RETAIL STORE EVALUATION

ON MORE STORE AT

EDAPALLY

STAND ALONE STORE

SREERAJ A R FM-975

More Super Market

Survey No.583/5,584/1f1,583/4a, Opposite Cardinal Higher Secondary School

Edappally - Pukkattupady Rd

Soubhagya Nagar, Judgemuk, Thrikkakara

Ernakulam, Kerala 682021

Introduction

More is a pan-India retail chain operated by the Aditya Birla Group company, Aditya Birla

Retail Ltd. Currently it has 509 supermarkets and 15 hypermarkets across the country. It plans to

increase it to 1,300 supermarkets and 65 hypermarkets respectively by 2016.

FACTORS AFFECTING CHOICE OF LOCATION OF MORE EDAPALLY

Location decision is strategic and long term and hence involves a large investment that is

irreversible in nature. If a retailer after setting up his store realizes that the location is not proper,

he has either to go on suffering losses or close down. Poor location results in increase

distribution cost, poor marketing response and dissatisfaction among employees, suppliers and

customers. The following are some factors which should be considered before choosing the

location

Population and Customer

MORE is located at one of the busiest place in Cochin. This type of retail location is basically

any standalone building. It is well connected by road and provides amble space for vehicle

parking. Location is a thickly populated area and thereby store provides a facility for large

segment of consumer group. Nearby location consists of residential flats, villas and office

buildings and store can give good service to all the consumers.

Accessibility, Visibility and Traffic

Store is accessible by roads. People can park their all kinds of vehicles in front of the store.

Availability of frequent public transport is an added advantage to the store.

Signage, Zoning and Planning

There are many billboards and sign boards that can be visible to any customers. Good lighting

and advertisement boards and posters helps the customer to identify the products easily. Signage

and graphics help customers locate specific products and departments, provide product

information, and suggest items or special purchases. In addition, graphics, such as photo panels,

can enhance the store environment and the store's image.

Location of merchandise categories

It plays a major role in how customers navigate through the store. By strategically placing

impulse and demand/destination merchandise throughout the store, retailers can increase the

chances that customers will shop the entire store and that their attention will be focused on the

merchandise that the retailer is most interested in selling.

LIST OF MERCHANDISE

1. Fruits & Vegetables

Leafy Vegetables

Fruit Vegetables

Root Vegetables

Bulb Vegetables

Fresh Fruits

2. Home Care

Detergents

Utensil Cleaners

Toilet Cleaner

Floor Cleaner

3. Food & Beverages

Bakeries

Dairy Products

Instant Foods

Culinary Products

Chocolates, Biscuits & Snacks

Breakfast Needs

Hot Beverages

Aerated Drinks and Juices

Frozen Foods

4. Staples

Pulses

Flours

Rice

Edible Oils

Salt & Sugar

Spices

5. Personal Care

Women’s Care

Baby Care

Men’s Care

Personal Health

Soaps and Hand-wash

6. Stationery items

STORE LAYOUT

A store layout is the design in which a store's interior is set up. Store layout is well thought out to

provide the best exposure possible. It is designed to create an attractive image for consumers. It

describes the overall look and feel of the interior of a retail store, including the placement of

fixtures and products within the store. It is an important part of implementing retail store

strategy. Effective layouts are designed to expose customers to the most products possible given

the amount of floor space available. A well-planned retail store layout allows a retailer to

maximize the sales for each square foot of the allocated selling space within the store. Store

layouts generally show the size and location of each department, any permanent structures,

fixture locations and customer traffic patterns. Each floor plan and store layout will depend on

the type of products sold, the building location and how much the business can afford to put into

the overall store design.

Layout for retail stores depends on the retailer’s understanding of the customers’ buying habits.

Retailers have three basic layout options from which to choose: grid, free form, and boutique.

Some areas of a retail store generate more sales per square foot and therefore are more valuable.

