Merchandising is the golden rule of retail. Features of the behavior of buyers in the trading floor. Invisible and useful

Making decisions on organizing merchandising in the store's sales area begins with determining the assortment positions and the required retail stock, which must correspond to the sales area, the store's image, and its target audience. Then the question of the layout of the store's sales area is decided.

The layout of the store in accordance with merchandising technologies includes the distribution of retail space into departments, sections, the location of shelves and goods on them, determination of the route of customers' movement through the sales area, which allows to distribute the cognitive resource and physical potential of visitors adequately to the goals of the retail commercial enterprise and other participants in the producer-consumer chain.

The rational distribution of the trading floor area and the correct placement of equipment, goods and calculation units, as well as the purposeful organization of the movement of customer flows in the store are among the most important and primary tasks of merchandising specialists.

They begin with the choice of premises suitable for organizing the sale of goods and customer service. Practice shows that the most convenient and optimal shape of a sales area is a rectangle with a side ratio of 2: 3 or 1: 2 and a height of at least 3.3 m.

In the store, you can always find the corners that are least visited by customers, they are called "cold zones", and the places that are visited more often than others, they are called "hot zones". The challenge for the merchandiser is to find a way to turn "cold zones" into "hot" ones. For example, in Fig. 2.1 shows a diagram of a sales area, the configuration of which contributes to the formation of a "cold zone", if you do not take certain measures to prevent its appearance.

The reason for the formation of the "cold zone" in this case is related to the fact that people by their nature, as a rule, do not want to change the direction of movement. In our example, if the customer flow is directed counterclockwise, a small part of potential customers will visit the far corner, and most of them will continue to move, bypassing this section.

To turn a cold zone into a hot zone, a merchandiser can use the following options:

1) change the movement of the consumer flow by creating a barrier from commercial equipment or placing a settlement node in its path in a clockwise direction. At the same time, most of the buyers will not find the corner and will go all the way;

2) influence the direction of movement by reducing the lighting in the right corner and widening the passages on the left side of the hall;

3) to place goods in the right corner that are more attractive to buyers.

At the same time, practice shows that buyers prefer to go counterclockwise and along the edges. This leads to the formation of a "cold zone" in the central part of the trading floor. Therefore, merchandising specialists must attract customers to this part of the sales area using various means that redistribute traffic routes and visitor attention.

Enter exit

Rice. 2.2. Changing the direction of the movement of consumer flows, preventing the formation of a "cold zone":

· Buyers move counterclockwise - main flow;

· Buyers move counterclockwise - visitors to the "cold zone";

Customer flows are oriented clockwise - main flow

Probable characteristics of the customer's behavior at certain stages of his movement through the sales area:

1. Purchase zone - the visitor has fully adapted to the environment; passionate about making planned purchases; stimuli are not perceived.

2. Return zone - the buyer has reached the goal and is free; a feeling of relief and impaired attention; easily acted upon and depends on external stimuli.

3. Zone of adaptation - the buyer easily reacts to stimuli and can evaluate them; unconsciously looking for an answer to the question of how to spend the money saved while achieving the main goal.

4. Exit zone - the buyer speeds up the passage to the checkout; does not linger.

In the adaptation zone, it is advisable to place goods that have:

1. Consumer characteristics are well known to the visitor.

2. Objectivity of perception does not require great concentration of attention.

3. Possible distortions of perception are not related to the consumer properties of goods.

Goods known and necessary for the visitor should be placed in the shopping area.

By selecting the right products, the buyer has achieved his goal. Nothing detains him and he speeds up the passage to the checkout. At this stage in the customer's movement, attention-grabbing factors such as shape, size, color, smell, position, etc. can be manipulated. This segment of the visitor's route and part of the trading floor is conventionally called the "return zone".

Customer flow. Examples of layouts. Strong and weak areas

“Firstly, the movement of customers in all directions will scatter them a little bit everywhere, multiply their number and be sure to turn their heads. Secondly, traveling in all directions will triple the size of the room in their eyes. Thirdly, they will be forced to go through those departments where they would not have set foot, and there they will be attracted by all kinds of temptations. And now they are in our hands. " (E. Zola, novel "Ladies' Happiness").

So much for first-hand merchandising! Organization of the flow of customers is the most important component of merchandising. This was understood already in the 19th century. Managing customer flows in the 21st century is one of the fundamental topics in merchandising. By mastering this art, you can always direct your store visitors on the right track, attract them to the most profitable products, keep them in store and, as a result, increase sales.

