Successful retailers have one thing in common: they always offer an amazing retail experience to their customers. For instance, Brand A and brand B sell 100 units in a week. Therefore, the category sells 200 units in a week, and this is considered the category spent in a retail store. If brand A promotes and gains 20 more units in sales, and brand B does not perform well during that week, it consequently loses 20 units to brand A. Therefore, retailers need to recognize which category meets consumer needs better, and they need to change the way they appear on the store shelf.
Category management is essential for managing the product categories to gain profitability. So, how does proper category management affect retail shopping experience? Well, this can be done with the help of well-built planogram software. Planograms are visual merchandising tools, which help retailers execute category-wise product placement effectively on store shelves. This helps to group similar products together to meet the shopper’s needs. So, the following are some important categories in retail:
- Target category: It refers to a category of products that are purchased frequently and are important to the customer. This makes the customer willing to come to the store. Such products will have an eye-level position on the shelf.
- Routine category: This is the category where the customer buys regularly. Therefore, retailers should offer items that are clearly visible on the shelf at affordable prices.
- Seasonal category: In this category, customers are motivated by their current needs. Therefore, retailers need to follow market trends to be able to satisfy shopper’s needs.
- Convenience category: This refers to impulse purchases, whereby placing different category items together entices shoppers.