There are many factors retailers should consider before choosing a store location. From traffic

analysis to zoning requirements, there is a lot of data to examine before deciding on the perfect

spot. Considering following factors while deciding a Store

Layout can be useful:

1. Effective Use of Space: Space needs to be used effectively, with all the areas planned properly

to break up the store into logical and functional areas such as POS, Back Office, Changing

Rooms, Pantry, Toilets, etc.

2. Inviting Customers: Layout is designed to attract the targeted audience. It should speak on its

own and guide customers to all the areas of merchandise.

3. Interiors: Interior arrangements - appearance, walls, sections, and areas should be planned and

positioned well. Lighting and Music arrangement needs to be taken into consideration while

planning a layout. It should be placed to suit the kind of shopper. These arrangements can be

changed during different hours in a store. In this unit you should be learn types of retail location,

store layout, design decision in the stores and functions of store retail associate.

Customer Behaviour and store layout

Customer buying behaviour patterns can be grouped in relation to:

1. Place of Purchase

2. Items Purchased

3. Time and Frequency of Purchase

Place of Purchase

In general, customers divide their purchases among a number of stores. They shop in more than

one department store and in many specialty stores. Even in buying food there is a division of

purchases. Many customers do not buy their meats or fresh fruits and vegetables where they buy

their dry groceries, although all these goods may be available in the same store. The specialty

food store, the milkman, the produce huckster, and the "hole-in-the-wall" are all getting a share

of the total food business. Where customers have the choice of purchasing the same goods in a

number of stores, their patronage loyalty to any one store is by no means permanent. Witness the

grand opening of a new super market! Many of the customers who flock to the opening are

abandoning old patronage loyalties. Hence, length of patronage also deserves study. Studies of

customer buying behaviour patterns with respect to place of purchase are useful in selecting store

locations, in choosing distributors for a product, and in merchandising

Items Purchased

Every customer purchase and every store sale consists of a transfer of one or more specific

commodities. No one customer purchases all the different items for sale in a store. Over a period

of time a customer will purchase a substantial selection of the total items available in the store,

but that selection will vary somewhat with each customer. Therefore, in studying customer

buying behaviour patterns it is necessary to ascertain (a) what items and (b) how much of each

item customers purchase. The purchase of many necessity items soap or bread, for example is

common and ubiquitous. Luxury items, such as caviar or avocado pears, are purchased by a

relatively small group of customers. The purchase of some items has a strong regional

demarcation grits or live lobster, for example. Rarely does a customer purchase a single potato

or a single carrot. On the other hand, very seldom does a customer purchase more than one

watermelon at a time. The amount of each item purchased depends on many factors, of which the

following are probably the most important: number of consumers for whom the item is intended;

perishability of the item; storage requirements and facilities available; purchasing power and

ready cash; unit of sale; and price. The introduction of new products and changes in dietary

habits also affect the customer's choice of items and the amount purchased. As previously

pointed out, in so far as the customer is the purchasing agent for a family or a number of

consumers, the purchases reflect the characteristics of all the consumers involved. From the

distributor's, manufacturers and producer's point o? view it is essential to study what items and

how much of each the customer buys by brand or quality, by size or weight, by price, by type of

container, and by season.

Time and Frequency of Purchase

Store operations must be geared to mesh with the customers' time of purchase pattern. Store

buyers and merchandisers must keep on schedule with it. Merchandise must be available in the

store in adequate supply if maximum sales are to be achieved. Woe to him whose Christmas

trees arrive to market on December twenty-sixth! In studying time of purchase patterns it is

necessary to relate these to the seasons, weather, and regional differences. Every retailer knows

from experience that his volume of sales is not uniform by days of the week, nor by hours of the

day. The variations are very pronounced, especially in the food business. Attempts by retailers to

modify customer time of purchase behaviour patterns, with the view of improving service to

customers or raising efficiency of operation, have by no means been entirely successful. The

long lines of customers waiting impatiently to be checked out in super markets during peak

periods in contrast to the buying inactivity at other times illustrate a continuing troublesome store

operations problem created by the customers' time of purchase pattern.