Customer flow- This is the direction in which most of the customers go in the store. Taking into account the basic physiological characteristics of people will help to effectively organize this flow.

? Most buyers are right-handed. They take goods mainly from the right and step, making a step with their right foot. Thus, the main flow goes counterclockwise - to the left. Therefore, it is optimal to place the entrance to the store on the right, and the exit on the left.

? Buyer's braking distance. 95% of buyers entering a retail outlet quickly "slip" part of the store and only then start choosing a product. A store with wide aisles, especially in the entrance area, will have a long stopping distance, small shop may not have it at all. The main thing is to shorten this path as much as possible, since sales of goods in the entry zone may turn out to be very low.

Reduce the stopping distance with gates and turnstiles at the entrance to the sales area, pallets, stock items, carts and baskets, advertising materials, island equipment, ATM, etc. However, be careful not to block the path.

Relying on your personal experience, I note that buyers avoid places in the immediate vicinity of the entrance to office space, next to stairs, technical and sanitary rooms, noisy appliances.

Keep in mind that at the beginning of their journey, the buyer is in a distracted state and most of all prone to impulsive purchases. And most importantly - the money is still intact! Thus, at the beginning of the flow it is possible to influence the buyer more strongly (not to confuse the “beginning of the flow” and the “stopping distance”).

What to place in the first quarter of the hall:

DVD movies, music CDs, etc .;

Grocery stores - confectionery, tea and coffee, fruits and vegetables, drinks;

Gift sets, seasonal items;

Expensive goods;

Items to be considered;

Alcoholic drinks.

Advice from Guzelevich. Wholesale for retail

Create "express routes". There is a category of people who run in for a gift on their way to visit. Organize an express route for them in the first quarter of the hall with a comprehensive display of confectionery and souvenirs. These shoppers are time constrained and will be more satisfied by finding products quickly and taking everything in one place.

And don't forget that the goods at the entrance are used to judge the entire store! Display products tailored to the needs of your target audience.

If you have a store of women's goods, but there is a small assortment of men's goods (for example, underwear), then this product should be visible right from the entrance, be in the window. Men won't look for products if they don't see them right away.

Remember the trivial things we all forget sometimes: shoppers avoid noisy, dirty, and poorly lit places.

Now about music... Light, unobtrusive music can relax a customer or create a mood in a store. Don't use radio. A commercial break on the radio takes a person out of the state of consumer euphoria. Music for one chain of stores should be in the same style, do not allow confusion. If you need to speed up the flow during rush hour, the music should be more rhythmic.

Advice from Guzelevich. Wholesale for retail

Computer scientists have such a concept - an intuitive interface. This is when you go to the site - and you immediately understand everything: where is the catalog of goods, the shopping basket, the form of payment. Use the same concept in your store, introduce "intuitive interface" into it. After all, 90% of buyers want to find all the products they plan to buy without going long distances and without going back.

Arrange product groups in a clear and predictable sequence, otherwise customers simply forget that they came to buy bread, milk, etc., and remember this quite late.

Organize the flow of customers so that they go through the entire store. For example, like at IKEA: it is impossible to leave the store there without going through all the departments. The layout is designed in such a way that it is easier to follow the carpet and the arrow and go through all the departments than to wander between them, guided by the checkout.

Strong areas in the trading floor:

At the entrance to the shopping center;

Near the checkout area or large anchor tenants;

Near escalators and travelators;

At the intersection of streams;

First floors (each floor above reduces the flow by about half).

Basement floors should be treated with caution in the absence of a powerful "anchor" tenant (food supermarket) or directional flow (for example, exiting the subway). To direct the flow of people there, you need to try very hard. People tend to shop on the ground floor rather than running up or down. This applies even more to men (with the exception of targeted purchases).

An example of a good location is the previously reviewed Metromarket chain of stores in Moscow, in particular, a store on Leningradsky Prospekt (Sokol metro station).

The solution is simple and effective. In that mall there are no "weak" zones. And even the third floor is quite visited: about 3000 people a day.

Hot spots include:

Shelves on the right side in the direction of movement of buyers;

The beginning of customer flows is the space after the stopping distance: shelving in the first quarter of the sales area, the beginning of gondolas, etc .;

Trading floor perimeter;

Side shelves of racks (ends of gondolas) and crossroads of buyers' paths;

Shelving ledges;

Places where the buyer "rests his gaze";

Checkout area.

