Connect with Shoppers at the Shelf

Retailers often employ a variety of tactics such as promotions, games and loyalty reward programs to sell store brand products. But strong sell-at-the-shelf tactics are probably the most critical.

“The final moment of truth has always been and will always be at the shelf,” says Andrew Elliot, vice president of brand, strategy and design for WD Partners Inc., Dublin, Ohio. “It is the most important place for a retailer to invest in to ensure conversion.”

While the shelf is typically the last chance a retailer has to communicate with the customer before a purchase decision is made, a retailer should consider investing in strong sell-at-the-shelf strategies for many other reasons.

First, when executed properly, sell-at-the-shelf strategies can reduce both labor and material costs, says Jo Satili, national sales manager for Newark, N.J.-based Panasonic Corp.

Second, a proliferation of products in the center store can make shopping a bewildering experience for consumers, especially because an increasing number of purchase decisions are no longer planned in advance, Elliot says. Therefore, retailers need a strong sell-at-the-shelf strategy to make shopping effortless and enjoyable.

Third, consumers are looking for value, inspiration and convenient meal solutions. Many retailers are “stepping up to the plate” to address these needs through their private brand products, but without the proper investment at the shelf, they will fail to break through the clutter, states Allison Groser, senior manager, brand and marketing strategy, Daymon Worldwide Inc., Stamford, Conn.

And fourth, consumers are distracted and time-pressed, and are often “showrooming” — using their smartphones to read product reviews and research online prices. As they shop, they are looking not just for value, but also for information. To avoid losing sales to the online marketplace, retailers must implement proper sell-at-the-shelf strategies that will not only grab the customer’s attention, but also make her feel smarter and wiser about the shopping decisions she made, says David Cohen, head of business development, Tensator Group, Bay Shore, N.Y.

Luckily, retailers have a vast arsenal of tools — both traditional and modern — to draw from when establishing their sell-at-the-shelf strategies.

Traditional tools

One of the most common traditional tools for selling at the shelf is signage. For example, navigational signage is critical, as it helps the shopper find not only the right aisle, but also the right place in the aisle. And shelf strips can clearly delineate private label products for the shopper, Elliot says.

Retailers could also use signage to promote lower-traffic brands in high-traffic aisles near high-traffic products, Groser says. She gives the example of an aisle blade communicating a retailer’s private brand pet line placed near ready-to-eat cereal.

Always presenting an in-stock position through spring-loaded tray systems or gravity-fed merchandisers is another important sell-at-the-shelf strategy, says Paul Bloom, vice president of marketing, FFR Merchandising Inc., Twinsburg, Ohio. It helps with enhancing the billboard effect, which so many consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies and retailers are interested in, and it helps prevent customers from grabbing a different product or just walking away.

“We tend to give shoppers more credit than they deserve when it comes to the amount of effort they’re willing to exert to look for a product,” Bloom adds. “If a product looks to be out of stock, a casual shopper, which is what the vast majority of shoppers are, will just grab something else.”

Displays are another traditional method retailers could use to attract the shopper’s attention.

However, Elliot cautions retailers to focus more on imagery and less on text.

“One report I read stated that shoppers only read eight words during an entire grocery trip,” he says.

Therefore, Elliot suggests retailers create displays that use hedonic — pleasurable — imagery because it connects with the consumer in two important ways.

First, it connects with them emotionally. Second, it connects them to the experience of consumption instead of to the “drudgery” of shopping.

Shelf extenders are one more option for retailers that are interested in traditional sell-at-the-shelf strategies. One of FFR Merchandising’s retailer clients uses 4-inch shelf extenders in almost every aisle of the store and merchandises only store brands on them, Bloom states.

“It’s simple, clean and direct, and it provides a premier presence for the store brand,” he says. “It’s an easy impulse buy, and it’s offset from the rest of the products on the shelf. If I was the CPG, I would cringe.”

Modern tools

Of course, some retailers might be more interested in modern technology-heavy methods for selling at the shelf, and with good reason.

“The advance of digital has and will continue to change the way consumers shop,” Groser says, “particularly considering that more than 50 percent of shoppers use a mobile device while shopping for food, beverages or groceries. And when looking at millennial shoppers, that number increases to more than 70 percent.”

For retailers that like the idea of signage but want a more modern twist, digital signage is now an option. And it seems to be very effective.

“Reports have shown that one in five people are persuaded by digital signage enough to purchase the advertised product,” Satili says.

Its highly effective nature could be because digital signage can be tailored to promote products in real time, she adds.

Another digital option includes digital shelf tags. Panasonic Corp.’s Powershelf technology combines battery-free, wirelessly powered electronic shelf labels with a built-in beacon advertising capability, as well as inventory, price management and out-of-stock sensor technologies, Satili states.

And now retailers can offer customers virtual assistants to help make their at-shelf decision. The Tensator Group offers retailers its Tensator Virtual Assistant, new interactive digital signage that uses high-definition projected imaging and audio-visual technology to create the illusion of a real person delivering customized messaging and promotions, Cohen says. The virtual assistant looks, speaks and acts like a human being and can engage, entice and educate prospective buyers. Some retailers, including ShopRite supermarkets, operated by Keasbey, N.J.-based Wakefern Food Corp., already have virtual assistants working within their stores.

Even Google Glass could have an enormous impact on how shoppers behave in the store in the near future, with aisle-by-aisle shop-along technology based on a pre-loaded shopping list. It could even offer educational information to guide shoppers to specific areas of the store, Groser says.

Software and analytics technology is also available to retailers to help them understand where they’re winning and where they’re losing with their at-shelf strategies. For example, Wi-Fi location-based marketing analytic tools can measure foot traffic and new versus repeat visitors, and even monitor shopper behavior, says Nader Fathi, CEO and co-founder of Kiana Analytics, Sunnyvale, Calif. It can also help retailers learn if a customer dwelled in front of new graphics, was attracted to specific product pricing, or engaged with a store associate.

But just as traditional sell-at-the-shelf methods have limitations, so do modern ones.

“The limitations and challenges to using some of these technologies are vast and vary from one market to another, requiring a strong commitment from interested retailers who want to successfully implement them,” Groser says.

For example, with near field communication technology, iBeacon and similar marketing push technology that connects with people’s smart devices, it could be a challenge to get consumers to opt in, Elliot says.

“Plus, these push-marketing tactics could become the junk mail of the center store,” he adds. “Being able to customize and personalize push marketing will be the key to adding value to the shopper as opposed to just being another annoyance.”