Frequency of purchase depends primarily upon the type of commodity involved. In the course of

a lifetime, a man rarely purchases more than two wedding rings most men try to manage with the

original acquisition, even if it does not turn out to be quite the bargain expected. On the other

hand, the addicted pleasures of cigarettes go up in smoke so rapidly that the frequency of

purchase is generally a daily performance and, allegedly, men will walk a mile for their favourite

brand. Frequency of purchase also varies among customers. Some shop in food stores daily,

others only once a week. The size of the total purchase, the number of items and the quantity of

each item bought all vary with frequency of purchase. The more frequently a customer visits a

store, the more is that customer exposed to the impact of sales promotional devices used in the

store.

CHARACTERISTICS OF STORE LAYOUT DESIGN

A successful store should keep a consumer interested and finally convert the consumer to a

customer. From the customers’ point of view, they would like the shopping process to be easy

and satisfying. They prefer a pleasant shopping environment where the aisles are wide, the view

of the merchandise is clear, the merchandise is easy to find and that there are sufficient items

such that customers won’t experience stock-outs. The retailer should have effective

merchandising and displays in order to increase the satisfaction of customers.

To achieve this, several principles and characteristics of store layout design should be

considered. Utilization of floor space has an effect on potential customers. The size of the store is

constrained by budget, store type, merchandise assortment and the volume of sales. The aisle

structure should be well designed to facilitate shoppers browsing and checking out the

merchandise. The traffic flow density of the aisles should be balanced to provide a comfortable

and safe shopping environment. Providing customers with a logical layout of merchandise, such

as grouping similar and complementary products in distinct sections, insures customers can

easily find what they want. Overcrowded displays can confuse and depress customers, however

half full shelves can give the impression that the store is going out of business or the items are

out of stock, which can lower customer goodwill. To effectively display the product, fixtures

including stands, shelves, tables, bins and racks should be carefully chosen and organized,

depending on the type of product sold and the customer demand. Overall there are both

qualitative and quantitative criteria for store layout design.

CHARACTERISTICS OF RETAIL STORE

Store appearance and image

Developing a strong positive appearance has become essential to the maintenance of sustained

competitive advantage. Research into store appearance has allowed retailers to create positioning

strategies and enabled them to differentiate their stores in terms of the products and prices or

services on offer. Consumer loyalty will be more likely when the consumer perceives the

appearance of a store to be desirable. A wide belief exists that consumers perceive store

appearance to be desirable when the store image is congruent with their self-image or the image

to which they aspire .

Store traffic flow and crowd density

The objective of conducting a traffic flow analysis is to determine ways to make shopping and

running the store easier, using layout and merchandising techniques to improve sales, enhance

the store's appearance and make shopping more fun.

Merchandise display

Merchandise display is a term frequently used in the context of in-store marketing. It refers to the

way products are presented in a retail outlet. While this expression has been used with a focus on

merchandise display (e.g. the choice of fixtures to be used and the method of product

presentation), it relates to overall store design, store layout and other facets of the store

environment. Therefore, it is often used synonymously with the design component of in-store

marketing.

Two basic objectives of in-store marketing are:

To facilitate the search process for customers, i.e. to design the store for easy internal

orientation; and

To create a positive store atmosphere, i.e. to evoke a positive emotional state of mind in

consumers while visiting the store.

Both aspects are important to different degrees in different stores and for different consumer

segments. The retailer's focus is mainly on easy orientation and supporting the consumer search

process. When approaching shoppers, the efforts are shifted towards merchandise display as it

facilitates shopping and easy orientation, because consumers should not be confused but feel

secure and self-confident in the shopping situation

Product assortment

Effective merchandising strategies can reap big rewards in today's marketplace. Effective

category management is essential for retailing. It is critical that stores improve their service by

providing customers with the products they want, in a position that is sensible and simple to find.

