Product Placement

What is meant by Product Placement?

Product placement is a term from retail. It involves positioning products on limited shelf space in a way that is as sales-promoting and profitable as possible. The goal is to capture the customer’s attention and encourage a purchase. The profitability of sales areas, especially in shelves, should be maximized through effective product placement.

Due to consumers’ limited attention, targeted product placement in retail is of great importance. Not all products are perceived equally.

Four zones are distinguished in shelf product placement:

• Overhead zone (above 160 cm)
• Grasp zone (between 120 and 160 cm)
• Hip zone (between 80 and 120 cm)
• Bending zone (below 80 cm)

A purchase assumes that products are placed in the correct shelf zone. Highly sought-after or particularly low-priced items can also be successful in the so-called bending zone. In contrast, more expensive branded products should be placed in the grasp zone.

The term product placement should not be confused with product presentation. Product presentation is about optimally staging the product. Tools here include optimal lighting, decoration, or color coordination. In practice, product placement and product presentation complement each other.

Various customer flow studies have provided valuable insights for product placement:

• Bright areas are more popular than dark areas
• Customers prefer wide aisles
• Most customers look and reach to the right
• Central aisles are less frequented than outer aisles
• Customers dislike turning around
• Customers avoid corners