Retail Merchandising

You frequently see the job postings online - "Merchandising Services Company Seeking Experienced Merchandisers."

The one question that is often asked is "What does a merchandising services company do? The simple answer is: install and setup just about everything you can see and feel in retail store while you are shopping. Merchandisers are the people who go into the store and perform the work.

It's not something the typical shopper thinks about when they walk into a Target, Kroger or Best Buy, but every display, sign, fixture, shelf, kiosk, cabinet, checkout, fitting room needs to be installed before the store can open for business. This also includes all the products that need to be placed on the shelf or hung on a hook. A merchandising services company is hired to execute all these important aspects of a retail merchandising program.

For example, when a national cell phone retailer launches a new model of phone, they need a company with nationwide reach to install a new display for their latest phones and hang new sales posters and graphics to the walls and windows. Teams of merchandisers are dispatched to each store on a predetermined schedule to perform the work. They are usually in a store for only a few hours but the new merchandising materials are ready for shoppers when they leave.

Another example would be a retail store remodel. Most large retailers remain in the same location for many years. Periodically, they will give the store a visual merchandising facelift to freshen up the shopping environment. Store designers and visual merchandisers team up to create an extensive plan to execute the remodel. A merchandising services company will come into the store for an extended period of time and remove old fixtures and displays. They will then install all new fixtures and shelving, install new displays and perform a "product set" throughout the store. A product set is the actual placement of product on the shelf or display according to specific diagram, commonly called a planogram. Once completely executed, the new store will match the brand design set forth by the company.

Retail merchandisers can either be "local" or "travelers." Locals usually perform work within driving distance to their home. This includes regularly scheduled work at specific stores. For example, the spices section in a grocery store is merchandised and maintained by a person who travels store to store within a defined service area. The usually are no farther than an hour drive from their home.

A "traveler" will be out on the road and perform projects at store locations covering a large region. This is common for companies that require displays installations. A traveling merchandiser may service all the Best Buy's or Home Depots in an area that cover several states. These road warriors will typically stay in a hotel and have expenses covered by the merchandising company.

Working for a merchandising company can be a good job for you if you prefer variety and like to choose when you work. It is also very gratifying to see your work in a retail store and have it engage people while their shopping. So answer the next merchandising jobs ad you come across. You enjoy the challenge of being a retail merchandiser.

It was not difficult to recognize the hot topic at the recent Shopper Marketing Expo in Chicago: the role of digital marketing in the retail merchandising process. This trend is unmistakable in the today's retail environment. Consumers can access via their computer or smartphone all the information and data they need before entering the store to make a purchase.

According to a report from Forrester Research, 42% of all in-store retail sales are influenced by consumer's activity online. Kanter Media's Online Shopper Intelligence Study found that 79% of consumers research products on the web a majority of the time before shopping in the store.

Google has even anointed this phenomenon with new moniker: The Zero Moment of Truth. This is an evolutionary addition from Proctor and Gamble's doctrine of the First Moment of Truth which is defined as the moment a shopper decides to purchase a product at the store shelf. With the rapid adoption of personal digital technology, the line between when a person transforms from consumer to a shopper is even more blurred. Is it in the store or in front of their computer?

There's no doubt that e-circulars, downloadable coupons and shopping list apps will continue to gain traction with shoppers. But it remains to be seen if online engagement tactics be the bright, shiny object of the month or the next magic bullet for retailers and consumer packaged goods companies. Only time will tell as budgets are shifted from one media to another and actual sales results reveal what works.

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It's estimated that every year consumer packaged goods manufactures launch over 50,000 promotions with retailers. This accounts for over 20% of their revenue, even higher in some product categories. However, it is also estimated that 40% of these promotions fail to achieve their goals and are judged a failure.

How much of this failure rate is due to over-ambitious goal setting? How much is the result of poor design? How much is caused by ineffective pricing strategy or unfortunate timing? How much is from a combination of all three?

It's really hard to gauge because each market, promotion and retail environment is so different. However, in hindsight most failures can be pinpointed to an unforeseen gap in the execution of the promotional strategy at the store level.

Merchandising services companies like DisplayMax have always been about filling in these execution gaps. Whether it as simple as placing promotional hangers on products, building end-cap displays, cutting in new product, or fixing out-of-stocks and distribution voids DisplayMax helps retailers and product manufactures fill in the execution gaps in the process.

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In retail merchandising, execution is everything. You invest a significant amount of time and money to develop your merchandising program; if it's not properly implemented even the most carefully designed path to purchase can lead to a dead end of disappointing sales.

In today's retail environment, the importance of sound merchandising practices cannot be overstated. With the increasing fragmentation of the marketplace, economic uncertainty and the vast number of choices shoppers have available in-store promotions that engage customers and lead them to the sale are more imperative than ever. This makes execution of merchandise initiatives at the store level critical to retail success.

The Merchandising Execution Guide: Five Critical Execution Factors For Your Next Retail Merchandising Project reveals the specific issues you must address before launching your next in store merchandising program. This free report was created to adequately address the most important areas of execution related factors prior to implementation of the merchandising process.

Inside the guide you will discover:

--- How execution gaps can negatively affect your program
--- Some of the most common execution gaps
--- The source of execution gaps
--- Why location and logistics are so important
--- Helpful planning tools for your next program

The execution guide contains areas inside where you can fill in the details of your program to create a working document to follow as you work with a merchandising services organization like DisplayMax Merchandising.

To receive your free Merchandising Execution Guide click here.

The DisplayMax team recently completed a new store reset and fixture install project for the PetSmart chain of pet stores. Our experienced merchandising team was responsible for installation of many critical retail components and all POP signage.

Check out the photos of the fixture install here.