What is the science or psychology behind the way how they display their products?
I understand that it’s supposed to drive sales, but what is the reason behind their method?
Why, or how does it work?
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I was the IT portfolio manager for a series of systems that decided what to sell and where to place it on the shelf for what was at one time a large grocery chain.
Most of it is math. Engines statistically compare sales of same product in different locations and then it tells the product manager where to place the product for maximum sales.
Also. There are reasons the rules may be ignored or countered. I worked for a grocery chain. Milk was in the back of the store and the business side would never change that despite what my systems said. They wanted people to walk to the back and maybe buy something on the way to milk. Pharmacies actually sell more milk because as you walk back you pickup the milk.
In the same way it was hard to convince them to sell beer and meat close together. Which btw sales like hotcakes.
Ice cream is bought by pallet loads you basically don’t get to choose the flavors.
Yogurt companies required a variety of their product meaning in some stores Greek fancy yogurt never sold and more was thrown away than sold.
Also just obstinate personalities and politics. Each product manger fights for real estate, and then has to fill it. So the drug guy wins his argument and has 12 feet of shelving to fill. Sometimes that meant the system would order product that will expire before it sells. I could show them this math, but it is hard to go against 50 years of tradition.
I assume since the same systems work for big box stores they have the same math and issues.
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