Today marketplaces in Ireland, Europe and throughout the world are changing rapidly.

Differentiation between products and suppilers is diminishing.

Manufacturers fight for shelf space and retailers fight to capture the consumers attention.

Consumers at every level are increasingly gaining the power and opportunity to consume through a broader range of media and geographical areas i.e. High Street to out-of-town and across regional and country boundaries.

Globally we are seeing trends such as in grocery, with a move away from the traditional main shop for ingredients to frequent 'top up' shopping for prepared meal solutions and so called convenience foods "on the go".

Domestically we are witnessing tremendous change. Change that is affecting our traditional sales base and market infrastructure; product marketeers and retailers are adopting pan European marketing strategies, the arrival of UK multiples in particularly in the F.M.C.G. sector with their UK based group buying policies and the effects of consolidations, mergers and acquisitions of brands and companies all will have an impact and are changing the current marketplace.

Perhaps the biggest change is the emerging realisation of the importance of the role of the point of purchase within the overall marketing mix in the battle to win the hearts and minds of the consumer.

Point of Purchase (POP) is the only area where the consumer, the product and the opportunity to purchase come together. As defined by POPAI (the global trade organisation representing the industry). POP is any form of advertising, signage or communication within a retail environment that is designed to influence or assist the consumer in locating and purchasing a product or service.

Recent world-wide consumer studies* revealed that an amazing 70% of buying decisions where made instore, (75.5% in the UK). What is more 35% of these consumers resent shopping as an intrusion on their leisure time and as a result they donít plan their shopping trip and rush through them as quickly as possible.

For retailers and manufacturers reaching these consumers through traditional media is becoming an increasingly complex task.

Traditional TV networks and magazines are losing market share to the plethora of new and specialised titles coming onto the market as they become more segmented.

With these long terms trends it is no wonder that instore marketing is the fastest growing segment of the advertising mix.

In the UK alone POP is worth over £1.14 Billion and an estimated $40 billion world-wide, this represents just under 10% of total UK & Ireland Advertising spend and puts POP spend higher than Outdoor & Transport Advertising, Radio & Cinema.

In one recent study1 - 92% of all respondents believed that POP advertising was effective or very effective and rated the importance of POP in the marketing mix higher than all other media.
Specific product sales research2 shows how the presence of a POP display increased sales; of toothpaste by 119%, of coffee by 567% and of toilet rolls by 773% proving that maximising impact at the point of purchase creates exciting displays and increases sales.

At Retail Marketing is defined as the strategy and tactics employed by the brand and retailer to attract, inform, and stimulate the buyer to purchase goods and services from within the retail location.

These tactics include exterior and interior store design and signage, promotional displays (commonly referred to as point-of-purchase), in-store advertising, customer-oriented information systems, store layout and merchandising, and overall retail environment design

But as property values / rents and operating costs generally increase for all retailers from TESCO to the local Bank, Butcher, or Chemist on the High Street, current and future business performance, indeed survival is increasingly becoming linked to the retailer's ability to maximise performance from every aspect of their retail operations.

Getting a product to the customer is more than simply delivering the product to a point where the customer can buy it. It involves the efficiency with which it is done, and motivating the customer to purchase.

One of the key tools brands & retailers have in their retailing arsenal is category management.

The use of category management and range planning as a best-practice technique brings significant financial benefits through more sales, share growth, lower costs and increased profit achieved through a better understanding of shoppers needs. Not to mention its inherent ability to identify trends and strategies and to influence consumer purchases. However, no matter how attractive the benefits appear, for many businesses it is just not working. This is because it has become such a long drawn-out, highly complex process that it can potentially tie up already stretched resources or there simply are not the people within the business to manage the process.

One category management method is based upon a two step approach. Firstly, you identify the drivers that will grow your customer's business with you. Then, you align your business so that you can take advantage of the expected category growth; with the overall objective of moving away from a sharing the cake scenario to one of growing the cake so that you can potentially take a larger slice. A synergistic effect is created when this is applied throughout each category within the store and to the store as a whole.

