Merchandise Display in Stores. Increase Customer Engagement and Boost Sales - [Retailer's Guide 2024]

Shelf display is not just a way to organize products in a store. It is a strategy that influences customer behavior, their decisions, and increases overall business profits. In a competitive environment, retailers need to use effective display methods to retain their customers and attract new ones. In this article, we will look at how to properly set up product displays to make them a real tool for increasing customer engagement and sales growth.

What is Merchandise Display and Why is it Important?

Retail merchandising is the art of organizing products in the sales area in such a way as to attract customers' attention, stimulate impulse purchases, and create a comfortable shopping environment. Properly placed products help customers quickly find the right product, while motivating them to pay attention to other offers.

For retailers, it's not just about shelf order; it's a way to increase the average check, boost customer loyalty, and improve overall store performance. Successful display is based on planning, analyzing customer data, and using planograms to manage shelf space.

Key Principles of Effective Display of Merchandise

• Engaging Customers Through Planograms

Planograms are the main tool for retailers to organize shelf space and customize displays. Planograms allow you to build a visual strategy for product placement based on real sales data and merchandising principles.

• Focus on High-margin Products

Displaying high-margin products at customer eye level helps to increase their sales. It is also important to use the hot zones of the store - places with the most intense customer traffic, where the probability of making a purchase is highest.

• Horizontal and Vertical Display

Horizontal display is effective for creating categories where customers can easily compare product options.
Vertical display provides quick access to different types of products in one line of sight, which makes the selection process easier.

• Use of Impulse Displays

Placing products (including seasonal and promotional items) near checkouts, in high-traffic areas, or on special racks in the aisles is an effective technique to stimulate impulse purchases. We are talking about products that are often not included in the shopping list, but attract attention with their availability and favorable price.

How to Develop a Merchandise Display Strategy that Increases Sales

There are several key factors to consider to create a merchandising strategy that works:

Analyze Sales and Customer Behavior

Use analytics to track sales and planogram performance to understand how customers move around the store, what products they most often buy together, and where they spend the most time. This will help you customize the display to best meet their expectations and needs.

Adapt the Display to the Seasonality

Seasonal products should always be located in the most visible places, which creates a sense of urgency and encourages customers to make quick decisions. For example, New Year's products should be in the foreground a few weeks before the holidays.

Create Themed Displays

Use the concept of themed merchandise displays to tell stories through products. For example, for the summer season, create displays with picnic products, from drinks to grills, combining them into an attractive and convenient set.

Planograms as a Tool for Success

Planograms allow you to not only visualize the arrangement of goods, but also optimize inventory managing and ensure a unified display at all your stores. Automating the process of creating planograms reduces the risk of errors and helps to quickly adapt the layout to changes in demand or assortment.

Benefits of Using Planograms:

Increased space efficiency. Every square meter is used to its maximum advantage, ensuring optimal placement of products.

Reduced losses. Accurate arrangement of goods reduces the risk of shortages or overstocks.

Sales analysis. The connection between display and sales allows you to make timely changes and improve results.

A tool for negotiating with suppliers. Planogram can be turned into a tool for negotiating with different brands and suppliers. Shelf space is of great value to brands. By presenting planograms, you can achieve special and favorable agreements for the store or distributor. Specific products can be given greater visibility and particularly valuable locations
 

Standardize the display across the chain. The use of planograms is especially important for chain stores. They help to create a consistent display across all stores in the chain. This helps to improve the customer experience as customers easily understand where they can find the products they need. For example, they can go to a store near their home and then to the same store in another location and, thanks to the standardized display, they will easily find the right product because the display is familiar to them. 

What does PlanoHero Planogram Software Offer Retailers?

The whole process of planogramming in one place

PlanoHero allows you to combine and manage all stages of the planogramming process in one service, which greatly simplifies the work of merchandisers. From creating planograms to monitoring them in the field, everything is done in a single system, which minimizes the risk of errors and allows you to quickly respond to changes. For example, if you need to quickly change the display of goods in a chain of stores due to a change in the assortment, you can do it in just a few clicks

Cloud Solution

Thanks to cloud storage, PlanoHero provides access to the program from any device - computer, tablet, or smartphone. This means that managers can work on planograms from anywhere in the world with an Internet connection. For example, you can check the implementation of planograms in real time while on a business trip or on the go from your phone.

Unlimited Number of Users

One of the key advantages of PlanoHero is the ability to add an unlimited number of users without being tied to the number of subscriptions. This is especially convenient for large store chains where many employees are involved in the merchandising process. In addition, you can easily manage access rights - from merchandisers who only create planograms and make changes to layouts to managers who analyze the effectiveness of planograms.

Layout Rules

PlanoHero software automatically distributes products to the shelves in one click based on a pre-created layout rule. When creating a layout with PlanoHero, you can take into account sales volumes and the number of multifaceted products or set the share of products on the shelf. For example, if sales of a particular brand are growing, you can increase its share of the shelf to drive even more sales.

Linked Store and Shelf Levels

PlanoHero allows you to model product layout not only at the shelf level, but also in the context of the entire store. This makes it possible to create a holistic picture of the space, including planning the location of the retail equipment on the store plan. 

Analysis of the Customer Traffic

Analytics tools in the program help to study customer behavior in the store. PlanoHero allows you to identify “hot” and “cold” zones - places with the lowest and highest sales. This helps to place products more efficiently based on sales data. 

Easy and Affordable Integration

Connecting PlanoHero to the retailer's existing databases takes a minimum of time, and daily updates ensure that the data is up-to-date. This means that all changes in the assortment are instantly reflected in the system, allowing you to always work with the most up-to-date data.

Merchandising in a retail store is more than just arranging products on shelves. It is a powerful tool that can significantly influence customer interaction with your brand, stimulate impulse purchases, and increase overall sales. The use of modern strategies and technologies, such as planograms, will help make your store more efficient and profitable.

Retailers who rely on smart product displays gain a significant competitive advantage. By implementing these methods and constantly adapting them to changing market conditions, you can not only retain your customers but also attract new ones.