Retail Space Utilization

“𝗪𝗲 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲.” How many times have you heard this from buyers?  It’s hard to argue with because we all know they are presented more items each category review than would fit in the section. There are so many factors that go into category decisions, but ultimately, it does come down to space. There is a defined space for the section they’re reviewing and only so many items can fit within that section. Also, buyers are held to merchandising, pack-out, and days of supply standards that aren’t apparent when you’re just looking at the shelf. So how do you avoid this answer from your buyer? Efficiency! At Publix, I was known to put more items into a set than most and there were some key factors I would look for: • Item Dimensions: How efficiently do your items use the space? Trader Joe Coloumbe took a ruler to most items presented in their early days. Everyone wants a brand block, but if I can fit 4 of your items where only 2 of your competitor will fit, you have an advantage. • Height of the product plays a factor too. If your product is short enough to stack on a standard shelf set, that could be an advantage. • Pack-out: Another component of efficiency is pack-out, or how many items will fit within the space allocated. Publix requires that more than 1 case will fit on shelf in the space allocated for a product. • Case Pack: Your case pack affects pack-out. Larger case packs means the buyer needs to allocate more facings to fit a case of your product on shelf. If you have an option, look for smaller case packs. Obviously, velocity is the most important metric in efficiency but you have to get on the shelf before you can prove that out. That’s why item dimensions, case pack, and pack out are so important. They’re concrete measures while the buyers hear a lot of conjecture in category review meetings. Being able to speak to these metrics will put you at an advantage to other brands presenting. Go measure the shelf depth at your retailer (At Publix, they’re typically 18” or 22”) and figure out how many facings/inches you need. How efficient will your products be in that space? Have more questions about this? Feel free to reach out. #categoryreview #cpg #cpgfounder #grocery #buyer #planogram

Will Nitze shared on X a really cool new CPG metric: GRABBABILITY 👇 Grabbability refers to the number of sellable units a shopper can comfortably grab with one hand. This seemingly simple metric can drive higher sales, especially for impulse items. Chomps, with its long, skinny form factor, exemplifies high grabbability. Shoppers can easily grab 7-8 CHOMPS sticks in one hand, compared to just 1-2 Clif Bars, even though both are priced at $1.99 each. The ease of grabbing multiple units can directly impact the amount of product a shopper adds to their cart. Because of their higher grabability, more units of CHOMPS end up in shoppers' carts compared to Clif Bars, increasing overall sales volume. This is critical to maximizing sales in competitive retail environments. → Designing for Grabbability Packaging design plays a crucial role in enhancing a product’s grabbability. Products designed for easy handling and stacking can encourage bulk purchases. Consider redesigning product packaging to make it slimmer or easier to handle. For example, single-serve snack packs or beverage bottles with ergonomic grips can significantly improve grabability and therefore sales. → Merchandising Strategies Effective merchandising setups that enhance grabbability can drive impulse purchases. Placement and display are key factors in leveraging this metric. Arrange products in grab-friendly displays, such as bins or easy-access shelves at checkout areas. Highlight products that shoppers can quickly grab in multiples to encourage last-minute additions to their carts. 🤔 How have you incorporated grabability into your product designs or merchandising strategies, and what results have you seen? Does this apply to other industries as well?

Ever walked into Walmart and noticed those prime endcaps packed with products? They’re not there by accident. Brands fight for that space because it drives massive visibility and sales. But securing an endcap is just the first step—how you execute determines your success. First, why do products land on an endcap? 🛒 Store Promotions – Think Back-to-School, Baby Days, Spring Cleaning. Timing is everything. 🆕 New Item Launch – Whether it’s an emerging brand, DTC expanding into retail, or an exclusive new flavor, endcaps introduce shoppers to fresh options. 📍 Local Assortments – Regional products, local sports team merch, and event-driven selections create community connections. 🎯 Seasonal Must-Haves – Holidays, flu season, sun care—timely products drive impulse buys. 💰 Clearance Deals – Endcaps help retailers move inventory faster by making markdowns easy to find. Once You’re On the Endcap—Now What? Design matters. A well-planned endcap isn’t just about stacking products—it’s about maximizing sales based on shopper behavior. Clearance items? Go for bulk and visibility. The “stack it high, let it fly” strategy works best. New product or category launch? Less product, more storytelling. Use graphics, messaging, and design to educate shoppers while keeping restock easy. Pre-loaded displays? Many endcaps now arrive fully assembled—just remove the shroud and drop it on the fixture. It’s efficient and ensures brand consistency across stores. The best endcaps don’t just showcase products—they drive action. Does your brand have a merchandising strategy? #Retail #Walmart #Endcaps #ShopperMarketing #RetailDisplays #CPG Bay Cities is a full-service designer and manufacturer of packaging and in-store displays. This includes in-house design and structural engineering, manufacturing, packout fulfillment, logistics, and distribution to retailers.