Taking a more strategic approach to merchandising can reap big rewards by boosting sales,

increasing footfall and ultimately increasing turnover. A good merchandise assortment should

entice customers to move around the store to purchase more merchandise than they may have

planned originally. A good layout should provide a balance between giving customers adequate

space in which to shop. The breadth and depth of the assortment in a merchandise category can

affect the retailer’s brand image.

Store floor space

Floor space shows how store design and in-store communications can make shopping trips easier

and more fun for both parents and children. The core requirements are enough space to move

around the store, ease of access from outside the store and clear navigation and displays. Stores

can also improve the communication of their values by memorable window displays, strong

departments using better point of sale (POS), personal touches to encourage customer loyalty,

graphics, highlighting prices and age ranges in busy areas.

Store ventilation system

Ventilation of buildings depends significantly on the used criteria for the indoor environment,

which also affects health, productivity and comfort of the retail consumers. First of all, store

ventilation measures should not sacrifice peoples' comfort and health while shopping. Therefore,

a need for ventilation for the indoor environment for retail design, and to improve shopping

conditions.

Store entrances

Retail sector companies often overlook the positive contribution that store entrances and exit

points could make to their success. At a time when more decisions than ever are made in-store,

any media must provide a pathway to the purchase that is subconsciously triggered. Therefore, it

would be a wise move to spend more on below the-line and through-the-line strategies. A key

challenge is to create an environment where the shopper perceives a one-to-one relationship with

the store; to optimize the shopper’s time; to make it appear as if the ranging and categorisation of

products have been personalised just for them; and by giving attention to this, retailers will

deliver an experience the shopper will want to repeat.

Impulse purchasing pressure

Impulse buying pressure can be defined as an immediate purchase with no pre-shopping

intentions. There has been a link of unplanned purchases to consumer moods and pleasant

environments and that shows that employee behaviours predict customer evaluations. Moreover,

prior work indicates that helpfulness of salespeople in assisting customers influences consumers'

willingness to buy. A high level of excitement in a store enhances the loss of self-control, and

high arousal reduces people's ability to think through the implications of their actions. It's also

likely that many people's ability to resist temptation is at its lowest level at the end of the day,

resulting into increased impulse purchases. Below is a diagram showing environmental

stimulation on impulse purchasing.

TYPE OF LAYOUT

Grid store layout The grid layout is a rectangular arrangement of displays and long aisles that

generally run parallel to one another. It has been shown that the grid layout facilitates routing

and planned shopping behavior, providing consumers with flexibility and speed in identifying

pre-selected products which appear on their shopping list . It is widely favored in the grocery

sector because the majority of the customers visiting grocery stores have planned their purchases.

Types of Floor Space in Store

• Back Room – receiving area, stockroom

Department stores (50%)

Small specialty and convenience stores (10%)

General merchandise stores (15-20%)

• Offices and Other Functional Space – employee break room, store offices, cash office,

restrooms

• Aisles, Service Areas and Other Non-Selling Areas

– Moving shoppers through the store, dressing rooms, Lay away areas, service desks,

customer service facilities

• Merchandise Space

– Floor

– Wall

Allocating Space

Warehouse clubs are able to take advantage not only of the width and depth of the store, but also

the height, by using large “warehouse racks” that carry reachable inventory at lower levels with

large pallets or cartons of excess inventory at higher levels.

Space Allocation Planning and Improving Space Productivity in Existing Stores. Space

Productivity Index is a ratio that compares the percentage of the store’s total gross margin that a

particular merchandise. Category generates to its percentage of total store selling space used.

PRODUCT PLACEMENT IN RETAIL STORE

In each retail store, a responsible staff member was appointed and he/she kept a record of weekly

sales of the given product for twelve weeks. The weekly sales figures from the stores were

collected and recorded during store visits. In order to search the impact of shelf levels on sales,

the product was placed in different shelf levels, and their sales figures were observed for a

certain period of time. The product was, firstly, displayed on knee-level shelves, then on the

waist to shoulder level shelves, and lastly, on the eye-level shelves of ten chosen retailers for a

period of three months.

