ISLAIB 2013-2014

Higher Institute Of Applied Languages and Computer sciences Of Beja

An Honors Dissertation in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the bachelor degree of Business English.

The effect of shelf exposure on consumer purchasing behavior

Case study:Magasin General of Beja.

Written by: Rafika Moussaoui, Amal Sallemi

Supervised by: Rim Draoui

University Year 2013-2014

Acknowledgment

Apart from the effort of me, this dissertation would not have been possible without the

support of many people. First and foremost, I would like to express my deep Gratitude to my

Supervisor Miss Rim Draoui for her patient guidance and her useful critiques of this research

paper. I would like also to thank my best friends ; Amal sallemi,Bassem Soltani,Manel

rakrouki,Belhaj naziha,Nourhen Hammemi,Mohamed khalfi and Fedia sassi for their moral

and spiritual support.

Last but not least, I wish to avail myself of this opportunity to express my heartfelt thanks to

my beloved parents; Mokhtar Moussaoui and Zahwa Arfaoui for their understanding and

endless love through my whole life. Also my dear brother Bassem Moussaoui and my sweet

heart Khouloud Moussaoui for their helps and wishes for the successful completion of this

project.

I dedicate this tiny effort to all my teachers who supported me in any respect and guide me to

the right way through my whole educational career.

Without the help of the particular that I have mentioned above, I would face many difficulties

while doing my dissertation.

Acknowledgement

You have bent over backwards for me. Please let me repay you somehow, if only in a note

telling you how much i appreciate your love and support. I just wanted to let you know the

things you do for me, the good contribution to accomplish this big step in my life do not go

unnotice.You are a necessary piece to this puzzle. Lets first address with the big salute to my

dear supervisor who does not fall us down although her own conditions. The second salute

will be addressed to my family and friends including my lovely parents; This great couple

Houcine and Sofia, my dear sisters Ibtissem and Samar who has participated a lot in my

dissertation and they choose the confettis and the design. I would never forget my sweetest

aunt Alya Ouerghi who has provide me with special advices since she has an experience in

this field,also to her sweetest son Adam.A big part of my work was done thanks to my

friends:Rafika Moussaoui,Mohamed khalfi,Nourhen Hammemi,Fedya Sessi,Manel

Rakrouki,Bouda and Faten Souissi.Maybe this piece of paper can sound cold and stilted

without my grandmother Zohra and my uncle Mohammed,God bless them and you don’t want

the memories of your dedication to your blessed members to sound as if you were reading a

term paper.

..

Abstract

Shelf exposure is a very important concept for retailers who are competing to get premium

places on shelves. This research paper is centered on the importance of shelf exposure in

Magasin General of Beja and its effects on the purchasing behavior. No doubt, there are other

factors that determine customers ‘choice. In this research we only focused on the importance

of the way products are displayed. A social survey was conducted. Participants were a number

of 100 customers of Magasin General answered the questionnaire. We have divided

participants into 4 categories according to their ages; participants are aged between 5-15, 15-

28, 28-58 and above 58.The results demonstrated that the respondent have different

perspective concerning the existence of a link between the way products are exposed and the

buying behavior. In addition, the results indicated that the middle shelf is the best selling

zone. Our findings stress the importance of shelf exposure in drawing customer’s attention.

These results could be helpful for retailers while displaying the products on the shelves.

Keywords: Shelf exposure, the purchasing behavior, shelves.

Table of contents

Abstract

Acknowledgment

List of figures

1: Introduction

2: Literature review

1. Definition

2. Background

3. Strategies

4. Types of shelves

3: Methodology

1. Aims.

2. Choice of the supermarket:

3. Research approach

4. Data collection method

4.1. Secondary research

4.2. Primary research

4.2.1. Primary data method

4.2.2. Sample size

4.2.3. Description of the questionnaire

5. Data analysis

Chapter4: Results and discussion

1. Results

2. Discussion

4: conclusion and recommendations

5: References

6: Appendixes

6.1. Sample of the questionnaire (English)

6.2. Sample of the questionnaire (Arabic)

6.3. Photos taken from the supermarket.

List of tables:

Table1: Frequency of visits

Table2: Participants point of view concerning the display of products within the same product

line.

Table 3: Participants views concerning the exposure of products in the supermarket.

Table 4: The importance degree of following a specific strategy in the placement of products.

List of figures:

Figure 1: The average time spend at the supermarket.

Figure2: The relationship between times spent at the supermarket and shelf exposure.

Figure 3: The relationship between the frequency of visits and the exposure of products.

Figure 4: The participant’s views concerning the best selling zone

Figure 5: Participants views concerning the promotional offers and the pricing noticing.

Introduction

Over the years, countless specialists have tried to show the importance of shelf exposure

for retailers in order to draw more customers’ attention and gain more profits. Shelf exposure

refers to the method of displaying products on shelves. It is a precious tool for the retailer.

However it is a very challenging mission for them to organize the different products.

Retailer’s profit is directly affected by the way products are exposed.

