A SMART Strategy to Affect the Moment of Truth
16
MAR, 2020
The store shelf is a coveted piece of real estate. It’s the one place where critical decisions made by the manufacturer, the retailer and the consumer meet. All of the planning and creative strategies that lead to “the moment of truth” — when a shopper ultimately decides to put a product in their basket or not — comes down to a split-second decision.
A Nielsen Shopper Study revealed that 60 percent of shoppers make final purchase decisions as they are standing in front of the shelf. That is on a global scale! Furthermore, shoppers spend less than 15 seconds in front of any given shelf. In that short amount of time, shoppers will notice less than 40 percent of the products in a specific category.
With so much competition, success at the shelf is more than package design, trade promotions and eye-level shelf placement.
According to Nielsen, consumer goods manufacturers should help retailers go beyond the perfect shelf by designing a S.M.A.R.T. shelf.
A S.M.A.R.T. shelf is:
- Shopper-friendly
- Maximizes sales and profits
- Avoids out-of-stocks
- Reduces operational inefficiencies
- Triggers experimentation
To even begin this collaborative journey, manufacturers need to possess a rich set of data and be willing to share insights with retail partners. For example, applying analytics and knowledge surrounding buying habits and frequency or how culture influences purchase decisions are key to the S.M.A.R.T. shelf concept. A Retail Execution solution that captures and analyzes out-of-stocks, shelf placement, and pricing will also be a major asset.
In the end, implementing a S.M.A.R.T. shelf strategy may be how the manufacturer, the retailer and the consumer collectively win at the moment of truth.
