At first glance, this might appear to be true. But a closer look reveals hidden possibilities and techniques that can help you capture more sales without breaking ground for a major expansion of your retail space.

Every vigilant national retailer tries to improve sales throughout the year. Some even bring in merchandising teams and regional managers to tour stores, with a critical eye toward helping the retailer improve and gain a consistent edge in growing sales. With multi-store operations, consistency is what they strive for.

Why would our industry be any different? Are we looking to constantly improve our displays? Are we analyzing both indoor and outdoor displays? Do we have an achievable plan to drive sales and profits? Some fixes are easy and don’t cost a cent in capital improvement.

Basic Rules Of Shelf Displays

American Rose Trials Selects Winners From Star Roses and Plants

One simple adjustment you can make is to the dreaded “dead-air” space on store shelves. This occurs when we stock product across a shelf without regard to product height.

1. The three-finger rule. As a guide, the space between the top of the product and the next shelf above should be enough to insert three fingers together. This allows the consumer to grab the product without asking for assistance [or a crowbar].
2. Lower shelves to fit the space. The most common areas in which we can maximize space are chemicals, fertilizers, grass seed, pond products, pots and saucers, birding and houseplant items. By moving product to shelf space that’s a bit tighter, we can possibly gain one or two more shelves to display upon. This could equate to an extra two to 24 facings of product per 4-foot section.
3. Heavy items go on bottom, big stuff go on the right. Other factors to consider when changing up your shelving include keeping heavy products on lower shelves, high-profit items within the “hot” zone [30 to 48 inches from the floor] and larger sizes to the right [because we are predominately right-handed]. Also, think about grouping your products in categories by need.

Keep Your Tie-In Products Close To Primary Items

Much has been written about accessories and their placement. Keep an eye out for “retail fracture,” which is caused by having the primary product too far away from the accessory [or tie-in] products. This is very common in our industry; greenhouses and nurseries often have their hard goods far, far away from their plant material.

Many stores position checkouts or outdoor registers ahead of where these extras become visible to customers. These hidden sales opportunities can be brought forward by either cross-merchandising at the point of decision or by providing a sales sign to make the recommendation within the store.

Many retailers through the years have experienced a sales gain of ten times the product volume by cross-merchandising at the “point of decision” versus the same item sold indoors in a normal department location. To prevent shop worn or UV-faded product, create a brightly colored display box or crate and stack vertically. You may also consider topping the crate with hard acrylic or plastic to keep water out.

Another opportunity exists in maintaining display quantities at the point of decision. You can’t sell from an empty bench, and customers won’t buy from one or two items on the shelf if they suspect those items are part of the display and not for sale.

One final suggestion is to walk the return path from your plant yard or greenhouse. Once inside the store, can the consumer see your end caps, perimeter walls and category signage? If not, you may want to turn these towards the doorway or return highways to entice your customer into more add-on sales when heading towards the registers.

When you have lots to offer and want more sales, seeing is believing for your customers. Improve visibility and watch your profits soar!

0 1 5 How To Get More Sales From Your Current Shelf Space

John Johnston is Retail Education Manager for Griffin Greenhouse Supplies. He can be reached at See all author stories here.

Inflationary pressures have brought on a host of concerns for brands, including how to efficiently help consumers deal with new financial restrictions, how to keep shelves optimized with relevant and profitable offers, all while keeping operating costs low.

The unavoidable price increase of the FMCG basket and limitations for consumers’ wallets are always the hardest consequences of inflation—but it is possible to manage these challenges in a way that will mitigate the impact on consumers and businesses.

A space and assortment checklist

NielsenIQ has created a checklist of actions for brands to consider when making space and assortment decisions:

1. Assess and analyze SKUs

Using shelf data to identify core SKUs across the full portfolio is a key element of planning. Tools that use store shelf data, updated on a weekly basis, allow brands to create an ecosystem of priority products.

2. Embrace a “less is more” approach

Reducing the number of cannibalizing SKUs and freeing up space for products that are profitable and driven by consumer demand will allow brands to reduce operating costs. Brands can take this action when they’re equipped with a fully integrated view of every level of space and assortment management.

3. Go with the smarter shelf, not the higher price

Introducing new products that answer consumers’ needs while offering various flexible price tiers within a brand portfolio can be achieved with precise sales performance prediction capabilities.

4. Act quickly in a complex space and assortment world

Making good, quick decisions based on simulations and visualizations of store assortment can help brands stay a step ahead of new challenges that will be impacting the market in 2022.

5. Protect your revenue

Filling out-of-stock gaps with products can save the whole industry billions of dollars per year. Knowing what is missing because of supply chain disruption is the key to acting quickly and keeping shelves full of the products consumers demand.

Make your assortment strategy work for you

While assortment is getting harder, your competitors are looking for every edge. Contact our Shelf Architect team to plan for the rest of a challenging year.

Introducing NielsenIQ Shelf Architect

NielsenIQ Shelf Architect is a single, cloud-based solution for your assortment and merchandising needs. By integrating data and models into one end-to-end solution you can simplify planning, drive better performance, and create sustainable growth – ensuring your assortment and space planning will help you navigate through inflationary pressures.

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1 sold item in the world?

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What product is in the highest demand right now?

6 products and niches of 2022 & 2023.

Phone accessories. 97% of Americans have smartphones, and most of those consumers likely have protective cases for their devices. ... .

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Subscription food services..

What is the top shelf in a supermarket?

The fourth and final level is the stretch level which is the top shelf. Just like the eye level, supermarkets have varied uses for shelves at stretch level. Some use the top shelves for the most expensive products while other stores contain a treasure trove of products at discounted prices.

What is the most wanted item in the world?

The most sold item in the world is clothing and fashion items. This ranges from women's and men's outfits to children's clothing, shoes, accessories, and more.