Shelving is a core retail “canvas,” offering an opportunity for design and messaging that helps tell your store’s story. From gondolas to wall sections and corner shelving, customization options offer retailers the ability to align their fixture choice with their brand vision, retail store shelves should be at a comfortable browsing level, so customers don’t have to stretch or stoop to access products. Shelving also should be deep enough to allow for efficient restocking.

Point-of-Purchase Displays

Located in high-traffic areas of stores, point-of-purchase (POP) product displays can help brands stand out among the competition. These displays often feature products in unique ways that attract the attention of customers. They can be freestanding or attached to existing shelving. They can even include digital displays.

Inline displays are a common type of POP that can be used in a variety of retail settings. They typically stand in an aisle next to existing shelving, providing more visibility than standard shelves. They are popular in grocery stores and can draw attention to special promotions or seasonal items.

POS displays are also ideal for promoting items that can be purchased at the checkout counter, a convenient location to trigger last-minute impulse buys. They can also feature special promotions, limited-time offers, or new product releases. By creating visually appealing designs and incorporating product packaging that aligns with a promotional theme, these types of displays are designed to appeal to the target audience’s preferences and shopping behaviors.

Aisle Shelving

The ability to withstand heavy loads makes retail shelving an important component in the safety of both customers and store staff. Ideally, gondola shelves should not be placed so low that people must bend down or so high they have to stretch their necks to reach products. Shelving should also be positioned at a comfortable browsing level, so customers don’t have to strain or get uncomfortable while shopping.

Retail Shelving can be customized to align with brand identity and enhance customer engagement. For instance, Superdry’s use of wooden retail shelving reflects the company’s values of creativity and being real, while ensuring that the shopping experience feels consistent across all channels.

Using innovative technologies like AIScreen, retail digital shelf displays can be imbued with intelligence that boosts product visibility and accessibility. This, in turn, increases sales, and enables retailers to better respond to market trends. These types of innovative features are becoming increasingly common in today’s dynamic retail environment.

Endcaps

The end cap is a key element for retailers to leverage in order to create a powerful visual display. Typically placed at the ends of long shelving fixtures, known as gondolas, they generate product awareness and encourage impulse purchases in a way that shelf placement can’t.

A well-designed end cap display features a clear theme and offers a value proposition to grab customers’ attention. This could be based on a special deal or promotion – in fact, Oracle studies show that items featured on a store end cap experience a 32% sales increase.

Retailers can also use end caps to cross-merchandise products with a common theme. For example, a grocer might feature beverages and snacks like iced coffee and donuts, or first aid and home care items like aspirin and cough drops for a cold and flu season. End caps can be particularly effective when merchandising seasonal products or specific events, such as baby days, back to school, or spring cleaning.

Storage

Retailers rely on storage areas without even realising it – and it doesn’t just mean inventory and stock. This could be a dedicated paperwork space in an office, safe handling at a storefront or larger off-site facilities.

Empty shelf space makes your merchandise look jumbled and disorganized, which can discourage shoppers. Retailers often use plan-o-grams to map shelf layouts and analyze sales impact based on placement. Bottom shelves are usually reserved for lower-profit, mass-appeal items and heavy products that require a safer lift from a lower height.

Regular decluttering and reorganization are essential to efficient backroom operations. If you have a large amount of product that’s reaching or past its sell-by date, consider donating it to local shelters or holding a clearance sale. Alternatively, invest in high-density storage solutions like UNEX SpeedCell that can maximize space and improve efficiency. This allows retailers to keep up with buyer trends and better manage a growing array of SKU variations.