Motivated by this issue, we ask the following research question: How does shelf exposure

affect the purchasing behavior of consumers in Beja?

The goals behind this question is to give retailers clear idea about the effect of the different

shelves at the supermarket and how each category is affected ,to determine the best selling

zone and to evaluate the different shelves at the supermarket and to determine the best selling

shelf.

To answer the question; a questionnaire was conducted to survey 100 visitors of Magasin

General of Beja for feedback. Data will be selected by random sampling. In the literature

review chapter, we will focus on previous studies and provide the background of each

concept. We will use mainly the net in order to gather the data. After that, we will analyze the

findings according to findings in the literature review. The issue of shelf exposure is highly

important in retail business. Retailers arrange their shelves according to several strategies

that’s why it is considered as tool to draw customer’s attention.

The remainder of this paper is organized as follows. The first Section surveys the relevant

existing literature and emphasizes the contribution of our study .The second Section presents

the methodology of the study. We analyze the findings in Section 3. The last section

summarizes our results.

Hypothesis:

Null hypothesis: Shelf exposures do not has an influence on consumer buying behavior.

Alternative hypothesis: Shelf exposure has an influence on consumer buying behavior.

Literature review

Definition:

Shelf Exposure is also known as shelf placement, shelf display, shelf allocation or shelf

arrangement. It is the fact of arranging lots of products according to several strategies.

Hashim Zameer,Abdul Waheed and Syeda Shawana Mahasin came up in their

research,“Factors Involved in Retail’s Decision to Allocate Shelf Space to private and

National Brand and its Impact on Sales”, that “shelf space is a room which is allocated to

different product.”(p.1, 2012) That is to say, retailers’ job is to organize their existing shelf

space efficiently and it is very challenging because it affects profits.

Other important authors AnaValenzuela, Priya Raghubir and Chrissy Mitakakis have

considered, in their work with entitled “Shelf Space Schemas: Myth or reality?” shelf

exposure as a “Battle between manufacturers for shelf space” (p.2)

Historical background:

The effect of shelf exposure on consumer behaviour was first discussed in Lee

(1961).since that time shelf exposure became an interesting topic for researchers.

The most well known researchers who conducted researches on the effect of shelf exposure

on consumer behaviour and store gains are, for example, Brown and Tucker (1961),Cox

(1970) and Curhan (1972).

As a procedure to maximize retailer’s profits, the big focus was on numerous temporary and

permanent displays. For instance, they could draw customer’s attention to additional

purchases. They could do so by interfering the display with the location and the area of the

product (Strem, p7).

In another hand, it was very hard to create a harmony between the true shelf and the desired

product. For instance, «A typical large supermarket carries more than 45,000 different items

or stocking keeping units (sku’s) on an everyday basis. In 1992 there were 15,866 new

grocery and health and beauty aid products introduced by manufacturers (Marketing News

1993). This could include many mathematical statistics such as the dimensions of the stores

and the appropriate right proftiability of each square, that’s to say marketers should know how

to charge the real estate with the convenient products. (Xavier Drèze Stephen J. Hoch Mary E.

Purk) p4.

Wheares after this period the concept of product placement has started up and this refers to

many reasons: Since Shelf exposure is a strong tool for retailers enabling them to get in touch

with consumers and improve the store reputation. Indeed, a well managed shelf space makes

it easier for the customer to find the desired product and make them feel more comfortable.

In the same reasoning, George Aloysius claims in his article” An approach to products

placement in Supermarkets using Prefix span algorithm” that “A nice displaying method of

products, not only attracts the sight and the attention of consumers, but also increase extra

consumption and customer satisfaction”. Many other authors such as Avais ,Ammar

Yaqoob,Gulraiz find out that manufacturers are always looking for the premium place at

stores in order to increase the profits and sales of their products; Xavier Drèze, Stephen J. Hoch and Mary E. Purk claim that” The goal of any given retailer then is to figure out how to increase the level of discretionary spending on each store visit; by doing so, they will effectively increase their share of the

shopper’s consumption requirements irrespective of total consumer spending”. (p.7, 1994).In their dissertation “Factors Involved in Retailer’s Decision to Allocate Shelf Space to Private and National Brand and its Impact on Sales”,Hashim Zameer,Abdul Waheed and Syeda Shawana Mahasin stated that a good shelf display “increases the customer’s satisfaction level”(p.357,2012).Furthermore, they mentioned reasons such as “placing products, enhancing display,visibility,making comparison easy among the products etc”.Indeed, as it is mentioned in the research paper “The

Importance of shelf space, is shelf space equally important for the different product categories

in grocery store (ICA Alidhem)? “Shelf space is an important factor in the revenue cost and

eventual profit of the product category” (p.6, 2010).

We can therefore conclude that retailers do pay for the placement of their products to enhance

the performance and the total sales and to improve customer’s satisfaction. We can say that

sales are proportional to the place in shelves.

