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Diwakar \n Kumar<\/i><\/p>\n Diwakar \n Kumar<\/i><\/p>\n
IndiaRetailing, \n June 2, 2010<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n
Customers visiting a store are looking for either the width of \n merchandise – the variety of product lines offered – \n or the depth – the number of each item or particular style \n of a product on offer. For most department and brand stores, a \n superior merchandise width generates better sales results, especially \n if the target audience is trendy or style conscious.<\/p>\n
In a bid to satisfy the discerning customers, large format retailers \n generally focus on the width of merchandise. And for them it becomes \n mandatory to give the ‘feel of everything’ in a store; small format \n retailers, on the other hand, need to be little more strategist \n and know how to utilise the shelf area.<\/p>\n
But, what is more important – width or depth?<\/p>\n
In a poll question asked by IndiaRetailing, ‘Retailers need to \n focus on width – rather than depth – of merchandise \n to attract new customers’, 79.33 per cent of the audience supported \n ‘width’, 17.33 per cent went with ‘depth’, while the remaining \n 3.33 per cent preferred to remain neutral.<\/p>\n
Devangshu Dutta, chief executive, Third Eyesight, says, “Depth \n and width are two facets of ‘variety’. For a retailer, \n whether depth is more important than width or vice versa depends \n on the retailer’s format and business model. For most large-format \n stores, it is certainly important to give the customer the feeling \n of ‘everything is available under one roof’ and initially width \n rather than depth is more important. However, even for large-formats, \n to avoid comparisons of ‘sameness’ with other large-format competitors, \n depth begins to become important once the initial market presence \n has been established.”<\/b><\/p>\n
Dutta emphasises, “More importantly, the merchandise \n depth – varieties within a product category – enables \n the retailer to address different segments within the customer \n base. For a speciality retailer and its customers, clearly depth \n is more critical.”<\/b><\/p>\n
“Customers are increasingly looking for novelty in product \n experience and this can only come through width rather than depth. \n One has to, however, ensure that the new offerings are relevant, \n otherwise this could result in increasing the working capital \n and possible write-offs,” thinks Viney Singh, MD, Max Hypermarket \n India.<\/p>\n
Gopalakrishnan Sankar, chief executive, Reliance Footprint, says \n retailers need to focus on the width of collection (as well as \n the depth) because today discerning customers require choice in \n terms of brands, designs and price points. “This will cater \n to the varying tastes of different customer segments and also \n different moods of the same customer,” says Sankar.<\/p>\n
“Depth-oriented merchandising strategy works better for \n specialised stores. Most apparel and FMCG-buying decisions happen \n within three feet from the merchandise. By that information, the \n visual merchandising can trigger an impulsive reaction by how \n the merchandise is presented – both in terms of style and \n value. Value comes with abundance: displaying merchandise in larger \n quantities reduces the perceived value and hence would be more \n attractive to the value-centric consumer and vice-versa,” \n observes Ashmit S Alag, director, Academy of Applied Arts.<\/p>\n
“Width-based VM strategy focuses on vignette settings, where \n coordinated merchandise is displayed together to show how things \n can go together or match in design or utility. While this display \n technique enables the consumer to gauge the ‘width’, \n for the retailer it leads to more number of SKUs sold per transaction,” \n concludes Alag.<\/p>\n
So, clearly, as experts point out, one doesn’t take precedence \n over the other. Both width and depth of merchandise have their \n roles to play and which one to focus on depends solely on the \n retailer’s format and business model.
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Diwakar Kumar IndiaRetailing, June 2, 2010 Customers visiting a store are looking for either the width of merchandise – the variety of product lines offered – or the depth – the number of each item or particular style of a product on offer. For most department and brand stores, a superior merchandise width generates better […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3505","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press-quotes"],"yoast_head":"\n