products or basic products, whereas Levels 4 and 5 are associated with more sophisticated, up-market items.
There is a golden rule which says that 'mass attracts'. Two methods are used to achieve this:
vertical presentation, whereby different families of one product are grouped together
horizontal presentation, whereby different brands of one family are grouped together.
Although offering a wide range of products tends to stimulate customers into buying impulse items such as biscuits and crisps, this is not the case for basic products such as flour and sugar where the variety of products has practically no effect on overall sales. Furthermore, too much diversification on any one shelf may confuse the customer who may not find what he or she is looking for and end up buying nothing.
The proximity of a particular product to a product leader may also be of importance, although there are differing views on this. In some cases, being in close proximity to a leading brand may lead to significant loss of sales, especially if the product belongs to the same segment as the leader. On the other hand, some products may reap the benefits of synergy by being placed close to a leader. It is important to remember that there are no absolute rules which can be applied to all stores at all times, but only recommendations which can be made. Each store tends to develop its own merchandising philosophy in keeping with its conception of the market and its overall strategy.
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