Retailers are sitting on a goldmine of data— but are they using it right? Retailers have more customer data than ever now. The question isn’t how to get insights— it’s how to apply them strategically. Sephora and Coach are proving that when retailers merge data with design, they don’t just tweak store layouts— they transform the customer experience. 🔹 Sephora’s insight? Customers hated getting their makeup done in the front window. Not exactly shocking in hindsight, but it led to a complete redesign of Beauty Studios— resulting in better customer engagement and increased sales. 🔹 Coach applies a ‘70-20-10’ model to store innovation, ensuring bold ideas (like branded cafés and immersive activations) ladder up to business strategy. The takeaway? Innovation works best when it’s structured, not random. 💡 The real opportunity for retailers isn’t in gathering more data— it’s in operationalizing it. Store design isn’t just about aesthetics— it’s a business lever that drives traffic, conversion, and loyalty. Retailers that act on insights instead of just collecting them will be the ones that win. How is your company bridging the gap between data and action? 🔗 Great piece here from Alicia Esposito: https://lnkd.in/geJv4NXa #RetailDesign #CX #DataDrivenDesign #RetailInnovation #TechInRetail #ConsumerInsights * Images from Handout and Coach

An average shopper makes 30–40 buying decisions in a 43-minute grocery trip! Marketers dream of attracting "high-intent buyers." But grocery stores? They get them every single day. And if you think consumers are making random decisions, you'd be wrong. It’s careful orchestration based on deep consumer psychology. And I’ll tell you exactly how: - Aisle Design = Intentional Psychology Ever noticed why essentials like milk and bread are always at the far end of the store? It’s intentional. It’s called the “treasure hunt effect.” You’re subtly encouraged to explore, not just grab and leave. - Promotions Are Triggers Endcaps aren’t random either. Brands pay heavily to be placed there because it’s the highest-traffic, highest-conversion zone. The visual break catches your attention, gives your brain a quick dopamine hit, and makes it easier to say yes to an impulse purchase. - Product Placement = Storytelling Kids’ cereals are placed at kids’ eye level. Luxury chocolates are placed where adults naturally pause longer. Products are grouped not just by category but by mental association, soups near crackers, sauces near pastas. It’s subconscious storytelling: "If you’re buying this... You probably want that too." - Emotions Sell More Than Rationality Price matters, but comfort, nostalgia, and trust often matter more. Old brands, familiar packaging, and "Mom’s Choice" labels trigger quicker decisions. So the lesson for the day is: If you really want to master consumer behaviour, don’t just study e-commerce funnels. Spend an hour quietly observing people in a grocery store. You’ll learn more about attention, influence, and buying psychology than any marketing course can teach you. . . . #grocery #lesson

Strategically implementing experiential rituals at the retail level can directly impact consumer loyalty and your bottom line. How?  By intentionally curating immersive, impactful touchpoints to increase customer dwell time. The longer people interact with your product and brand, the more likely they are to purchase. This is not just confined to online spaces, measuring the length of time a visitor spent on your webpage. IRL experiences, like content playgrounds and in-store pop-ups, offer greater opportunities to appeal to all the senses. This rationale informs every experience GRADIENT’s team of visionaries curates for our brands. When we partnered with Urban Decay Cosmetics’ incredible team to launch their Vice Lip Bond lipstick line, we strategically leveraged a range of components to increase guest dwell time: ◆ Eye-catching fluorescent and vintage TV installations created an exciting, nostalgic mood for visitors. ◆ The attendance of content creators, influencers, and public figures, like Euphoria’s Chloe Cherry, generated social buzz around the experience, enticing guests to stay at the same venue as other high-profile attendees. ◆ The latest tech tools allowed us to create unique content-capture opportunities for attendees integrating branded filters, retro Polaroids, and compelling teasers. Immersive touch points equal profound and personal bonds between you and your audience. The clock is ticking with each moment a person engages with you. As time passes, they become primed for loyalty through positive associations, personalization, and emotional connection. Optimizing customer dwell time through captivating touchpoints is just one of many elements Gradient’s team considers before launching an activation. 𝐁𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧. Maximize every dollar against each touchpoint to strategically drive brand loyalty and ROI. What strategies have you found most effective at garnering customer loyalty and conversions? #ROI #experience #brands #marketing #innovation