Shelf Exposure is widely supported in the literature. Many researchers such as Els

Breugelmans,Katia Campo jsbrechts(2006),Victor Martinez-de-Albébiz and Guillaume

Roels(2007), Sandra S-Liu,Robert Melara and Raj Arangarasan(2007),Rifat Kamarak(2008),

Hashim Zameer,Abdul Waheed and Syeda Shawana Mahasin(2012),Mehmet et E-

Coskun(2012), showed the importance of shelf allocation and studied how retailers can boost

sales by better arranging shelf space (Xavier Dréz, Stephen J-Hoch and Mary E-Purk-1994)

and Since it is very important in increasing sales, shelf space allocation represents a reason

behind the strong competition among manufacturers who are looking for new strategies in

order to stick on their consumers’mind.Also they want to increase their productivity (Yang,

Chen 1999).

In addition,Hashim Zameer,AbdulWaheed and Syeda Shwana Mahasin(2002) who focused on

the factors involved in retailer’s Decision to allocate shelf space to private and National brand

and its impact on sales argued that retailers should control their store brands because it is very

important for them. For instance Store brands are the only brands for which the retailer is

responsible not only for promotion, shelf placement, and pricing, but also for defining the

very nature of the product.” The Strategic Positioning of Store Brands in Retailer–

Manufacturer Negotiations » p (1).

In 1979, Anderson proved that there is a strong link between shelf space and market share.

He found that most of purchasing decisions happen while shopping in the supermarket.

Moreover, consumers make a quick purchasing decision after looking for the desired product

and comparing the prices (Dickson and sawyer, 1990).

Strategies:

The goal behind shelf placement is to gain more profits and draw customer attention to the

displayed products. To achieve this goal retailers tend to use several strategies.

Bonnie Swain Schindly and eHow Contributor found out some procedures in his article

“Advantages and disadvantages of a supermarket Layout “for instance; supermarket designers

and marketers believe that products that complete each other should be shelved together. So

as to help consumers to accomplish easily their needs.

Another strategy listed in the same article is putting fruits and vegetables at the entrances

of grocery stores because of the appropriate lightening and the well visibility. Moreover, in

the article “The perfect placement: The science and psychology behind retail product

placement”, authors said that vital products should be positioned in the interior and in the

back of the store it is said that customer will have to cover all the products all over the grocery

store.

Rafael Lucena Matamalas and Miguel Santandreu Ramos said that “Speaking about shelves in

a horizontal line, the most expensive products are placed in the beginning and in the end. In

this way consumers who want to buy inexpensive products have to walk two times in front of

the expensive ones being tempted to buy them”.

Also ”Manufacturers, for the most part, are prepared to pay handsomely for prime placement”

that is to say the return depends on how much you pay for the placement of your products.

Rafael Lucena Matamalas and Miguel Santandreu Ramos devised the organization of

products into two zones “cold-zones” and “Hot-zones”.

Cold-zones include necessary products; they are placed in “hidden” places, whereas, in hot-

zones, products are easily sold because of their strategic placement.

From time to time, consumers are not very concerned with the buying decision. In this case,

marketer designers tried to simplify it for them. For instance, “Product With more facings or

placed on more prominent shelf positions are more likely to be noticed by consumers or catch

attention first”. Once the desired product is captivated from the consumer, the searching

method is ended.

Many other authors such as Adeel Akram Khan, Avais Ammar and Yaqoob Gulraiz have

the same strategy as well as Rafael Lucena Matamalas and Miguel Santandreu Ramos Who

discovered that, usually, hot zones are at the entrance and they are well managed. Unlike,

Cold zones which are little bit neglected in terms of organization.

In addition, retailers give priority to the products which sell more and the products which

have a promotion.”When the advertisement of some product category is increased then the

shelf space for that product increased normally” (Ammar,Gulraiz).

Furthermore, “Seasonal products» get more space as well as “Large products”. They also

claim that some products have a universal space at stores such as kid’s products.

At present, most retailers rely on a friendly persuasion in order to get better shelf placement.

Types of shelves: The placement of products is not haphazardly positioned on store. Previous studies have

shown that there are 4 types of shelves which are: Top shelf, Second and third shelves from

the top, Kids’ Eye-Level shelf and bottom shelf.

In “The Secrets behind Your Grocery Store’s Layout”, Mark Lund has divided store’s shelves

into 4 types which are:

Top shelf: It is occupied by “smaller brands” because of their limited budget.

Generally, local managers decided about their placement at stores.

“Bull’s-Eye Zone” (second and third shelves from the top): it is occupied by “Best sellers and

leading brands”. Manufacturers pay for such positions because it is the best selling zone and

usually, products there are expensive.

Rafael Lucena Matamalas and Miguel Santandreu Ramos Claim in their research paper

Marketing Strategy of the super markets” that this zone “belongs to the most well known

brands” (p.12, 2009).

Kids ‘Eye-level shelf: This zone is basically for kids’ products.

Bottom shelf: we found there “Store and private-labels brands and bulk items”. Store

managers place bulk items in order to satisfy customers who buy more than their temporary

needs and not to let them go outside to find them.

