By Tara Kaifesh, category analyst, for the “Profits in the front end” blog series
Smart category adjacencies build baskets! With space at a premium, determining the correct adjacencies is important. Understanding who your customers are and how they shop are the first tasks that need to be accomplished. This will help you determine what categories make the most sense to position close to each other, and which ones to position next to the
checkout and pharmacy counters.
If there’s an aisle that most people use to get to the pharmacy counter, merchandise high volume categories there. As shoppers walk past, it might spark an impulse sale as they remember they need to stock up or could use a particular product. Some categories to consider are cold & allergy, digestive health, vitamins & dietary supplements, and pain relief.
Many prescriptions have side effects that over-the-counter products can help reduce. Some of these items include probiotics, dry mouth products, and dietary supplements. Merchandising these departments near the pharmacy counter allows you to point out these products which will help build customer satisfaction and basket size. Another department that should be merchandised near the pharmacy counter or the vitamins & dietary supplements section is home diagnostics & patient aids for daily living which include pill boxes. These are great add-on products for customers who take multiple pills at various times during the day.
There are several categories that should be merchandised near each other because shoppers often buy items from them in the same trip and/or having them close inspire purchases. Feminine care and incontinence are prime examples. Many people that experience light bladder leakage use feminine liners/pads to support their needs, however, merchandising incontinence near feminine care allows consumers to see that there are light coverage options and it makes the transition to purchasing incontinence easier. Merchandising beauty care categories adjacent to each other supports personal care regimens. Some of these departments include skin care, hair care, deodorants, and shaving & grooming.
Where departments are positioned within your store affects how your customers shop, find, and purchase products. Having key departments that are highly consultative close to the pharmacy will encourage relationship building. Creating a logical flow of departments that also supports a convenient shopping experience will encourage customers to consistently visit your location because you’ve made it easy for them to find what they’re looking for. Creating well thought out category adjacencies is a good starting point to creating a great overall experience for customers.
There will be high investment initially, however, once your original research is completed and your sections are set up, ongoing evaluation to maintain these initiatives will be significantly less.