Why do so many corporate grocery stores feel the same?
Simply put, they’re all playing from the same product placement playbook.
While there are widely regarded best practices for overall product placement in grocery stores, many big chains are limited in what they can do thanks to slotting fees and other paid shelf placements.
Small grocery stores, on the other hand, are free to arrange products however they want. Optimizing where the various products live in your grocery store is a great way to improve the shopping experience and to stand out from the competition.
In this blog, we’ll give you an overview of general best practices for product placement, along with eight tips you can use to boost sales and improve the customer experience at your store.
As mentioned, one reason big chains have such strict product placement rules is that there’s a lot of money tied up in slotting fees and other paid arrangements.
While independent grocers might make similar deals on a smaller scale, you generally have much more freedom when it comes to product placement — which means you can truly cater the layout of your store to customers’ needs.
That said, here are a few general rules to follow when deciding where to place your items:
This isn’t a definitive list, but it should give you a general idea of what to think about when deciding where to place your stock.
Product placement is an essential part of grocery store design — so much so that corporations and governments have pumped millions of dollars into studying the effects of different product placements on customer behavior.
The good news? You don’t need to hire an expert or spend tons of money to improve the product placement in your store. In truth, there’s no single, perfect strategy for product placement in grocery stores (especially for small grocers) because every community and store is a little different.
But by following these best practices and tips, we hope you become more confident in your product placement decisions and get inspired with creative ideas to use in your store.
The most valuable real estate on an average grocery store shelf is at eye-level. Customers easily notice items that sit at eye-level — which means this has a major impact on how they perceive the overall quality and selection of your stock.
But what products deserve this coveted space? Generally, you want to put your bestselling, most popular items here. Use the reporting data on your point of sale (POS) system to find what your bestselling items are in each department — this is your starting point.
However, item placement isn’t just a one-and-done activity. Review your sales data periodically, especially after introducing new products, to see if it’s worth making adjustments.
Of course, just because an item isn’t at eye-level doesn’t mean it’s not important. Here are some general tips for arranging your shelf:
It’s worth noting that every store is unique, and your customers may not respond to shelf placement in the “standard” way. That’s OK! You can do your own experiments, rearrange shelves, and then monitor the data on your POS system to see how it impacts sales.
Related Read: Mastering Grocery Store Analytics: 7 Ways To Use Your POS Data
Another prominent spot for product placement in grocery stores is your endcaps. Endcaps are the standing displays or shelving at the end of an aisle, making them nearly impossible to miss — even if you don't actually go down the aisle.
(Image source: Launch Point Retail)
Endcaps are ideal for highlighting store promotions and a few other use cases, such as:
Unlike a corporate grocery chain, most small grocers aren’t limited in the specific products they can put on endcaps — so use your imagination! Decorative and creative endcaps are a fantastic way to differentiate yourself from the competition and show off your personality.
Produce sections are almost always placed near the front of the store — and for good reason. The bright colors of fruits and vegetables create a welcoming atmosphere of quality and freshness.
But that first impression can sour quickly if your displays are too big or not varied enough.
It’s important to keep produce displays looking full — people don’t want to feel like they’re buying what’s left at the bottom of the barrel. But this can backfire if you’re constantly filling up a produce bin that’s so big that items go bad before they’re sold, or looks monochrome.
When arranging your produce section, be on the lookout for bins that are too big. This gives you an opportunity to add dividers, so you can consolidate items into a smaller area. This simple change makes produce sections pop with a mix of vibrant colors.
Ultimately, this can free up room to highlight seasonal or local produce, or for homemade salads, dips, and other fresh, ready-to-eat items.
Another general best practice for product placement in grocery stores is to carefully place staple items around the edges of the store. When most people shop at a grocery store, they look for a few regular items and pick up others on the way.
The longer you make the path between staples like eggs, milk, and bread, the more chances you have to tempt customers to buy more. In other words, you want to make sure people can’t go to one corner, get everything they need, and check out without seeing the other 80% of your store.
Your intuition likely gives you a solid idea of which items are your “staples,” but this is another area where sales reports help you identify the specific items people frequent your store for.
Instead of sorting items by transaction amount, look at overall sales volume. Most stores deliberately price these key value items (KVIs) lower to stay competitive, so they may not show up at the top of your sales numbers.
Once you create a KVI list, it’s easier to visualize the average customer’s path through your store.
Related Read: 10 Supermarket Pricing Strategies To Try Today
To a certain extent, the “best” product placement in your store is determined by whether or not your customers can easily find what they’re looking for. Carefully considering your store layout is a good starting point — and helpful wayfinding signage makes the shopping experience even better.
(Image Source: King Retail Solutions)
Wayfinding signs are the signs typically placed above an aisle that list the general category (e.g. baking, Hispanic foods, condiments) and a few example items. They help shoppers quickly find what they’re looking for while encouraging them to browse.
But with such a limited space on each sign, what products do you list?
If you organize all of your items by department or shelf in your inventory management system, simply filter your sales reports by the area they’re located. There, you can quickly choose four to five items from each section to list on your wayfinding signs.
Having this information in your inventory system also makes it easy for staff to quickly look up where an item is placed straight from the register or even their smartphone.
Related Read: 6 Ways Supermarket Signage Improves the Shopping Experience
Putting thought and intention behind your grocery store layout and product placement is important, but that doesn’t mean certain products should only appear in one part of the store.
Place standing floor displays at the front of the store or in certain departments to highlight short-term promotions or to cross-sell items from another section. Showcasing different items is attention-grabbing and might tempt a customer to throw an extra item or two into their basket.
Here are a few examples of how you can use floor displays in your store:
A great standing display inspires people to try something new, enjoy some in-season produce, or nudge them to indulge in that snack they might have otherwise passed by on the shelf. Don’t be afraid to get creative!
While we do believe it’s important to place your bestsellers and high-margin items in prominent positions, there is a risk of playing it too safe. Thanks to slotting fees and brand deals, the prime real estate at big-box stores is increasingly dominated by similar products and identical displays. In other words, you don’t want your aisles to look the same as everyone else's.
So, in addition to putting some safe and trending items at eye-level, reserve space for unique products or items from local suppliers that customers can’t easily find at other grocery stores. This helps emphasize what makes you different, while positioning your unique products alongside popular, recognizable staples.
You can further draw people’s eyes using colorful shelf-edge signage. For example, you can have signs that feature the state flag for locally-made products or bright stickers for new arrivals.
Companies spend a ton of time on packaging. It’s for good reason — people’s eyes are naturally drawn to contrasts in colors and shapes. You can use this to your advantage.
Well-organized but highly diverse bursts of color help create the impression of variety, and this is a good best practice to follow for all departments of your store. Here are some tips for different departments:
Alternating the placement of products on shelves or using colorful signage isn’t all you can do to draw customers’ attention — you can also introduce standing displays as a flash of color to break up a monotonous-looking area.
For example, you can place a selection of spreads and dips near your bakery or stock a shelf full of fresh granola near the dairy section.
With tariffs and inflation hitting small grocery store owners, finding ways to reduce costs and keep customers engaged is essential.
Optimizing your product placement is one way to do that, but it’s hard to get started without a clear, simple way to track every aspect of your business.
IT Retail was built by grocers like you to tackle the specific challenges of running an independent grocery store. Our solution makes it easy to monitor store performance, track a wide variety of inventory, and use detailed reports for better decision-making.
Schedule a personalized demo today to see what IT Retail can do for your small business.