Many authors gave different calls to the shelves’ type. For instance, Rafael Lucena

Matamalas and Miguel Santandreu devided the shelves into three types which are eye level,

hands level, feet level (2009), Dr. Rıfat Kamaşak called them eye-level, waist-level, knee-

level, (2008), whereas they dealt with the same content and they came to the same point

which is Eye level shelf is considered the best selling zone. Also consumers pay less attention

to products placed in the bottom shelves (Avais,Ammar and Yaqoob,Gulraiz p.6,2006)

Premium places at stores are usually occupied by profitable products which mean “those

product categories which are high in profit and sale” (Adeel Akram Khan, p.20, 2010).

According to the article “Advantages and Disadvantages of a Supermarket Layout” written by

Bonnie Swain Schindly and eHow Contributor, products at premium shelves are lucky to gain

more profits that’s why “in-Store brand items” ( those products which have the same brand

name as well as the store name) are placed there.

Furthermore prices differ; Prices in eye level shelf are usually expensive that’s why

manufacturers pay lots of money in order to get this visible and profitable part (Diez de

Castro, 2004).

Dr. Rıfat Kamaşak (2008) studied the effect of product shelving on sales and the impact of

the different shelf position levels on sales. He discovered that there is a strong relationship

between shelf levels and the amount of profits and the “eye level” is the best selling part. In

1994, Dréze, Hoch and Purk also claim that there is a significant effect of the prime location

shelves in increasing sales.

.

Methodology: This project has been taken for academic interest only. The purpose of this study is to

examine the effect of shelf exposure on consumer behavior. A descriptive research

methodology was used for this study. A survey was administered to all categories of

consumers.

The four purposes of this chapter are first, to state the aimof the study and the Second to

explain why we have selected Magasin General as a case study. Third to describe the research

approach of the methodology chapter. Finally, to give an idea about the procedure used in

collecting the data and the data analysis.

1. Aim:

The aims of this study are:

To show the importance of shelf exposure on the purchasing behavior.

To assess to what extent shelf exposure is important for customers and how each

category is affected.

To determine to what level shelf exposure is considered as a basis for the purchasing

decision.

To evaluate the different shelves at the supermarket and to determine the best selling

shelf.

To evaluate the awareness of customers concerning the strategies and their satisfaction

with shelves organization as a whole.

2. Choice of the supermarket:

The reasons behind choosing M.G as a case study are many. First, in terms of location, it is

easier for us to carry out the research there and the location of the supermarket itself is

strategic one and it affects directly or indirectly the buying power. Second it has huge number

of visitors so we can have a variety of answers and opinions concerning shelves there. Indeed,

we select this supermarket because of its size which is considered as one of the biggest stores

in Beja as it can provide more space to the shelves.

3. Research Approach: We used a quantitative research approach which took the form of a questionnaire in order

to gather data and to know the importance of shelf exposure in determining customers’

choice. The main reasons behind selecting this method are that we are able to get lot of data

and we can turn it easily to charts or graphs from which we can deduce many results.

This approach allows us to know the importance of shelf exposure in determining customers’

choice.

4. Data collection methods:

This paragraph will state the methods used to achieve the aims and the objectives.

4.1. Secondary research:

In order to collect data, primary and secondary data have been used.

Secondary data refers to the gathered and recorded information by previous authors who dealt

with the same topic. It is very useful tool because it provides better understanding and gives

us other information and clarifies some points etc. The secondary data research started with a

search for articles and online published dissertation that have similar interest. After reading

them, a start was made with the literature review in order to gather information and to get

clear idea and comprehensive picture related to the topic in hand. Indeed the bibliographies of

these dissertations that were already used were covered this allow us to get much more

relevant literature.

4.2. Primary research:

4.2.1 Primary data method

Primary data is basically collected through a questionnaire explained and exposed while

presenting the empirical data.

4.2.2. Sample size

In order to obtain results for the chosen objective and topic; The effect of shelf exposure

on purchasing decision a questionnaire was made with basically items related to consumers’

opinion. The populations of this research are customers of Magasin General. Participants were

randomly selected in order to be closer to different categories of customers. So the conclusion

of this dissertation can be generalized .The features of the participants were as follows:

consumers with different ages; Age between: 5-15, 15-28, 28-58 and above 58.

Some of these questionnaires were not properly filled so that is why it was not possible for us

to include them.

4.2.4. Description of the questionnaire:

A questionnaire was chosen as a survey method since it is quick, cheap and practical

method and we can collect large amount of information in short period of time. It was written

in the English language and it was translated into Arabic in order to make it easier for

respondents to answer.

In the opening statement of the questionnaire we clearly mentioned the educational purpose of

the dissertation in order to make it clear for participants. In the second part of the statement

we mentioned the time needed to accomplish this questionnaire and show our thanks for

participants.

After that we specialized a section for the personal details (Gender and Age) because since

they have different ages and different genders surely they have different perspectives and

different points of view concerning shelf exposure.

The first and the third questions were general questions; the goals behind asking these

questions were to know the consumer’s frequency of visits to Magasin General and the

duration of their visits to develop some understanding about the consumers and to know to

what extent shelf space is important to them.

