Shopper behaviour: a view through the planogram

Most specialists define merchandising as a system for managing product displays. But from a shopper’s perspective, it looks very different. For them, merchandising is about how the shelf “appears,” how easy it is to navigate, and how effortless it is to make a choice.

Shoppers rarely realise that their path through the store and their actions at the shelf have been planned in advance. Yet this is exactly how shopping habits are formed:

Good shelf layout reduces cognitive load — in other words, the amount of mental effort the brain spends on making decisions. The easier it is for a shopper to “read” the logic of a shelf, the faster they decide. This matters because:

When everything is arranged logically, familiarly, and predictably, it builds trust. The shelf becomes a reliable point of reference, and the store is perceived as clear, familiar, and “their own.”

Over time, product displays create repeat behaviour. A shopper doesn’t just head to a department — they expect to find products exactly where they “always get them.” And if that logic changes, it can cause irritation and disrupt the usual shopping pattern.

This is why even a small change to a planogram needs to be justified. Break an established micro-habit, and you risk losing not just a sale, but also customer loyalty.

A planogram is not just a diagram showing where and how products should be placed. It is a script for the shopper’s movement, a tool for directing attention, and, essentially, a map of micro-behaviours inside the store. How it is designed determines not only what the shopper will see, but also where they will go, where they will pause, and what they will ultimately choose.

Behaviour in the sales area is almost never random. People tend to follow a predictable route — especially in stores they visit regularly. A planogram should take into account:

If attention is not managed, the shopper may pass by the right category, fail to linger in a key zone, or lose interest in continuing through the store.

One of the fundamental principles of merchandising is dividing the space into zones according to the level of shopper attention:

Such zoning is not just about “placing” the assortment — it’s about guiding the shopper’s gaze and route: from the obvious to the additional, from the expected to the new.

For example, by placing a limited selection of new products at eye level and highlighting them with visual markers (such as a “New” label), it’s possible to increase the likelihood of purchase by 15–20% without any additional promotions.

Move a category from the aisle end to inside the sales area, and the shopper’s movement changes. Time spent at the shelf may increase or decrease. The direction of their gaze shifts. New “decision points” appear.

A well-designed display makes a shopper’s choice not only easier, but also more pleasant. When everything is arranged logically, the right products are in familiar places, and categories flow seamlessly into each other, the shopper feels in control. They spend less effort on navigation and make decisions more quickly. This directly affects trust: a clear, well-structured store is perceived as reliable — a place they want to return to.

Display logic is not just about convenience; it is a way of shaping behaviour. For example, when complementary categories are placed next to essential products, shoppers notice them during selection — and are more likely to add them to their basket, even if they hadn’t planned to. They do this not as an impulse buy, but as a “considered addition” — thanks to the sense that everything is exactly where it should be.

Navigational predictability works like an internal GPS. If the planogram takes into account the sequence of categories, the specifics of store routes, and key attention zones, shoppers are less likely to get lost, less distracted, and more willing to explore the space. This enhances the sense of immersion — that “I feel comfortable here” feeling that’s hard to put into words, but easily anchored on an emotional level.

Interestingly, the more often people encounter a logical display, the faster it becomes fixed as their personal template. They don’t just remember where products are — they start to trust the store as a helper, not just a seller. And that’s no longer about assortment or prices. It’s about building loyalty through structure.

Shoppers expect the shelf to be easy to understand. Even if they are not consciously aware of it, their brain works according to familiar patterns — categories, colours, and placement logic. When that logic is broken, background tension appears. The shopper has to spend more effort figuring out where the product is, why it’s not where it usually is, and what is going on in front of them. Any tension at the decision point increases the risk of losing the sale.

Disorganised displays create doubt. When packages are mixed together, categories are unclear, and the shelf looks random, shoppers get the impression of untidiness. This affects not only how they perceive a specific product but also their trust in the store as a whole. It’s particularly critical for new customers: they are not yet “tuned in” to the store format and are not ready to decipher internal navigation rules.

A lack of logic can confuse even a loyal customer. If someone comes for a familiar product but finds its spot taken by something else, and there are no navigation signs, it causes frustration. Even if the desired product is in stock, the shopper may not find it quickly — and might abandon the purchase. They may not even consciously realise the reason, only feeling that “it was inconvenient.”

Equally important is the fact that chaos disrupts perception patterns. Where there should be consistency, there is noise. The result is slower decision-making, more doubts, and a drop in average basket size. This is especially noticeable in categories where choice requires comparison: household chemicals, cosmetics, electronics. When the shelf doesn’t “lead” the shopper, they don’t know where to anchor their gaze — and they leave.

Shelf chaos is not just an aesthetic problem; it is a management error that directly affects behaviour, revenue, and the overall perception of the store. In today’s environment, where the battle for attention is fought in seconds, such a mistake is far too costly.

While some stores continue to arrange products “by intuition,” others are moving towards managing displays through data. This is where Business Intelligence (BI) comes into play — an approach that treats merchandising not as an art, but as a controllable system.

Digital merchandising is built on facts: where the shopper lingers, on which shelf turnover is falling, and which products are performing worse than the network average. These are no longer hypotheses — they are numbers taken from BI systems, heat maps, checkout data, and route tracking.

With BI, it’s possible to see which shelves work effectively and which are losing sales. For example, the same category in two stores may show very different dynamics simply because of its location. In the past, this could only be guessed at — now it can be measured and compared.

Just as importantly, BI helps identify trends. In the past, realising that a product had “dropped out” of sales might happen only when the end-of-month reports arrived. Now, retailers can react much faster: near real-time analysis allows adjustments to be made before the issue impacts revenue.

BI is not a replacement for experience — it is an enhancement. Instead of “we’ve always done it this way,” the mindset becomes “we do it this way because we can see the results.” That ability to make quick, data-driven decisions and adapt displays to real behaviour scenarios is what creates a competitive advantage.

Merchandising is the language a store uses to speak to its customers. And as in any dialogue, much depends on tone, consistency, and clarity. A well-structured display builds trust, makes choice easier, and turns chaotic movement around the store into a deliberate route. The shopper feels confident because everything is in its place — clear, logical, and familiar.

Modern retail is not only a battle over price but also over attention. Where the shelf “speaks” clearly and understandably, sales grow. Where it is silent or confusing, the customer leaves — often without realising why. That is why merchandising today is not an auxiliary function but a fully-fledged tool for influencing behaviour and business results.

Add analytics, digital planograms, and the ability to adapt quickly to changes, and you gain a competitive advantage that is hard to replicate. That’s because shopper habits are shaped inside the store — which means you have all the tools to influence them.

Tilda Publishing