The strongest zone is the perimeter of the trading floor. The most popular products (traffic makers) are located there. 80% of buyers walk along the perimeter of the trading floor!

Less strong sales areas (cold spots):

Shelves on the left side in the direction of the movement of buyers;

Middle rows;

Dead ends of rows, branches of the trading floor;

Sales area corners;

The area adjacent to the entrance (buyer stopping distance).

Do not place additional points of sale of goods and points of sale of goods of impulse demand in "cold" zones.

The corners are referred to as the "cold zones" of the store. Buyers simply avoid them. In the corners, I recommend placing corner shelves with good lighting. Various nooks, narrow passages, beginning and end of shelves are also not held in high esteem. These places should not be placed hot commodity, additional points of sale of goods and points of sale of goods of impulse demand.

When placing food and non-food products, the first are carried to the back of the hall. Foodstuffs are the "piece of cheese" that will force the customer to go through the non-food zone. Do the same in other cases. Beckon the buyer to go through all the departments.

Priority places in the trading floor are determined depending on the location of the main commodity group - the goods that are the purpose of the visit. For grocery store this is milk, bread, sausages, for a household goods store it can be household chemicals, light bulbs, hardware, for a clothing store - a seasonal collection or a collection on sale (the rule of the "golden triangle").

The main products are placed along the perimeter of the trading floor, on the island equipment - an additional assortment (bright products, products with a wider range of sizes, from past collections, etc.). Placing the island equipment serves the function of directing the customer flow along the entire perimeter.

Density of flow distribution in the trading floor

Remember: you only have 5 seconds to form an impression of the products! Therefore, do not hit your face in the dirt. There may not be a second chance. Place ready-made sets of goods at the ends at the entrance to the section, use the principle of "cross" merchandising, monitors with the presentation of goods, advertising materials. Think carefully about the order of the product groups. Let it gradually flow from one department to another, and the goods will promote the sale of each other: for example, bread, muffins, pastries, finished products, salad cooking, sausages, semi-finished products, meat products, poultry, fish.

The neighborhood of the department with the layout of cheese is more preferable with wine racks and sea delicacies than with just dairy products: cheese from a simple dairy product acquires the status of a product for connoisseurs.

This principle of product presentation is called the principle of "cross-pollination", which we already mentioned in the section "Laws of merchandising". Prompt the buyer ready-made solution- and he will thank you with a purchase!

An example of the location of product groups, taking into account the principle of "cross" merchandising

Sometimes the goods and flows in the store need to be separated. For these purposes, various interior solutions can be used to clearly differentiate the perception of goods by groups. Many clothing stores selling both men's and women's clothing create two stores in one, dividing the space with the color of the tiles on the floor and the color of the wall decor.

Typical mistakes:

The equipment in the hall should not obstruct the view. Tall structures are placed near the walls, and lower ones - in the center of the hall. The height of the island structures should be below the level of the eyes of the visitors;

Too narrow aisles make it difficult for visitors to move around the sales area and inspect the store's assortment. Recommendation: the minimum size of the aisles should be 1000–1200 mm, the minimum space for one person with a basket is 87 cm, in order for two people with carts to disperse in the aisle, 1.7 m is required;

Uncomfortable fitting rooms in clothing stores, small in size and poorly lit;

Item has been placed very high or very low. The upper level of the product sign should be no higher than 190 cm;

Chaotic movement of buyers.

Organize your movement with all of the above in mind. Do not forget about the peculiarity of people to walk counterclockwise. Highlight the buyer's journey with vibrant POS materials. Maintain cleanliness, consider the hot and cold places in the store.

In a "romance" with a store, everything is like in life: if a man is neat, well dressed, smells good and gives all sorts of useful items such as jewelry and flowers ("cross pollination") - you already like him!

Question 3. What are your strengths and weak sides Well, with the strong, it's somehow understandable. We will no longer demonstrate low self-esteem and make references to those "who know best." We will determine in a structured and precise way which of your features will be extremely important for

Strengths and weaknesses It is very important for an enterprise to find out all the advantages and disadvantages of its position and product from the point of view of the chosen target market or market segment. Strengths and weaknesses are identified when comparing the position of the company in the market with