After that, we asked two simple questions (Question2 and4) to know whether the

frequency of consumers’ visits and the time spent there are affected by the way products are

exposed or not. A reason to ask these questions is to know the basis of purchasing decision.

In the fifth question we were asking about the preferred shelves for consumers to know the

best selling zone.

Then, the question 6 is referred to as a likert response scale. It is an Opinion question on a

four-point likert scale (1-Often to 4-Never). We wanted to know if customers find all products

of the same line are displayed together or not. The reason to ask is to find out to what extent

customers are aware about the location of products in the store.

Move on to Question 7, which is a yes or no question that takes the form of a schedule. It

comprises two questions, the first one deals with weather special offers are clearly displayed

or not, the second concerns weather the pricing are clearly noticed in the shelves or not. The

target behind both questions is to figure out the importance of shelf exposure in making it

easier for customers to notice special offers and prices.

Question 8 which is referred to as a likert response scale. Here, we see how might ask an

opinion question on a five-point Likert scale(1-Excellent to 5-poor).The question helped us to

know consumer’s satisfaction with the display of products in the shelves.

Question 9 deals with the importance of having a common strategy in order to fill the

shelves. This likert scale question could be helpful to find out whether customers are aware

about the strategies and how does it affects the shelves or they are not concerned with it.

Last but not least, the open ended question asked the participants about the missing things

in the supermarket concerning the placement of products. This type of question gives a greater

interval the participants to express their views differently. The aim behind this declaration is

to take the maximum of answers linked with various suggestions that Magasin General could

beneficiate from and to know if consumers are really concerned with shelves or not.

6. Data analysis:

Data were analyzed by using SPSS software. This tool makes it easier for us to process the

data in the form of numbers and percentages. Data analysis was divided in two sections using

descriptive and inferential statistics. The first section used descriptive statistics to explain to

what extent shelf exposure is important for customers and how each category is affected and

to determine the best selling zone by calculating frequencies and percentages.

The second section used exploratory factor analysis to show the importance of shelf exposure

on the purchasing behavior.

Main findings

1. Analysis:

The questionnaire’s multiple choice items were scored according to how closely the answers

matched to the effect shelf exposure on consumers buying behavior. Any answers that were

not chosen by any of the subjects were omitted for the sake of brevity. The results have been

organized into figures and tables for each question, and can be seen in table 1 to 10.

Frequency of visits:

Table1: Frequency of visits

Once a week Twice a week Once a month Depending on

the need.

5-15years 36.66% 37.03 % 16.66% 6.45%

15-28years 20% 29.62% 8.33% 32.25%

28-58years 13.33% 18.51% 8.33% 38.48%

Above58years 30% 14.81% 66.66% 12.90%

The results of the table have shown that participants whose age is above 58 years old are the

main visitors of Magasin General during once a week.

The major visitors of the supermarket in two weeks are aged between 5-15 years old. 66.66%

of participants aged above 58 visits the supermarket once a month and 38.48%of participants

aged between 28-58 years old visit the store depending on the needs. Hence we can conclude

that the frequency of visits is determined by the age of customers.

Time spends at the supermarket:

5-15 years 15-28 years 28-58 yrears above 580.00%

5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

30.00%

35.00%

40.00%

45.00%

50.00%

T< 30 min30 min > T > 1 hrs1h > T > 2hrsT> 2hrs

Figure 1: The average time spend at the supermarket.

This diagram represents the average time spent at Magazin General. According to the results

of the questionnaire we can notice that the majority of the category A (5-15) spend their time

more than 2hrs. Move on to the second category (15-28), 36.84% of them which presents the

majority seems that they do not spend a long time in the Mg (less than 30 min). The highest

percentage of respondents are from category C(28-58) agree about the time spent at Mg which

is comprises between 30 min and 1hr. Observed (or test statistic from the diagram), it seems

that the participants of the category D spend their time more than 2 hours.

The results prove that consumers ‘time spending at the supermarket is affected by the age. We notice that children and consumers whose age is above58 spend more than two hours in the supermarket. This proves that these two categories have a great chance to buy more products.

The relationship between times spent at the supermarket and shelf exposure.

yes no0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

15-28years5-15years28-58yearsabove 58

Figure2: The relationship between time spent at the supermarket and shelf exposure.

On base of our analysis, the diagram has shown that the majority of category C (28-58) has

agreed about the idea of the existence of relationship between the time spent at the

supermarket and shelf exposure. Throughout the diagram, we consider that the majority of

both categories B and C have agreed simultaneously about the existence of this relation but

more specifically the category C (28-58), whereas, the rest of both categories A and D denied

the existence of this relation but with different levels.

The relationship between the frequency of visits and the exposure of products.

5-15 years old 25-28 years old 28-58 years old above 58

1213

10

1213

12

15

13

yes no

Figure 3: The relationship between the frequency of visits and the exposure of products.