The product remained one month in each different shelf level position e.g., it was displayed for

one month on the knee-level shelf, one month on the waist to shoulder level shelf and one month

on the eye-level shelf, and at the end of each 30 days it was moved from the lower shelf to the

upper one. During this time, the weekly sales figures of the product were recorded and monthly

average sales figures were also calculated. It should be noted that each item’s retail price is fixed

for all levels of shelves in the retail stores.

EYE LEVEL (150-160)

WAIST TO SHOULDER LEVEL (90-100)

KNEE LEVEL (40-50)

EYE LEVEL (150-160)

WAIST TO SHOULDER LEVEL (90 - 100)

KNEE LEVEL (40 -50)

Strategy in the strike zone

The strike zone is the section of the store a customer first enters, about 10-20 feet inside the door,

and it is a prime location for featuring merchandise. In general, customers in the strike zone scan

the area, looking left to right, just as we were taught to read. The inside perimeter of a store,

sometimes called the race track, experiences the highest traffic especially in the supermarket

setting. Majority of shoppers typically don’t wind their way down one aisle to the next, but

instead use the race track as a launching point, then dart in and out of aisles as needed. In well

planned stores, promotional items are usually on the ends of the aisles, where customers see

them as they walk toward a specific aisle for an item they are seeking. If the store has done its

homework, the promotional item will likely be related to or similar to the item the customer is

seeking.

When customers have moved through the strike zone, they usually walk along the right wall.

New customers will pick up items in this area and compare the store’s price to their own

willingness to pay. Whether or not customers purchase those promotional items or the goods in

the strike zone, depends upon a number of factors.

Paying significant premiums for prime space is something manufacturers are willing to do both

when running promotions on items and even on a daily basis. Retailers have become wise to the

value of this space, and routinely charge what are called “slotting allowances” for prime product

placement, particularly when introducing new products to consumers.

Meantime, retailers know they can also increase per-customer sales transactions by focusing on

attracting the customer’s attention to additional purchase opportunities. They can do this through

a wide variety of temporary and permanent display characteristics. It’s no surprise that temporary

displays have the greatest potential for attracting attention because their large size and novelty

make them much more intrusive. But permanent displays can also be used to increase attention

by manipulating: the location of the product within a display; the area (facings) devoted to the

product; product adjacencies; and aesthetic elements such as size and color coordination and

special signage.

VISUAL PRODUCT PLACEMENT

Horizontal product placement – products are placed on shelves, side by side to showcase a

wide range of options for consumers.

Vertical product placement – merchandise is displayed on more than one shelf level.

Block placement – related or similar items are stocked together in one place, under a common

umbrella.

Commercial product placement – the brand value of the items is taken into consideration. The

public’s perception of the merchandise determines where it will be placed in a store. Items with

the highest perceived value or image would score the best shelf real estate in the store. Items

which do not contribute greatly to the store’s bottom line get less favorable positioning.

Market share product placement – products which generate the most revenue for the store will

be placed in a prime location, so customers can easily find and purchase the item.

Margin product placement – the greater the profit on the item for the retailer, the better its

location in the store

POINTS TO REMEMBER FOR A STORE LAYOUT

Be relevant:

Offer suggestions which are related to the original sale—either what customers have come in for

originally, what they are buying online, or what they are picking up at the grocery store. If a

customer buys some peanut butter, show them the jelly rather than the green beans. Your

customer does not want to be inundated with too many choices when they have selected an item.

Maximize positioning.

Place your cross-sell items near the related items your customers are purchasing—either

physically or virtually. Retailer suggests you let your customers see the accessories or related

items that you have on hand, but don’t overwhelm them with choices.

Bundle products.

Offer discounts for buying groups of items. Group items visually, placing them on the same end

cap and offering a deal on purchasing the entire group. Consumers, as a rule, love finding a good

deal.

Separate low and high involvement items.

Strive to separate your low-margin, easy-selling items for which consumers need little

information, from the items which require a great deal of info to make the sale.

