Grocery Business - June 2017

main reason why retailers are re-imaging and renovating their establish-
ments to draw in more customers and stay ahead of their competitors.”
Store presentation and attractive product displays, notes Dhimes,
play major roles in how customers change their shopping habits once
they are inside the store. Products that are highly visible and showcased
throughout the store, she adds, have a higher rate of being picked by
shoppers. “Merchandising is key to successfully accomplishing this
objective, and displays and fixtures need to have the ability to look
stylish without taking the attention away from the product being pro-
moted,” says Dhimes.

Flexibility is the key to today’s front end, says Elizabeth Newbould, marketing and e-commerce coordinator for Pan-Oston, based in Bowling Green, Ky. The biggest challenge today, she says, is that the front end has expanded and is now located throughout the store and even outside. “From mobile checkouts that allow you to check out in any part of the store, to pick-up lockers, where you never enter the store, the front end is wherever you want it to be,” she says. To address these needs, Pan-Oston developed products, like produce weigh stations, to enhance the checkout experience by speeding up the checkout process and reducing lines.

A retailer’s reputation and the perception of the quality of a store are among the many factors shoppers consider before even going through the door, note officials at Sheboygan Falls, Wis.-based Bemis Retail Solutions. They say that a well-kept parking lot, neat cart corrals and bright signage all signal to a shopper that the upcoming shopping experience will be top-notch.