The statistical results of the histogram have shown that the three main categories A, C and D

present almost the same results. For instance, the participants didn’t go along with the idea

that the frequency of visit is determined by the exposure of the product specially the third

participant’s category, but it was different according to the category B (15-28), in other word

the majority agreed with that idea 13 among 25 related their frequency of visit with the shelf

exposure.

On the behalf of the findings of questions 2 and 4,we can say that participants aged between

25-28 think that the frequency of visits and the time spend at the supermarket has a strong

relationship with the way products are exposed.

The participant’s views concerning the best selling zone

5-15years 15-28years

28-58yearsabove 58

0.00%

5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

30.00%

35.00%

25.71%

17.14%

34.28%

22.85%

top shelf Pmiddle shelf Plow shelf P

Figure 4: The participant’s views concerning the best selling zone

The current results provided by the questionnaire have shown that the category A and D

presents the high statistical results concerning the low shelf placement (31.81%) and

27.27% .The top shelf placement was highly charged by the second category (15-28) by

30.23%.However,participants aged between 28-58 found that middle shelf is the best selling

zone.

According to the results presented, middle shelf is the best selling zone since it has the highest

percentage.

point of view concerning the display of products within the same product line.

Table2: Participants point of view concerning the display of products within the same product

line.

Often Sometimes Seldom Never

5-15years 24% 17.64% 25% 38.09%

15-28years 24% 38.23% 20% 9.52%

28-58years 28% 26.47% 30% 14.28%

Above 58 years 24% 17.64% 25% 38.09%

The contents of the table exhibit the following findings through a Likert scale which

measures participants answers that range from often to never: Participants of the first

category A didn’t agree totally that products of the same product line are arranged together at

the same shelf by a highly percentage (never 38.09%) . The frequent number of participants

who agreed partially (sometimes) are occupied by the second category with 38.64% .The

major participants of the third category C agreed totally (often) about this proposal. Unlike the

previous results, the findings of last category give the idea that the major participants 38.09%

refused that entirely. So, we can say that consumers are aware about the location of products

on the shelves since they notice that products within the same product line,sometimes,are not

shelved together (38.23%).

Participants views concerning the promotional offers and the pricing noticing.

5-15Years

15-28years

28-58years

Above58years

0.00%5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

30.00%

35.00%

19.64%

23.21%

32.14%

25.00%

32.00%

27.27%

15.90%

25.00%

20.00%

21.81%

32.72%

25.45%

31.11%

28.88%

15.55%

24.44%

The pricing are not clearly noticedThe pricing is clearly noticedPromotional offers are not clearly displayedpromotional offers are clearly displayed

Figure 5: Participants views concerning the promotional offers and the pricing noticing.

The findings of the diagram reflect the participant’s opinions concerning the display of

promotional offers as well as the clearness of the pricing. For instance the first and the

second category A and B agreed totally that promotional offers and the pricing tickets are not

clearly displayed, 32% of the category A illustrated that and 29% of the category B exemplify

that. Unlike the third and the fourth categories, participants went totally along with the good

display of pricing tickets but only C category charged a high level of candidates who agreed

with the good display of promotional offers. However the D category kept a slight difference

concerning the promotional offers in other term it remains a neutral result 25%, 25%.

Category C 33% promotional offers are clearly displayed

Category C 32% the pricing is clearly noticed

Category D 22.4% the pricing is clearly noticed

Participants views concerning the exposure of products in the supermarket.

Table 3: Participants views concerning the exposure of products in the supermarket.

Excellent Above

average

Average Below

average

Poor

5-15 years 21.05% 20% 33.33% 9.09% 28%

15-28 years 10.52% 40% 40% 16.66% 12%

28-58 years 42.10% 26.66% 16.66% 13.33% 16%

Above 58 26.31% 13.33% 10% 36.36% 44%

Throughout the findings of the table, which gives a likret scale choice to the respondents, the

participants of the category D (28-58) looks the more satisfied with the exposure of products

since they got an excellent rate with a 42.10 of percentage. The category B of participants

shown middle agree about the exposure of products (above average and average) with the

same percentage 40% as well as the category A. Whereas, the last category expresses their

total refusal about the way products are displayed with a high percentage 44%.

Participants’ views concerning the exposure of product differ from a category to another.

The importance degree of following a specific strategy in the placement of products

Table 4: the importance degree of following a specific strategy in the placement of products.

Very important Important Unimportant Very

unimportant

5-15 11.42% 24% 37.50% 37.50%

15-28 31.42% 28% 20.83% 12.50%

28-58 28.57% 20% 29.16% 18.57%

Above 58 28.75% 24% 12.50% 31.25%

The findings of the table have shown that the category B (15-28) has considered that

following some strategies in the placement of products is very important and the number was

approximates by 31.42%. Whereas the category A denied strongly this importance where

37.50% said that it is unimportant to follow these strategies as well as the D category which is

the same to the category C but with a slight different in the degree they consider that

following this strategy is only unimportant.

2. Discussion:

This part is about showing the significance of the research question.