PRICING STRATEGY

Supermarket firms compete along many dimensions, enticing customers with an attractive mix of

products, competitive prices, convenient locations, and a host of other services, features, and

marketing programs. In equilibrium, firms choose the bundle of services and features that

maximize profits, conditional on the types of consumers they expect to serve and their beliefs

regarding the actions of their rivals. Building a formal model of a chain’s overall positioning

strategy is an intractably complex problem, involving an extremely high dimensional multiple

discrete/continuous choice problem that is well beyond the current frontier. The vast majority of

both marketers and practitioners frame the pricing decision as choice between offering “every

day low prices” across a wide category of products or deep but temporary discounts on only a

few, labeling the first strategy EDLP and the second Hi-Lo or PROMO. This is, of course, a

simplification. Actual pricing decisions are made in conjunction with an overall positioning

strategy and tailored to particular operational advantages. In practice, firms can use a mixture of

EDLP and PROMO, varying either the number of categories they put on sale or changing the

frequency of sales across some or all categories of products. Not surprisingly, practitioners have

coined a term for these practices, hybrid pricing.

Everyday Low Price (EDLP): Little reliance on promotional pricing strategies such as

temporary price cuts. Prices are consistently low across the board, throughout all

packaged food departments.

Promotional (Hi-Lo) Pricing: Heavy use of specials, usually through manufacturer price

breaks or special deals.

Hybrid EDLP/Hi-Lo: Combination of EDLP and Hi-Lo pricing strategies.

Value Pricing

Value-based pricing is a pricing strategy which sets prices primarily, but not exclusively, on

the value, perceived or estimated, to the customer rather than on the cost of the product or

historical prices.

Psychological Discounting

Psychological pricing uses the customer's emotional response to encourage sales. By pricing

products strategically, a company may increase sales without significantly reducing prices. In

some cases, a higher price is actually more likely to increase sales. Consider several factors in

crafting a psychological pricing strategy to get the best results.

Eg They may place signage as Market price of the product as 100 and they offer the product at

70 . So customer have a tendency to buy the product .

Time Pricing

Time-based pricing is a pricing strategy where the provider of a service or supplier of a

commodity, may vary the price depending on thetime-of-day when the service is provided or the

commodity is delivered .

Eg seasonal offers

Bundling Pricing

In a bundle pricing, stores sell a package or set of goods or services for a lower price than they

would charge if the customer bought all of them separately.

Eg BUY 2 get 20 % off , Buy 3 get 30 % off . Here same product is available at much lower

price when bought together .

GREEN ISSUES

For retailers, reducing direct environmental impacts like energy and water usage, waste

generation, and land use provide opportunities to streamline business operations and save costs.

Developing strategic and operational plans to address the environmental footprint of retail

involves understanding impacts, prioritizing responses, tracking progress, and identifying

innovative ways to improve retail’s operational footprint. Most important and most immediately

tangible are the facility operations that organizations control directly and can influence the most,

including reducing energy and water consumption, minimizing greenhouse gas emissions, and

increasing recycling rates to reduce waste.

Facility Energy Use

The retail industry accounts for the largest energy bills and the second largest amount of

greenhouse gas emissions in the entire commercial sector . Energy is more than just an

operational issue; it is the lifeblood of retail stores and distribution centers. Actively managing

energy reduces costs in addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. These efforts can be

noticed by customers in many ways; energy efficiency can create a more comfortable shopping

experience and a place for active engagement among the company, its customers, and its

employees.

Minimizing Waste

The core of retail’s business is the sale and distribution of physical goods. That does not mean,

however, that waste is a necessary output. Through the hierarchy of waste reduction—material

reduction, reuse, recycling, and then lastly disposal retailers can radically reduce the amount of

landfill waste produced, resulting not only in benefits to the environment but also cost savings

and new revenue sources.

From sales floors to distribution centers, actively engaging employees about waste reduction

creates opportunities to involve and motivate employees, and to share positive effects with

customers.