I love seeing brands that are absolutely crushing it with brick-and-mortar. Case in point - Rothy's reported 17% revenue growth, with same-store sales jumping 20%. How did they get there? 1️⃣ They approach physical spaces with the same data-driven mindset they use with e-commerce: - They analyze optimal store size - They patiently wait for prime locations with the right co-tenants - They continuously refine their store layout and strategy based on performance Digital-first brands have a huge advantage when moving into physical retail - they bring their testing mindset to spaces where many retailers have been running on autopilot for decades. 2️⃣ They focus on the unique benefits of physical retail Rothy's understands that physical retail is a brand's most powerful channel for building loyalty. While e-commerce is a great channel for purchase, physical retail allows you to: - Share your brand's story - Communicate your values - Showcase your products in context - Build genuine human connections with customers Their most surprising discovery? Having multiple stores in the same market didn’t cannibalize sales, but actually expanded their entire customer base. Physical stores make every channel more effective. What other brands have you seen taking smart, data-driven approaches to physical retail? https://lnkd.in/dbYBixmC

We're often asked about the biggest aha moments that Simbe's retail partners' have about robotics. ⚡ They're a privilege to watch, since it’s rare to see your business in a new light — and powerful when retailers realize inventory data is their true operating layer. Early breakthroughs come from on-shelf availability and price integrity. Even top-performing stores increase stock levels by 60% and price accuracy by 90%, while freeing 25–50 staff hours per week to focus on shoppers. But the real game-changer is understanding real-time shelf conditions and precise item locations. This unlocks: ✅ E-commerce accuracy & fulfillment: Two-thirds of “out-of-stock” items are often just misplaced. Optimized pick paths improve fulfillment by 50%. ✅ Better BOPIS & fewer substitutions: More accurate orders delight shoppers. ✅ Automated reordering & demand forecasting: Smarter supply chain operations. ✅ Merchandising at scale: Brands access daily pricing & inventory data instead of outdated reports. Store teams can virtually audit 30+ stores a day. Just as Walmart is automating distribution centers with Symbotic robots, instrumenting stores with real-time inventory automation is the next competitive frontier. And this is just the beginning. #retailautomation #retail #retailoperations

The robots will not be taking over the grocery shop floor anytime soon. However, robotics and automation have their place, specifically in inventory management, scanning aisles, and troubleshooting issues more efficiently. We view integrating robots into the store as an enhancement and a tool for the frontline workers, and by no means a replacement for humans. Coming out of the recent Groceryshop conference, there are clear business use cases emerging and gaining momentum for robotics and camera sensors, including: ▪️ Monitoring aisles – Analyzing customer patterns to determine optimal product placement and overall flow of traffic through the store ▪️ Leveraging robotics – Scanning products and shelves 24/7 to forecast demand and optimize the allocation process ▪️ Preventing out of stocks – Optimizing the inventory management process and building contingency stock for unexpected events ▪️ Mitigating shrink – Reducing the overall shrink numbers by monitoring customer behaviors and providing alerts to the store operations team ▪️ Optimizing retail media spend – Determining the optimal retail media investments based on conversion rates, in-store traffic, and customer engagement What are your thoughts? See the comments below for more RetailWire thoughts #grocery #robotics #automation #inventorymanagement #inventory #supplychain #cameravision #retailmedia #spaceoptimization #demandforecasting #shrink #frontlineworkers #kyndryl #topretailexperts