In the Trenches: The psychology of produce merchandising
In the Trenches: The psychology of produce merchandising
The moment a customer enters a grocery store and approaches the produce department they either get excited or they get turned off. The instant visual view is psychologically supposed to draw shoppers toward the displays and influence them to buy the product. If the department environment fails to send that spending message, customers will walk right past those displays.
This “visual merchandising” principle is not new. The manner in which goods are arranged and displayed has been a foundation for merchants since the early 18th century.
most operators turn to clever merchandising methods to accomplish it.
Produce retailers have a great number of ways to increase sales, and most operators turn to clever merchandising methods to accomplish it, but there is more to merchandising than just placing items on a display.
It is necessary to develop a special ambiance to attract shoppers and encourage them into buying your product. The displays should draw attention from customers and make them see items they may not have noticed while in the store.
Shoppers are almost unconscious of the displays around them. That’s mainly due to the fact that the produce departments are all too commonplace to them. When nothing is new, different or exciting, a shopper’s focus becomes blurry. They tend to just pick up a few basic everyday items in a hurry and cash out. They are not motivated to make extra purchases.
What variations do departments need to make people stop in their tracks and draw attention? What motivates them into favoring specific produce items and buying them?
This business is not difficult to figure out. There are two main principles in generating sales on a steady basis — the weekly ad program and aggressive in-store merchandising. That merchandising is driven by motivational psychology to influence them into making purchases.
Think of what it could mean to your profits if you were 25 percent more effective than your competition. All you have to do is sell produce easier, faster, better and smarter.
Consumers need to be persuaded to buy produce. Other than advertising and promotion, a retailer needs to make incremental sales happen all the time by taking a quantum leap to increase customer awareness of product.
Selling produce is an art. It is also an expression and a psychology. There are endless ways to sell produce with many types of displays applied throughout the department. Many of these displays are large and filled with an abundance of various fruits and vegetables. One popular selling method is termed the waterfall display, which consists of product flowing off an end cap or fixture onto original shipping boxes. This merchandising style is designed to create eye appeal and attract customers to the display encouraging them into buying generous amounts that boost volume sales.
Visual impact psychology is a major part of merchandising, and produce has an ideal advantage in this area. Customers are highly influenced by the many colors of different items neatly presented throughout the department. Color catches the customers’ eyes and impacts their shopping mood. That’s why it is necessary to use color contrast when displaying specific items together so they blend into one another like a beautiful bouquet of flowers. The department then becomes a colorful piece of art. The object is to grab customer attention.
The most important factor in the success of a produce department is the perception it gives to shoppers. Good skilled merchandising is the most significant element.
What causes a sales slump? It could be pricing, out of stocks, competition or a bad location. In most cases, it’s nothing more than substandard merchandising. Produce sales growth comes from smart, well planned and aggressive displays.
End cap fixtures can help sell three to four times more product rather than displaying them in line. Adding a spillover waterfall is ideal for a massive abundant presentation. Again, the spillover helps draw the customers with its psychological impact. Otherwise, the item would only be part of the regular layout on the produce fixtures.
Positive first impressions can dazzle customers. Make sure your display is visually attractive to immediately catch their attention.
Ron Pelger is a produce industry adviser and industry writer. He can be contacted at 775-843-2394 or by e-mail at [email protected].
