Position Prized Items to Grab Attention

You probably have certain items you’re especially interested in having customers consider. It might be because these items carry high profit margins or come with promotional allowances from the supplier. Increase sales on those prized items by displaying them in ways that grab attention.

• Stock identical packages of the item on an end cap with no competing items on adjacent shelves. Do this on the end cap for the aisle the shopper is most likely to approach when looking for the product category. That way, the shopper sees the prized product first, boosting the probability it will be chosen to fill the need. If you want to boost sales of cordless drills from Milwaukee Tool, put a bunch of packages of those on the end cap at the aisle shoppers come to when seeking electric drills, for example. I give that as an example to expand your thinking about the value of end caps. Retailers are accustomed to using end caps for low-priced commodity items. Remember that end caps also can be good positions for higher-priced items that appeal to your distinctive target markets.
• Keep the prized items away from competing items that have very colorful packages and/or unusual shapes. Researchers at University of Southern California found that when packages stand out from others, they not only draw the eyes and hands toward them, but also tend to be judged by shoppers as a better value. In one study, people were shown two grocery packages holding identical quantities. The people were told that the prices of the two were the same and the quality was similar. Most of the study participants thought the attention-attracting package was bigger and therefore was the better buy. If alternative items have attention-attracting packages, leave some distance between those and the prized items.