Land Use & Development

The key to optimizing land use and development is making new and existing sites as efficient as

economically possible while physically integrating them into the community. Doing so not only

saves money through energy and transportation efficiencies but also supports the vibrancy of the

local area.

One aspect of this trend is the move to smaller, more efficient stores on brownfield sites. These

stores help retailers build their business, minimize their impact, and integrate closely into

communities.

Packaging

Packaging is crucial to the product supply chain. It helps protect and maintain goods during

shipping, on retail shelves, and before consumer use, and plays an important role in

communicating product attributes to the customer .

Reducing the amount of packaging and using smarter packing methods also reduces costs,

emissions, and material use. This optimization process includes an evaluation of current

materials and packaging designs, analysis of alternatives, and education and engagement with

product suppliers, transportation vendors, retail buyers, customers, and other stakeholders.

ETHICS IN RETAIL

It is the behavior that a business adheres to in its daily dealings with the world . Written and

Unwritten policy that specifies what is good or bad behaviour.

Consumer Fraud.

Sometimes customer took items without billing it or they may damage the products .

Supplier Labor Practices.

Employees in retail sector have to work for than 8 hr a day and they didn't get enough time for

breaks .

Slotting Allowance.

Slotting Fees (Slotting Allowances): Are fees paid by a vendor for space or a slot on a retailer’s

shelves .

Use of Customer Information.

Most customer use credit card or debit card for purchase so retailers mainly have information

regarding there credit card or debit card . So from loyalty card programmmes retailers get

information about the customers . So how well these information is used is an important ethical

issues in retail industry .

Observations

Store location is an important factor in retail business and MORE store is placed at a

location in which there is housing colony , schools all are there . Also it is located along

the main road and within in 1 km there is no other super market . Lulu mall which is

close to the store is located more than 1 km from MORE store .

People who consider convince will go for MORE store .

Pricing Strategy of MORE store is hybrid .

High demand products are placed in the end of the store. So that customers goes through

the entire store to pick that product. In case of more store high demand product are

staples and oils which are placed in the end or back of the store.

Impulse items are placed at the entrance of the store. Items like deos shaving creams etc

are placed at the entrance.

Chocolates are placed at the billing area so that children’s have easy access to the

product.

Cross Mix of products are done in the store. Products like shaving sets and shaving

creams are given together as a bundle to the customer.

From the store layout we can see that they divide the store in to any sections according to

product categories like personal care, kitchen affairs etc.

In the store what they done is to promote impulse buying. One example is that they place

a magazine counter opposite to the billing counter so when customer wait in line they

will see it.

Lighting in the store is excellent and expensive products or high demand products are

highlighted.

Orange colour is the theme of the store and it is nicely done in the store

In case shelf arrangement high demand or fast moving SKU are placed in the middle row

or at the eye level. Bulk SKU products or slowing products are placed in the lower or

upper level.

Some of the floor space has been booked by national brands.

Most of the store design and product placement has been decided by the zonal office and

each month they change the product placement.

Seasonal items are kept at the visibility area of the store.

Green issues and ethical issues are well taken care by the management .

CONCLUSION

This study has highlighted the importance of store location , visual merchandise ,store layout on

retail format. It is believed that the importance of store layout is at an all-time high in major

convenience stores. In today’s volatile economy, providing excellent store layout can be the

critical difference in any company’s success. With ever-changing store layouts in the retail

industry, retailers face the ongoing challenge of gaining competitive advantage from creating

added customer value. In order to accomplish this value, retailers have to constantly review their

store layout strategies .

Retailers should seek to sell products that satisfy the buyer’s needs and provide store layouts that

entice customers to move around the store to purchase more merchandise than they may have

planned originally. It should be remembered that the sale is made only when the actual purchase

is complete and retailers should continue to reinforce the buyer’s positive attitudes about their

stores at all times, even after the sale. This practice reduces the perceived risk of making a bad

buy, which allows buyers to listen to and trust sales messages even though some of retailer’s

proposals may be out of line with their purchase plans. It also can increase rates of customer

retention which leads to increased profitability and store loyalty.