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Why Retail Merchandising Isn't Just Aesthetic — It's Strategic

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The next time you enter a retail store and find a well-laid-out shelf, colorful product displays, or an end-cap full of bestsellers, it's quite easy to catch yourself thinking, "This looks good." However, what's occurring is more profound than it appears on the surface. Retail merchandising , too easily confused with merely visual layout, is truly an influential strategic weapon that directly and measurably affects consumer action, velocity of sales, and brand performance. The Psychology of the Shelf Consumers decide in seconds. That's why product visibility, shelf position, and category flow aren't by chance — they're by design. Strategic merchandising employs consumer psychology to drive purchase choices. For instance: Eye-level positioning maximizes the likelihood of impulse purchases. Placing complementary items together maximizes basket size. Out-of-stock monitoring and rapid replenishment prevent brands from losing a sale. What appears to be a basic ...

What Field Staff Taught Us About India's Retail Pulse

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Uncovering insights that only on-ground experience can reveal Indian retail's heartbeat doesn't resonate with spreadsheets or strategy sessions—it beats from the shop floors, packed counters, and day-to-day interactions among salespeople and store owners. Data may predict trends, but it's the ground-level voices that give them vitality. At the heart of this living, breathing entity are the thousands of field professionals who engage with retailers and customers on a day-to-day basis. These are not only doing tasks; they are cracking consumer behavior codes, establishing credibility with shopkeepers, and signaling vital feedback in real time. Through them, we get a glimpse into India's constantly changing retail tastes—and these findings are building the next chapter in in-store success. Beyond Dashboards: Insights from the Ground Data informs you of the "what." But it's the individuals in the trenches who discover the "why." Why a product remains...

Why GT Stores are the center of India's Retail Market

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General Trade (GT) shops, or commonly referred to as kirana shops, have remained the pillars of India's retailing industry for decades now. Even with the sudden growth of Modern Trade (MT) outlets and online retailing, GT shops remain in dominance of India's retail sector with their spread touching almost 80% of India's overall retail market. Their well-established presence, personalized service, and adaptability cannot be substituted by the ever-changing dynamics of the retail sector. 1. The Unique Reach of GT Stores There is a GT store in all the nooks and corners of India, both in metropolitan and rural areas, with a wide reach even among the remotest villages. Boasting more than 12 million kirana outlets, their distribution network outflanks modern grocery stores and the internet. GT stores serve day-to-day purposes of the customer with the regular goods in metropolitan high-rise and rural homes alike. ✔ Hyper-local presence: Within walking distance for the vast majori...

Voices from the Floor: What Our Beauty Advisors Want Brands to Know

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Beauty advisors are usually the behind-the-scenes heroes of retail—standing at the frontlines, representing brands, advising customers, and ultimately converting. At Love In Store , we communicate with thousands of beauty advisors in India who do more than bring sales acumen to the floor; they bring empathy, domain knowledge, and understanding of what the consumer really needs. While they talk to hundreds of customers weekly, their voices are seldom heard by the brands they represent. Today, that's changing. We asked our beauty advisors: "If you could say one thing to brands, what would it be?" Their responses share strong insights, real-world feedback, and the personal side of retail success. 1. "Listen to the feedback we get from customers." Our BAs are the direct interfaces between brands and consumers. They listen to unvarnished feedback—be it on a product's scent, packaging, pricing, or performance on various skin types. One consultant in Mumbai said, ...

A/B Testing Product Listings: How to Find the Winning Formula

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In today's dynamic e-commerce world, where competition is tight, getting the best ecommerce product listing that actually converts shoppers into buyers is of prime importance. And one such strategy that allows finding a winning formula for your product listings is A/B testing, also known as split testing. Testing two or more versions of a product page and analyzing the results might help identify what resonates best with your audience, thereby helping you possibly improve the overall conversion rate. The blog guides you through the process of A/B testing on product listings and the best combination. What is A/B Testing? Essentially, A/B testing is presenting two different variations of a product listing to different audience segments and later analyzing data to determine which one works better in terms of some specific metrics predefined in advance by the click-through rate, conversions, or time on the page. This helps in deriving actual decision-making by reducing assumption or g...

The Power of Seasonal Merchandising: Capitalizing on Holidays and Trends

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Seasonal merchandising is the unique tool for the brands and retailers when it comes to reaching consumers through timely and relevant product displays. Aligning merchandising strategy with key holidays and events can help retailers tap into consumer emotions, drive impulse purchases, and create a memorable shopping experience. Throughout this blog post, we will look at how the seasonal merchandising activities may enhance a brand's position within the retail shop, increase sales, and ultimately build stronger ties with consumers. Why Seasonal Merchandising Works? Seasonal merchandising revolves around the timeliness and emotional motivation. What one buys meets the needs and emotions that go with holidays and peak seasons-be it Valentine's Day or the new festive momentum of Diwali or the frenzy of back-to-school season. A simple merchandising stimulates a feeling of urgency in the mind of an average consumer, leaving them to believe that they are a part of something extraordi...

Brand Visibility at its Best!

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In other words, brand visibility is how well your brand is recognized across different marketing channels. For example, a company that presents branded content to its audience once a week is twice as likely to be seen as compared to another company that presents branded content to its audience only once every two weeks. It will be. Brand awareness measures how familiar your audience is with your brand, while brand visibility is how often you communicate with your audience. Companies with high visibility tend to have high notoriety, but this is not always the case. You need a solid brand strategy to get your audience to form an image of your brand after consistent interaction. Why is brand awareness important for B2B? Visibility is essential for B2B marketing because it helps establish authority and trust in the eyes of potential customers. If your first interaction with a customer is after they have started researching your supplier, you have already lost the battle for brand awarenes...