In the first and the third questions we aimed to know the consumer’s frequency of visits to

Magazin General and the duration they spend there. Previous researches have shown that

shelf exposure affects indirectly customer's frequency of visit .Similarly our findings have

shown that the frequency of visits is determined by the age of customers.

This can be either positive or negative. In a negative way, they may be frequent visitors

because they did not reach their needs because of the disorganization of the shelves which

may take a big time from time and third requires a second visit or changing of the

supermarket. In a positive way the good organization of the shelves makes from these visitors

loyal customers .Following the gathered results, it seems that the major reason behind this

frequent visits is the disorganization of the shelves and the bad exposure of products although

both categories A and D did not go along within the relationship between shelf exposure and

both time and frequency of visits but they totally agree that there do exist a great gap in term

of the display of products within the same product line which gives the implicit relation

between shelf exposure and the customer’s buying behavior. So we may conclude that each

category needs special positioning of products in order to satisfy all the needs and gain

benefits from all categories of consumers and the supermarket should set a very organized and

attractive organization of shelves in order to reach their major goal which is making profits.

The best selling zone is typically referred as the most attractive area that draw customer’s

attention, so the major products displayed there will have the greater chance to be purchased.

According to the results found, we may note that the three types of shelves were automatically

occupied by the three categories with orderliness. For instance, the low shelf placement was

occupied by the first category, the middle range was occupied by the second category and the

top shelf placement was occupied by the third category. To draw a conclusion we can note

that the size could be interfered in the accomplishing of the choice of the best zone. More

precisely, since the first category is child so they have automatically to choose the appropriate

closest zone which is the low once and so on for the two rest categories.

Based on the results of figure 5, category A and B are totally disagree with the clearness of

pricing and promotional offers , these both categories are not satisfied with the strategy that

M.G is following, also with the exposure of products. Taking a particular exception, one of

M.G staff has confessed that many products are positioned arbitrary in the floor during the

period of promotional offers. What we can conclude is that M.G is not well concerned with

the exposure and the decoration of the store. In other word, this store needs to specialists who

take the work of the decoration apart. Whatever, the two rest categories were quietly satisfied

with the exposure but not that big efficiency.

Through questionnaire we tried to evaluate the awareness of customers concerning the

strategies and their satisfaction about shelves organization as a whole. Respondents have

shown positive attitude through their answers and their knowledge about these strategies.

According to the open ended question we can conclude that the majority of customers are

aware about the strategy used in marketing to place the products on the shelves. It seems that

marketer designers receive specific rools from the producers of some products to place them

on specific strategically places on the shelves. After carrying this operation, producers must

pay for this action

Conclusion

Shelf exposure is an important resource for retailers since it is considered as a tool to

increase sales.

Ultimately, the main objective of this study was to assess the impact of shelf exposure on

consumer purchasing behavior. In many aspects, this aim was met. The analysis of the

findings revealed the existence of a link between shelf exposure and the buying behavior.

Although the relationship between shelf exposure and the purchasing power was found, the

degree of it was not strong. Another interesting result is that the middle shelf is the best in

terms of sales performance.

The research inherently has its limitations. The most obvious limitation is that the scope of the

research was relatively small (only considering the highest percentage among all categories).

Additionally, collaboration with the supermarket for the study was limited.

Recommendations:

Further research should be focused on the differences among the big stores in relation to the

way products are exposed.

References :Hashim Zameer,Abdul Waheed and Syeda Shawana Mahasin :”Factors Involved in Retailer’s Decision to Allocate Shelf Space to Private and National Brand and its Impact on Sales”( p.1), (August 2012, Vol. 2, No. 8 ISSN: 2222-6990).

AnaValenzuela, Priya Raghubir and Chrissy Mitakakis; “Shelf Space Schemas: Myth or reality?” shelf exposure as a “Battle between manufacturers for shelf space” (p.2)

George Aloysius:” An approach to products placement in Supermarkets using Prefix span algorithm. Journal of king saud university-Computer and Information Sciences. Volume 25, Issue1, January 2013,pages77-87.

Avais ,Ammar and Yaqoob,Gulraiz(2010):”Importance of shelf space. Is shelf space equally important for the different product categories in grocery store (ICA Alidhem)?”

Xavier Drèze, Stephen J. Hoch and Mary E. Purk (1994): “Shelf Management and Space Elasticity”( p.7).

Els Breugelmans,Katia Campo jsbrechts(2006); “The effect of shelf display on online grocery choices”.

Victor Martinez-de-Albébiz and Guillaume Roels(2007),”Competing for shelf space”.

Sandra S-Liu,Robert Melara and Raj Arangarasan(2007) ; “The Effects of Store Layout on Consumer Buying Behavioral Parameters with Visual Technology”

Journal of Shopping Center Research (2007), 14, 2, pp. 63-72.

Rifat Kamarak(2008), “THE IMPACT OF SHELF LEVELS ON PRODUCT SALE”

Mehmet et E-Coskun(2012), “Shelf Space Allocation: A Critical Review and aModel with Price Changes and Adjustable Shelf Heights”

FIONA SCOTT MORTON and FLORIAN ZETTELMEYER: “The Strategic Positioning of Store Brands in Retailer–Manufacturer Negotiations”Review of Industrial Organization 24: 161–194, 2004.

