When a brand becomes popular with consumers, manufacturers and suppliers think about how to get consumers to choose their products. One way is to use merchandising techniques that help retailers increase sales. However, many are only superficially familiar with these techniques. To use merchandising 100%, you need to fully understand how it works.

Let's take a look at the most common misconceptions about merchandising that can affect sales performance.

The best place to sell is on a shelf at eye level

The battle between suppliers of products in shops is heating up for the right to put their products on the shelf at eye level. But where exactly is this shelf? In practice, most suppliers consider it to be directly in front of the customer's eyes.
In reality, however, the best place to sell is on a shelf that is about 15 degrees below eye level. This location is more comfortable for the buyer's eyes.

To determine what is worth fighting for, you need to consider the distance from which shoppers view products and the average height of your target audience. The average height of a woman is 165 cm, and about 80% of FMCG shoppers are women. Consequently, the shelves at eye level should be positioned between approx. 90 and 145 cm from the ground.

Based on this data, we can conclude that the hand level at which it is most comfortable to pick up goods is at 75 cm from the ground. If you are selling youth products, these parameters can be 7-10 cm higher, as the average height of young people is above 165 cm. This is also true if you are selling products for men. The average male height is at 172 cm, which is 7 cm higher than the average female height. If you sell repair tools and auto parts, these should be placed slightly higher than chocolates.

All goods must be displayed facing the buyer

Often, retailers and suppliers do not know where the front of the product is located. This leads to a situation where a shop sells three-bottle packs of drinks, but the brand name on the label is not visible because the pack is not properly vacuumed. This situation has a negative impact on sales because the customer cannot tell what he is buying. In this case, the packers and packers have not performed their duties properly.

Another common mistake is displaying yoghurts sideways, when in fact the front side should be on top. Some producers are faced with display traditions that are difficult to change, so they add extra stickers on the packs to provide information about the product. In general, proper display of products facing the customer helps increase sales and improve the shopping experience for customers.

A rich display contributes to increased sales

This statement is largely true, supported by research conducted by AC Nielsen:

Of the consumers who planned to buy juices but purchased less than they intended:

5% due to lack of funds
10% - because of recalled needs
15% - because of the purchase of a smaller volume of goods
30% - because of lack of discounts
10% - due to insufficient number of packages on the shelf; due to lack of preferred brand

To summarise the results briefly, around 15% of consumers who had planned to buy an item refused to buy it simply because the product looked like leftovers.

Creating a product deficit effect

Many retailers mistakenly believe that the principle of saturated display guarantees high sales. However, if the emphasis is not placed, the opposite is true. Customers who see a pile of merchandise that seems out of their reach may simply refuse to buy.

In order to create a deficit effect, it is important to arrange the goods on the shelf correctly. You need to remove a few items from the edge of the shelf in all directions to create the illusion of demand for that product. But this should not lead to displaying empty shelves, as this can cause customers to feel that the product is not enough and refuse to buy

It is also important to calculate the distance between the blocks of goods correctly and not to display the backs of the merchandising equipment. An insufficient number of product packs on the shelf can cause 15% of consumers to refuse a purchase. Therefore, the correct positioning of products on the shelf and creating a buy-back effect can help to increase sales.

The 2-finger principle

It is important to match the height of the shelves to the goods on sale. There is a principle: If two fingers can be inserted between the top of the item and the next shelf, then the distance between the shelves should be changed. This will allow another shelf to be added without compromising the viewing comfort and accessibility of the goods.

Colour separation

The use of colour-blocking - placing products with packaging of the same colour next to each other on the shelf - can draw attention to the product category as a whole. However, shops do not always use this technique. It is important to create blocks of goods that can encourage the purchase of additional products and create useful associations for sales.

On the other hand, placing similar packs of completely different products on the shelf can mislead customers.

Correct price tag placement

Lack of price tags at the point of sale is one of the most common annoyances for customers. However, even when price tags are present, they may not be at all informative or even misleading.

It is important not only to place price tags prominently, but also to make sure that they contain the correct information and correspond to the product below them. This helps to avoid confusion and inconvenience for customers, and increases trust in the shop and its products.