Placement of Merchandise

Placement of merchandise is the art of displaying merchandise in an organised manner so as to offer the right quantity of the right merchandise in the right place at the right time. The concept of S-T-P is implemented in this process.

The objective behind placement of merchandise inside the store is to allocate correct space to all products, and to make sure that the products are grouped together as per the assortment plan and aligned in the right way so as to make it visible to the customer Proper planned placement of merchandise allows enough aisle space for customers, and racking space as well as stacking space for merchandise. This helps in easily identifying slow sellers and fast sellers, missing goods with respect to size or colour or pattern. It also helps to avoid damages to the goods, and helps customers to be able to browse, identify and pick the required merchandise easily. The format and layout of the store place an important role when it comes to placement of merchandise. The placement varies from one type of format to another. For a value format the placement of the merchandise is based on volumes, while for a lifestyle store format the placement is more based on merchandise assortments.
Further the placement of the merchandise also varies based on the verticals i.e. for Apparel, General Merchandise and FMCG products. Within verticals also it varies based on the type of merchandise.

Let us understand this with some examples of products from different verticals.

The placement of stocks in case of Apparels should be brand wise, product wise, style wise, size wise, colour wise and price wise as per the demand of the store and the nature of the merchandise. The direction of placement should be top to bottom and left to right.

FMCG products
When placing merchandise on shelves and other fixtures one needs to note the first in first out method (FIFO). It helps the retailer to clear the stocks that have come in first on the floor from the shelves first.
In this method the products are placed as per-
Brand
Type
Batch No
Expiry date
Weight
Size
MRP

All the products which have come recently are placed behind on the shelves and the products arrived earlier are placed in front on the shelves. This way the older products are sold ahead of the recent ones.
FIFO needs to be strictly followed for FMCG goods as they are perishable goods. Retailers cannot afford to keep these goods on the shelf for a longer period as they will increase the retailers’ shrinkage.
Loose food grains, and other types of staple products mostly come in sacks. Care should be taken when they are stacked on top of each other. The stack of sacks should not be very tall, but convenient enough for the staff to manage it.
Soft drinks, tetra pack products, mineral water bottles need to be stacked along with the carton one above the other. Only the top most carton need to be opened and the product displayed for the customers.

General Merchandise
Under this vertical let us first understand placements related to electronics and home appliances.
· The heavier products are placed at the bottom and the smaller units are placed on top.
· The gradation in the shelf is big to small –left to right as we face it, the prime reason being our tendency to look from left to right every time, and not the other way round, hence even the higher priced products are placed at the left hand corner.
· The eye level shelves which are between shoulder height to hip level get maximum reach, here the main products are displayed and focused upon.
· All products placed on pallets should be at chest level.
· Merchandise displayed below the knee level is lost to a customer. This space should be utilised to store excess merchandise required for replenishing. Hence in some stores cabinets are placed below the shelves at knee level.

Product handling is a very crucial aspect in retail. Stacking same items one above the other must be carefully executed to avoid unnecessary damage / scratch to the items.
Movement of items is to be limited and performed only if it is to be replenished.

In most of the general stores and supermarkets in India the placement of stocks on the floor is not up to the mark. One will notice that stocks are just placed wherever space is available and a signage is placed besides it. You will also notice signages which say,
“TOUCH IT, FEEL IT,
BUT CONSIDERED SOLD IF BROKEN”

Such signages are very prominent near crockery and gift article section. I personally as a retail expert would not entertain any signage conveying such a negative statement to a customer. Simply because it is the responsibility of the store staffs to take care of the merchandise, and the way they are placed on the fixtures.

Just to make maximum utilization of space does not mean one should get into such an activity inside the store. It is very essential to plan your space properly to display merchandise. Proper stacking of merchandise on the store floor plays an important role in reducing stock damages. Merchandise should be stacked on the floor in such a manner that goods are not dumped on each other thereby damaging them.

Because of not placing merchandise properly on shelves the chances of damage to goods is high. Items which are fragile in nature e.g. crockery, toys, electronic items, etc, should always be placed or stacked one by one on a rack. They should never be all dumped together or placed haparzardly. For fragile goods the shelf space should be enough for just one row of items. The staffs should also take care to place every product in such a manner that there is adequate space between items to enable one to easily pick a piece from the rack.