Sally Davis, Managing Director of Award Winning Field Marketing Agency, Logobrand shares her views on the importance of on shelf availability and how securing additional off shelf
feature should not be to the detriment of in aisle sales
Why is on shelf availability so important?
As consumers become more hungry for promotions and manufacturers negotiate more off shelf feature for these deals, the shelf and indeed the aisle can get forgotten about.
Ensuring a product is on shelf and available to buy AT ALL TIMES is important for the following reasons:
- Full value sales
- Improved product visibility
- Maintaining on going listing
- Improving ROS
- Driving repeat purchase
Does off shelf feature impact on shelf availability and if so how?
Absolutely!! Without question, the focus on off shelf display and ensuring Gondola Ends, Side Stacks and FSDU’s look good can have a negative impact on shelf availability. There are 2 main factors which impact on shelf availability during promotions:
- Stock allocation – not enough stock is allocated to store to fill both the off shelf display AND the shelf. The result of this is that the display takes priority and the shelf is left either with limited or no stock.
- In store merchandising – with 2 or more sites to merchandise, store staff will prioritise off shelf feature meaning the shelf is often the last place to be replenished.
This in turn leads to availability issues as a product can be OOS at shelf but available in other locations in store.
How can manufacturers help to improve the on shelf availability of their product?
- Check shelf capacity – how much stock is needed to fill the shelf and does the in store system reflect this?
- Ensure each product has an accurate SEL – this should include information that the customer sees such as price and an accurate product description and also information for store staff such as number of facings and shelf capacity
- Merchandising – make sure all selling space is fully merchandised
- Stock – make sure an accurate stock allocation has been agreed at Head Office, this takes into account promotional space AND shelf fill
In summary, don’t forget about on shelf availability when driving additional points of distribution in store.
If you would like more information about Logobrand and how they can help improve on and off shelf compliance for your brands in store, please give Sally a shout -‐ 07971 670 364
sally.davis@logobrand.com