What To Do If Your Pack Is On The Bottom Shelf

It’s widely known that the best position on the shelf is at eye level and having your brand block on the left-hand side as people tend to read from left to right. Second best would be one level above eye level and one level below. But what do you do if you’re on the bottom shelf?

Many new brands launch without considering where they will be in the planogram. What’s more, often a new brand will not be given priority location and may end up on the bottom shelf, the hardest place to be seen. So how do you get noticed?

Given that a new brand may not be able to influence shelf placement and the threat of being discontinued for slow sales is very real, it’s imperative to minimize the effects of poor shelf placement and drive sales in the short term.

Here are 4 ways:

1. Ensure your package breaks through in this location– typically dark pack colors are even more difficult for shoppers to notice on lower shelves so ensure your brand breaks through in the context of the shelf.
2.  Secondary Displays – secondary displays and or endcaps can go a long way towards increasing your exposure. Endcaps will often cue shoppers to what is in the aisle, even if the shopper doesn’t purchase your product off the endcap they will be primed about your brand prior to heading down the aisle.
3.  In-store marketing – to attract attention to your product try in-store marketing approaches such as demos, or at shelf merchandising. Your merchandising will need to be attention grabbing and break through from the shelf. This is one instance where you might want to try floor media to draw people to your product.
4.  In-store features to gain trial and exposure – price signs are the number one signage element that shoppers view. To gain attention in-store consider different pricing strategies to bolster sales and trial during the first year of sales.

If your brand ends up on the bottom shelf, there are ways to drive sales in the short-term to increase your chances of improving your shelf position over time.

Anne Stephenson
Chief Growth Officer, Explorer Research