This is why the flower display is often positioned at store entrances due to its power to slow shoppers down and provide a nice ‘treat myself’ moment.
This works well to change the emotional mindset of the shopper into a more receptive browsing mode to facilitate more browsing and conversion.
Furthermore, the centre aisles in the fresh produce department have, in many retailers, been repositioned from a standard grid-style format to a slanted herringbone style to slow shoppers down, encourage deeper penetration and more browsing between the aisles.
Many multiples have also developed a market-style format to further encourage the ‘browse and discover’ aspect of shopping with clear ‘breaks’ in the aisle. In addition, some supermarkets have created a focus on free-standing units located between the standard produce fixtures to create ‘interruption points’ to encourage more cross-selling and inspiration. (Popular examples include displays of fresh herbs and recipe leaflets.)
Over the last decade, product formats themselves have also been developed to meet increased consumer demand for convenience. For example, ready-meal salads are now available chilled and pre-packed, and peeled and cut fruit portions are a popular customer option rather than the whole fruits alone.
Indeed, cross-selling is evident here. For example, bold displays of stir fry sauces merchandised among the chilled salads. These new product formats have become mainstream and chilled shelf space allocation has expanded rapidly.
At a macro-level, shoppers are increasingly looking for displays that most effectively meet their shopper mission and improve the efficiency of their shop. In the future, we would expect store layouts to respond to these demands with ideas such as the creation of new ‘super categories’. For example, by merchandising ambient desserts alongside the traditional fresh fruit area within the fresh produce department, more choices are located in one place, resulting in a quicker, more efficient shopping experience.
Finally, in line with the continued demand for added convenience, we would expect the size of chilled convenience ranges to increase further, with even more inspirational ideas available to what’s currently on the shelves.
We categorically believe that there will be more choice. With greater cultural diversity, more in-home entertaining and shoppers travelling the world more extensively, there’s an increased appetite for more exotic and unusual fruit and vegetables. Winning supermarkets will be those who can meet these expectations.
There are currently special sections for these more exotic and unusual fruits and vegetables in most stores, and it is foreseeable in the future that we may well see these products migrate to become more mainstream, commanding a more mainstream location as a result. (This trend has already begun, with lychees moving from the ethnic food sections to the mainstream fresh produce aisles.)
Seasonal extremes of droughts, high temperatures and floods that have hit the British Isles in recent years are putting pressure on the country’s ability to produce quality, home-grown products consistently. One recent example is the significant effect that wet weather has had on the 2012 potato crop, where available products have dropped significantly almost directly as a result of the weather.
More generally, supermarkets’ ‘standards’ with respect to the size and shape of fresh fruits and vegetables have been reduced for the first time in years, meaning more unusually shaped products are coming back onto British shelves. Morrisons, for example, plans to lower its spec for broccoli, leeks and swedes in its standard range by accepting smaller produce, and agrees to sell lightly weather-marked courgettes that have been affected by wind and rain.
As technologies become more widely available and more affordable in the wider supply chain, we see them having far more applicability to the fresh produce aisles, especially with respect to sustainability issues.
Printed electronics applied to packaging, for example, could help minimise food waste by making labels change colour as products become more ripe. This would be likely to result in a more sustainable supply chain and more inviting supermarket aisles, with the added benefit of placing consumers in a better position to make more informed decisions at the point of sale.
Caroline Capel is a shopper insight expert at MMR.
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