Where do Supermarket Endcaps have the Most Traction?

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Summary

Marketers and store managers invest significantly in endcaps—end-of-aisle displays intended to reach as many shoppers as possible. A seven-year study analyzed where shoppers in two continents spend the most time in a store and which endcap space has the greatest potential reach. What do you think was more valuable: front or back of the store? Among the findings:

People use the back of the store more than the front of the store during shopping trips for navigation between aisles. That countered earlier research, in which retailers were tempted to place endcaps at the front of the store because of the proximity to the entrance.
“Using weighted averages, there was 24 percent more foot traffic past endcaps at the back of the store compared with the front (64 percent front, 88 percent back)”;
And there was “30 percent more visual reach at the back of the store compared with the front (54 percent at the back, 24 percent at the front).”
“Traffic at the front of the store is only greater in the first and last 10 percent of shopping trips because shoppers either are entering the store or are exiting at these times.”

Why did the study take seven years? Their method included direct observation in five different supermarkets in the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand, in which participants in the primary data collection in-store wore eye-tracking glasses that recorded their field of vision. Additionally, the researchers analyzed field-of-vision data collected from past commercial shopper behavior studies in four other stores. For retailers, this study provides an indication of which endcap space in the store likely will generate the most return on merchandising investment.

William Caruso is a marketing scientist at the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science, University of South Australia. His area of expertise is in retail merchandising, particularly in point-of-sale displays, so he is well placed to provide insights into effective in-store activation.

Armando Maria Corsi is a senior marketing scientist at the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute, University of South Australia, and visiting professor at the School of Wine & Spirits Business, Burgundy School of Business. His research focuses on wine and other premium and luxury products and examines consumer behavior for wine and food products, packaging, and retailing.

Svetlana Bogomolova is associate professor at the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science, University of South Australia. She is a consumer behavior researcher studying the influence of supermarket environment (e.g., price promotions, region-of-origin signage, nutrition information) on food choices. Her research informs the practice of industry partners (multinational and local businesses and not-for-profit organizations) and government policy on protecting and promoting consumer interests.

Justin Cohen is a senior marketing scientist at the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute, University of South Australia. Cohen’s expertise is in route-to-market decision making, emerging markets (in particular, China), retailing, online advertising, and wine and food marketing.

Anne Sharp is an associate professor at the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute, University of South Australia. She is interested in marketing laws—finding and disseminating them—and working with marketers around the globe to be evidence-based. She has a particular focus on sustainability and shopper behavior.

Larry Lockshin is professor of wine marketing and head of the School of Marketing at the University of South Australia. His research interest is consumer choice behavior for wine, including how extrinsic and intrinsic factors interact. He currently is working on several
consumer wine-related projects in China and in-store behavior in Australia.

Pei Jie Tan is a marketing scientist at the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute, University of South Australia. Her research focuses on shopper behavior, price promotions, and in-store experiments.