Do you want the shelf at the point of sale to look much fuller with your product and more organized? Thanks to the facing technique, you can achieve these results. Having well-defined facing in retail is crucial. Arranging products on shelves without following any criteria is a mistake, as randomly placing products will not generate any benefit.
What is Facing?
Facing is defined as the number of faces of the same product needed for it to be seen by the buyer. It is a marketing strategy aimed at giving visibility to the product within the establishment.
Factors Influencing Obtaining Optimal Facing
To achieve effective facing, it is important to consider several factors:
- The speed of consumer circulation
- The size of the product packaging
- The characteristics of the establishment
- The number of units purchased per customer
- The peak selling day of the week
Facing is a method by which the position of items on shelves is coordinated. It is the way in which the “number of faces” of an item that is exposed is managed.
Product Presentation on the Shelf
Before presenting products on the shelf, it is essential to know the different shelf levels:
Shelf Levels
- Top Shelf: Products placed here sell less and are often used for very selective selling products, such as premium or specialized items.
- Eye-Level and Hand-Level: These are two preferred implantation locations. Products at eye level attract more attention, while those at hand level are more accessible to customers, facilitating their sale.
- Floor Level: It is a less accessible place, and merchandise displayed at this height will have fewer sales opportunities, except for some specific products like toys, which are favored by this location due to their child audience.
Choosing Levels on the Shelf
Once the level where a product family will be located is clear, the shelf is distributed, allocating space to each product. This distribution can be based on various criteria:
- Product Rotation: The more rotation, the more space on the shelf.
- Sales per Item: Products that sell the most will have more space.
- Profit Contribution per Product: Space is distributed based on the profit each product contributes to the establishment.
Product Presentation Modes
For products that belong to the same family and have similar characteristics, they can be presented in various ways:
- Horizontal Display:
- Parallel placement on different levels of the shelf.
- Advantages: Attracts attention, easy to install, quick replenishment.
- Vertical Display:
- Families of products arranged from top to bottom.
- Advantages: Quick visualization, definition of families, choice of various types of items.
- Mixed Display:
- Combination of horizontal and vertical display.
- Advantages: Breaks the regularity of the journey, more entertaining, greater benefits.
- Network Display:
- Most demanded products at the ends of the shelves.
- Advantages: Draws attention to less visualized areas.
- Complementary Display:
- Complementary products placed together.
- Advantages: Stimulates joint purchase, easy acquisition for the customer.
Conclusion
To effectively manage facing in retail, it is essential to understand its meaning and the strategies to follow to achieve positive results. By implementing these techniques effectively, product visibility is improved, and the customer’s shopping experience is optimized.
At SIG Spain, we have a long history of optimizing point of sale; contact us if you need advice!