The Art of the Aisle

Amy Keller | 10/1/2007

Americans consume 17 fewer pounds of red meat, 40 more pounds of poultry and 4 more pounds of fish than they did in 1970 [Photo courtesy Whole Foods Market]

According to Mark Lilien, a consultant with the Retail Technology Group, checkout time is the No. 1 criterion shoppers use to measure customer service.

Paco Underhill, CEO of Envirosell, cautions retailers to consider the “butt-brush” factor in how they organize their space. Women who are bumped from behind while shopping consistently leave the store faster and buy less. Wide aisles and cul-de-sacs minimize the possibility of contact, encouraging them to relax and linger.

Endcaps

ENDCAP : Grocers often use the ends of aisles to pair products that typically are found in different parts of the store, like these cookout-related items at Whole Foods. [Photo: Tim Healy]

Stores are also making better use of the special displays at the end of supermarket aisles, particularly for cross promotions. At a Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market in Tampa, bags of Dunkin’ Donuts coffee are paired with Post cereal and bananas. Bart Weitz, executive director of the University of Florida’s Center for Retailing Education and Research, says that placement of a product on an end-cap can boost sales by 300%.

Endcaps are also key locations to introduce new products to customers. Sweetbay has loaded up the first endcap in its natural foods department — located directly across from the bakery near produce — with its own line of Nature’s Place natural and organic products. The store’s intention is to “create awareness around the distinctive packaging so it starts to become visible” when consumers see the products in the rest of the aisles, says Smith, Sweetbay’s vice president of merchandizing.

In the Back

Along with dairy, fresh meat and seafood sections are still typically found at the rear of most stores, but new designs accommodate changing consumer tastes, calling attention to new cuts of meat, recipe racks, organic meats, displays of special seasonings and the like. While the Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market provides only prepackaged meats, many Florida supermarket chains today emphasize their full-service butcher shops. Some stores such as Whole Foods Market in Sarasota integrate prepared offerings — vats of clam chowder or lobster bisque, for example — into their fresh seafood sections. Sweetbay designs both its meat and seafood departments to give customers a 360-degree shopping experience: The section literally pops out of the back wall. Meats — visible from every direction — are displayed in European-style cases, stand-alone pods and self-service gondolas. Instead of being blocked in, associates can easily move between the counters and shopping floor to interact with customers.

OPEN SPACE: The Fresh Market makes a point of keeping shelves low and aisles wide. Some of the store’s aisles are oriented diagonally. [Photo courtesy The Fresh Market]

Tags: North Central