately organized merchandise neighborhood of food products contributes to staff efficiency. Stores that implement display management systems, such as PlanoHero, can quickly adapt their display to seasonal changes, new deliveries, and customer demand. This reduces losses from expired goods and increases customer loyalty.

Basic Principles of Product Neighborliness

To maximize the results of proper product placement, you must adhere to the basic principles of merchandise adjacency:

1. Compatibility: Goods should only be stored next to each other if they do not affect each other. Products that absorb odors quickly (such as milk, eggs, butter) should not be placed next to highly aromatic commodities (onions, fish, spices).
2. Grouping by category: Merchandise often bought together should be laid out side by side. Meat products and condiments or dairy products and cereal.
3. Maintaining storage conditions: Food products require a specific temperature and humidity level. Raw meat products should be stored separately from ready-to-eat items to avoid cross-contamination.
4. Product rotation: The first-in-first-out (FIFO) principle minimizes the write-off of expired products.
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Which Goods Are Allowed to Be Stored Together?

For optimal results in product neighboring, consider the product groups that can be stored together:

• Fruits and vegetables are allowed to be stored together, except for those that emit ethylene (apples, bananas, pears).
• Dairy products: Cheese, yogurt, milk, and butter must be stored in the same compartment as they require similar temperature conditions.
• Frozen food: Can be stored together provided the temperature is correct (below -18°C).
• Dry foods: Flour, cereals, pasta, sugar, and salt can be stored on the same shelf as they do not affect each other's taste or aroma and have similar storage conditions (dry, cool place).

What Should Not Be Stored Together?

You should avoid storing these food categories together:

• Meat and ready-to-eat products: Raw meat can release bacteria that can get on other merchandise, so it should be stored separately.
• Ethylene-emitting fruits and vegetables: Tomatoes should not be stored with potatoes or lettuce because ethylene accelerates their spoilage.
• Strong-smelling foods and those that absorb odors quickly: Fish should not be stored next to milk or butter as they absorb odors quickly.

Commodity Proximity in the Refrigerator

Since refrigerators store perishable foods, ensuring their freshness and quality is important.

1. Area for raw meat and fish products: These should be stored in a separate compartment to avoid cross-contamination with other products.
2. Dairy products and ready-to-eat meals: Placing dairy products on the middle shelves allows them to be stored at the optimum temperature.
3. Vegetables and fruits: It is better to store them in special containers to maintain the necessary humidity level.

Peculiarities of Commodity Neighborhood for Non-Food Products

The organization of commodity neighborhood for non-food products has its own specific requirements:

• Functional zoning of commercial space: In a store of household appliances, it is advisable to create separate zones for kitchen appliances, home appliances, and electronics. This helps shoppers to navigate and find the goods they need faster.
• Compatibility by category of use: With vacuum cleaners, you can place accessories for cleaning: replacement bags, filters, and nozzles. This helps to increase the average check due to additional sales of related products.
• Theme and seasonality: New Year's decorations, goods for summer vacation, or gardening equipment are better allocated in separate zones. This will help attract customers' attention to the current offers.
• Aesthetics and presentation: Cosmetics or perfumes are better placed on open shelves with stylish lighting, which creates a premium look for goods. This approach encourages impulse purchases, especially in the gift segment.
• Safety and accessibility: Large or fragile non-food items require a unique approach to placement. For example, glassware should be placed on lower shelves to avoid possible damage.

How to Develop an Effective Layout with Consideration of Merchandise Adjacency?

1. Create planograms, considering products' physical characteristics, popularity, and customer behavior. 
2. Analyze the assortment, paying attention to new products and their storage conditions. 
3. Monitor compliance by regularly checking that conditions meet legal requirements.
4. Involve professionals and prescribe the distribution of responsibilities if your retail store does not have a merchandiser.

Considering Product Neighborhoods when Creating a Planogram

In modern retailing, relying only on intuition or employees' experience is insufficient to maximize efficiency. It is necessary to use automated tools that help simplify processes in the network, optimize product assortment management, and customize the layout to meet the needs of the business.