Store-Within-A-Store Merchandising Study
An independent study conducted by Willard
Bishop Consulting, LTD. sought to measure the
profit impact of and consumer reaction to the
Store-Within-A-Store merchandising concept.
• Retail sales of specialty products in the 15 test categories were up 43.6%.
• Retailers gross profit increases for the special-
ty items in the 15 categories studied were 43.3%.
• Total category sales performance increased 12.1%. Gross profit increased 14.8%
STUDY OVERVIEW:
What the Consultant Said:
The evolution of specialty food merchandising
has gone from segregated “gourmet” section to
fully integrated adjacent displays — “The-StoreWithin-A Store” merchandising concept.
• Why are retailers trying this concept?
- Larger store to merchandise
- Increased variety is needed to satisfy varying consumer needs.
- Specialty foods were “getting lost,” sac-
rificing customer satisfaction opportuni-
ties and profit goals.
- Category management is needed for specialty foods.
• How was the research conducted?
- Like stores
- Before and after sales scan data
- Three chains in three regions
- Fifteen categories
- Thousands of items
- Consumer Focus Groups
• Category findings:
- Percent sales increase of specialty items, + 46.6%.
- Percent gross profit dollars increase of specialty items, + 43.3%.
- Percent sales increase total 15 category studies, + 12.1%.
- Percent increase in gross profit dollars, entire category, + 14.8%.
- Variety image of retailer can be en-
hanced by “Store-Within-A-Store” merchandising.
- Consumer associate one-stop-shopping with the availability of specialty items.
- The “Store-Within-A-Store” merchan-
dising concept simplifies the shopping process for today’s time-conscious con-
sumer.
- Consumers find the “Store-Within-A
Store” specialty racks both appealing and shopper-friendly.
- The “Store-Within-A-Store” merchandis-
ing concept for specialty foods increas-
es sales of specialty items and the total category.
- The concept shows that the store cares about its customers.
What the Retailer Said:
• This “Store-Within-A-Store” merchandising
concept has been so successful for our chain;
we are implementing it in all of our stores, and
making it a permanent part of our store design
and merchandising plans.
• Through this approach we have consistently
enjoyed same store, same week specialty food
sales increases of between 30% and 50% over
the year before.
www.metro.com/grocerysolutions
LO5-500e
What the Retailer Said: continued
• In stores where we have used this concept for
more than one year, we are still enjoying same
store, same week sales increases over our first
year success.
• We saw a store in the Northeast that was:
- Successfully highlighting specialty foods.
- They were merchandising specialty food items on special shelving adjacent to the mainstream items.
- This gave the impression that the store of-
fered a tremendous variety.
• We chose a Metro 4’ black display rack that
would stand-out next to our gondola sections.
• We placed these special racks adjacent to the
mainstream items.
• We also found this concept versatile enough
for merchandising all types of specialty foods:
- Upscale
- Gourmet in our high income areas
- Ethnic items in our ethnic stores
• While the adjacent specialty foods merchandising approach has had a significant sales impact,
it also provided additional operational and consumer based benefits:
- Specialty food items are no longer the step
child to the mainstream items.
- Specialty items are easier (for the distribu-
tor) to maintain.
- Category re-sets of mainstream items are easier with specialty items already set in their own section.
• From the consumer prospective;
• We also placed colorful signs over each section
- This helps them find the specialty items identifying the category.
since they are highlighted for them, spe-
• In smaller specialty sections, we used ½ high
cialty items in each category stand out.
racks on top of gondola sections for that category. - Enhances the store’s variety.
• The specialty food concept had an immediate
- Facilities one-stop shopping.
and long term success.
- Shows that the store cares.
What the Customers Said:
Variety Image
“The store really cares about the customer to point out
these choices (on special racks).”
“I see certain sections where there are specialty items. I
always look at it. It doesn’t always mean that I am going
to buy something, but it does draw my attention so I can
get an idea if I would like to try some of it.”
“You may not buy a specialty item very often, but the
fact that they have them makes you feel it’s a better
store.”
“I like the idea of the specialty items…easily recognizable. That annoys me when I have to go looking for
specialties.
“I like the specialty rack concept; it gives me the perception that there is a wider variety of unique items.”
Specialty Racks
“I like the specialty shelving very much; it helps me
locate different things.”
“Excellent! Excellent! (The specialty racks and items).”
One Stop Shopping
“It’s nice that you can get both “regular”cookies and fatfree without having to go to the health food store.”
“It’s nice to know that I don’t have to go to WilliamsSonoma for a specialty sauce. My supermarket has it. If
you can go to one place and get it, you might as well.”
“It’s like a big variety and I like it better. I don’t have to
go to (specialty stores) to get it.”
“You don’t have to go from store to store; you want to
shop and do on stop shopping.”
Store-Within-A-Store
“I want all the stuff in the regular section so I don’t have
to go to a particular section to get the specialty items.”
“It just makes life a little bit easier when you see (specialties) not bunched up with the rest of the basic items.”
“Having the specialty shelves is a good new idea; having
them adjacent to the regular section is a good idea for
comparison.”
What is the Sales Impact of this kind of Merchandising?
“I like the gourmet food alongside the regular merchandise; it’s easier to shop and I think you’re more tempted
when you’ve got a bigger selection to buy something that
you have never tried before.”
“People are becoming more creative; they like specialty
foods and they’ll go for the upscale brands. That’s what I
like. I would buy more specialty foods if they were in the
same section as the regular merchandise.”
“I would probably buy more specialty foods if I could
find them easier. I know they’ve been around for years
but they’ve always been in their own special section and
Iíve generally just passed them up.”
“If they were all together, I think I would buy a lot more
of those kinds of foods.”