Paying Attention to Your Retailer: Appropriate Retail Merchandising According to Retailer Type

There are some very important truths when it comes to the retail industry, and one of the most important is that not all retailers are the same. There are specific challenges which differ depending on the category. As a manufacturer, you are no doubt aware that you can’t treat them all the same.

For many brands, these challenges become even more pronounced during the busy holiday season. For example, if your brand is listed as hardware, you know that this is not their busiest time of year. If you sell an item that could be considered holiday specific, you likely recognize that customers are probably not going to purchase it at a hardware store versus another retailer type, so back off your presence at hardware and focus on areas that are more holiday driven.

Grocery, no matter the time of year, is all about quantity. Here the challenges are often more to do with stock than anything else. Inventory management is often of pressing concern, so you want to make sure that there is max volume in-store and on the shelf in order to meet your customers’ demands. That being said, making the necessary changes to stock levels as far as holiday-specific items is something that you can’t leave to chance – if you’ve spent the time and money creating different labels or packaging group items, you want to be sure these are receiving the attention from your retailer that you pay for.

Retailers that sell a variety of item categories are going to be your biggest challenge over the holiday season. With high traffic, you want to be sure that your products are being considered, and not overshadowed by the competition. This means paying special attention and assigning the necessary resources when holiday promotions are running, as well as making sure that your retailer is giving your brand the attention it needs to succeed.

In the end, it is important to remember that you can’t do the same thing with each type of retailer. An approach that follows this line of thinking can often have negative results. Instead, having a retailer-specific retail merchandising strategy which factors in these differences is the best way to encourage sales all year long.

At Marketsupport, we appreciate the sometimes-subtle differences between the various retailer types and can help you establish a plan that pays particular attention to these differences. Whether for the holiday season, or all year long, we’re here for you: 1-877-421-5081.

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