Bonnie Swain Schindly and eHow Contributor: Advantages and disadvantages of a supermarket Layout.

The perfect placement: The science and psychology behind retail product placement

Rafael Lucena Matamalas and Miguel Santandreu Ramos (2009):”MARKETING STRATEGY OF THE SUPERMARKETS[ICA MAXI, FORUM COOP, NETTO, LIDL]”

Adeel Akram Khan and Mudassar Asghar: “Impacts of shelf space and other product cues on the Selection of FMCG products in grocery store “

Master Thesis Business Administration FE2415 / FE2409 2010 Mark Lund: The Secrets behind Your Grocery Store’s Layout

Diez de Castro, (2004)

Joseph Victor Lum : “ On-Shelf Customer Availability Research: The Effects of the Day-of-the-Week, Product,

and Category Characteristics on Stockouts” May 11,2012.

Appendix1. Sample of the questionnaire in English

2. Sample of the questionnaire in Arabic

3. Some pictures taken from M.G

Shelf exposure

This survey contributes to a dissertation which aims at examining the way shelf exposure affects consumer buying behavior.  The completion of the questionnaire will take approximately five minutes. Thank you for your cooperation.Shelf exposure refers to the process of exhibiting and displaying stores’s products for advertising purposes.

Personal details

Gender: Male ( )/Female ( ).

Age: 5-15 ( ) B15-28 ( ) C: 28-58 ( ) D: above 58 ( ).

1. How frequently do you visit Magasin general? a. Once a Weekb. Twice a Week

c. Once a Monthd. Depending on the need

2) Is the frequency of your visits determined by the exposure of products in the store?

1) Yes

2) No

3) What is the average time do you spend at Magasin general?

a) Less than 30 min ( ) b) 30 min -1 hour ( ) c) 1hr-2hrs ( ) d) more than 2 hrs ( ).

4) Is there any relation between shelf placement and time you spend at the store?

1) Yes

2) No

5) What products attract your attention the most?

1) Eyes Level product   2) Top Shelf products 3) Low shelf products.

6) Do you find that products of same product line are not positioned together?

Often Sometimes Seldom Never

7)

Answers

Questions

YES NO

Do you think that promotional Offers are clearly displayed in the Store?

Is the Pricing clearly noticed?

8) How do you rate your shopping experience in the store?

Excellent Above average

Average Below average

Poor

The exposure of products in the Store

9) How important is it for stores to follow a specific strategy in the placement of products?

1) Very important

2) Important

3) Unimportant

4) Very unimportant

If it is important .Why do you think so?

10) What do you think is missing in the store concerning the placement of products?

استبيان تهدف هذه األطروحة إلى دراسة مدى تأثير طريقة عرض المنتجات على تصرف المستهل .إتمام هذه االستبيان

يستغرق خمسة دقائق على األكثر. معطيات شخصية:

الجنس ذكر أنثى

* العمر

 5_15 15_28 28_58  58فوق

كم عدد المرات التي تقوم فيها بزيارة المتجر ؟1)

 مرة واحدة في األسبوع مرتين في األسبوع  مرة واحدة في الشهر  على الحاجة حسب

هل تتحدد زيارتك للمتجر بسبب الطريقة التي يعتمدها المتجر في رصف منتجاتهم؟2)

 نعم  ال 

ماهو متوسط الوقت الذي تقضيه في المتجر ؟3)

  دقيقة30أقل من  30- ساعة1 دقيقة   1- ساعة2 ساعة   ساعة2أكثر من  

هل هناك أي عالقة بين الوقت الذي تقضيه فالمتجر و طريقة عرض المنتجات ؟4)

 نعم  ال 

ما هي المنتجات التي تجذب انتباهك أكثر؟5)

  منتجات الرف العلوي  منتجات الرف األوسط

 منتجات الرف السفلي

هل تجد أن منتجات نفس خط االنتاج مرصوفة معاً ؟6)

من كثير فياألحيان

بعض فيأبدا نادرااألحيان

هل تعتقد أن العروضات الخاصة واضحة للمستهلك في حين أنه يستطيع أن يعي بها ؟7)

 ال نعمهل تعتقد أن العروض الخاصةواضحة للمستهفي لك

أنه حين يستطيعيعي أن

؟ بها

هل أنا ترىتسعير المنتجات واضح للمستهلك؟

فوق ممتازة متوسط المتوسط من أقل

ضعيفالمتوسط

(8 طريقةعرض المنتجا

في ت المتج

إلى أي مدى تكمن أهمية تبني إستراتيجية خاصة لعرض المنتجات ؟9)

 مهم جدا  هام  غير مهم  غير مهم جدا

إذا كان مهم. لماذا تعتقد ذلك؟

حسب رأيك مالذي ينقص المتجر من حيث طريقة عرض المنتجات؟10)