Displaying
delicacies
R
Kannan, President, Ramms elaborates on the importance of visual merchandising
in the food retail sector and analyses how it can be made interesting
In
the food retail industry today, price, variety and services are no longer
the only purchase triggers. The look of the store and the way the food
items are displayed also act as facilitators. Successful retail marketers
in the country have discovered that they can dramatically increase their
sales by proper display at the point of purchase (POP). It requires
the experience of a retail specialist to take passive environments and
transform them into dynamic experiences by strategically placing brand
visuals that encourage active consumer participation. A retail specialist
has expertise in establishing direct consumer contact at POP. Creating
successful POP concepts starts with a clear understanding of the consumer
profile of the brand, in-depth knowledge of various retail formats in
the country ranging from kirana stores to supermarkets and hypermarkets,
management of different sections, category management process and a
thorough study of consumer preferences and behaviour.
The Indian food retail sector is one of the biggest industries in the
country with a turnover of around $180 billion. But a recent study conducted
by a retail solution company reveals that stores that are more than
800 sq ft in size constitute only 3 per cent of the total food retail
establishments in the country. Of over five million existing outlets,
96 per cent have an average area of less than 500 sq ft.
The requirement here is to make best use of the available space.
As the emerging trend of international formats of retailing is gaining
popularity in the market, the traditional food and grocery segment is
being transformed into supermarkets/grocery chains like FoodWorld, Nilgiris,
Trinetra, Subhiksha, Apna Bazaar, convenience stores like ConveniO,
HP Speed mart, and fast-food chains like McDonald’s, Smokin' Joes
and so on.
Retail planogram
It is not enough to merely rearrange the products
on the shelf, based on syndicated or retailer-supplied data. It is imperative
to possess in-depth retail knowledge about how customers shop for a
category and to reflect that learning along with retailer data in the
product positioning. This activity is done with help of a retail planogram.
It is a program that shows how and where specific retail products should
be placed on shelves or displays in order to increase customer purchases.
Retail planogramming is a skill which is developed in the fields of
merchandising and retail space planning.
It is developed using information about products – like the amount
of inventory left for the product, volume of sales per sq ft of retail
space and other specific information about products, such as stock keeping
unit numbers and product codes. By analysing past and current sales
patterns, a planogrammer can make successful recommendations about the
number of 'facings' a certain product should have on a retail display,
how high or low it should be on the display shelf/level, as well as
which products should surround it. Facings represent how many products
should be facing straight out toward the customer.
The resulting planogram can be printed out as a visual to be followed
by the part-time help that is often hired to restock retail shelves
and displays. This gives the management of a retail store or chain a
lot more control over how products are displayed, and as a result allows
them to track and improve their planograms....
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