Watch your shoppers

It is critical for all retailers to stand back, look at their businesses and watch how customers shop their stores. Consumers walk into any store, take three or four steps inside and want to stop and look at a product for sale in a prime location. This is often called the “power spot” and research indicates that this position can sell items 5.4 times faster than any other location.

The power spot is, in my view, one of the most important merchandising locations in your store. Companies such as Zara, the Spanish fashion retailer, will change the display in this location at least every two weeks. They want consumers to feel that every time they walk into the store there are fresh products on display.

Take a look at this location in your store and ask yourself if you are placing the right products in it. These need to be lines that consumers will want, rather than need, to buy.  When building the display, be bold and restrict it to one theme or even one product. Customers need to glance at it and understand the “story” you are aiming to promote.

Space is at a premium in local stores, but the laws of building a power spot display should still be adhered to if at all possible. Circular conical displays in this location sell more than any other shape. The display should be topical and be changed at least twice a month, if not more often.

It should be shoppable; customers must feel that they can take a product off the display without spoiling it or causing it to become unsafe.

Power locations

Power locations reflect the image of your store and send a message to consumers about what you feel they should be purchasing from you this week. Make someone responsible for checking the display on a regular basis. A half full display will make less money than one which looks fully stocked. In addition, remember that a display is never completed until a sign is in position on it.

Customers need to make a decision and make it quickly. If the turnover you achieve from your power spot is not at least five times faster than that achieved in another location, you have the wrong product in the wrong place at the wrong time and you need to change your display. Changing power displays is one of the most important merchandising jobs you can do. I have outlined power merchandising concepts fully in my book, Just About Everything a Retail Manager Needs to Know.

Action Plan

1. Does your whole team know where the power spot is located in your store?
2. Is somebody responsible for making sure that the display always has product on it?
3. Is the display topical in the eyes of consumers?
4. Is there a clear sign on the display to tell customers what the product is and how much it costs?
5. When building this display, make sure you restrict it to one theme, or even one product.