Part and parcel of the art of category management is to get a deep understanding of the shoppers and their behaviour, which is the core objective.

So how do we do this?
Instore research programmes focus on understanding shopper buying behaviour to provide insights on how customers shop a typical shop or store and to determine from the purchasers viewpoint, the categories that exist within the Grocery market, their boundaries and which products fall within each category. This then leads to the development of category management initiatives and creation of POP display solutions.

Have a look around the next time you are in a store at how many categories are laid out in line by their constituents ingredients, how the manufacturers produce the products, or how the products are bought by the retailer versus how many reflect our natural preferences as shoppers. Biscuits and Bakery are a good areas to start!

Techniques used involve accompanied shopper interviews and video observation of people shopping, later analysed by experienced retail behavioural psychologists to understand and interpret customers actions & interactions within the retail environment, with the brand or product and the fixture or display.

For example in a recent study in a National retail chain it was observed that a certain product was out of stock, in fact it was there on the shelf but tucked away at the back where the shoppers could not see it. Analysis showed that for the 3 hours the product was ìout of Stockî the store had lost just under £24.00 of sales. This was of particular concern to the retailer as they had hundreds of stores and this was just one product in one category, on one day.

A simple & inexpensive 'sprung' shelf management system that pushes stock forward to the front of the shelf, would not only have solved the 'hidden' stock problem but would also enhance the overall presentation of the category and make it easier to shop.These research programmes help to provide answers to aid effective category management initiatives such as;

Retail Space & Fixture utilisation
Which displays / merchandising layouts entice the shopper to browse & buy?
How easy is it to find products in-store?
How does the consumer make their purchase decision?
Where and when the purchase decision is made and how can you influence it?
Browsing & purchasing levels in-store by area.
How do promotions impact verses their main shop in the store?
Is out of stock a problem?
The role of staff and staff interaction with customers within the store.

So what does this mean for local brands and retailers?
We know that 75%, that is three out of every four of all buying decisions are made at the Point of Purchase and whilst this figure will vary by retail channel and category it means that POP has the greatest media influence over what people buy and brands and retailers should be seeking to recognise and understand the dynamics of what we now call "At Retail Marketing".

The key factors in increasing footfall, sales, profitability and the value of your business are the management of the various categories and these within the overall store through an appreciation of shopper behaviour and insights, the learning and application of best practice in merchandising and display techniques.

Research such as this is regularly carried out on behalf of the industry by the Trade Association POPAI (Point of Purchase Advertising International).

POPAI has been established since 1936 in the USA and in 1992 in the UK and has just this year set up POPAI Ireland. Already with 9 members it has just commissioned a major research study with Pro-activ and Tesco Ireland: the first of its kind in Ireland!

The aim of the study is to audit and measure changes in shopper behaviour, the effect
on sales and calculate the return on investment as a result of the placement of new refrigerated secondary display units. Reporting in March 05 the study hopes to be able to provide valuable insights for the brand to help it determine future investment strategy and initiatives in-store.

POP measures to isolate the true impact the POP is making to the increased sales.
Other recent POPAI measured medium studies have looked at how individual displays, full category solutions, audio, POP signage and location within the store have all affected sales and shoppers perception of both the brand and the retailer.

One study on Unilevers' Pot Noodle brand looked at how the category as a whole was affected by a new display initiative and new merchandising planogram.

As the results table shows with just the introduction of a new planogram sales by value rose 4.3% and by volume 3.8%.

Retaining the original planogram but adding the POP display materials achieved a massive 13.1% & 14.4% increase respectively and finally in the third strand of the test both the planogram and display were changed together and this had further incremental results. These measures were conducted versus test stores so that a true measure of the impact of the POP could be isolated.

The important factor of these results are that they are the overall category growth figures which have the obvious appeal to the retailer however for the brand they outperformed the category figures by over 50% - so a win/win situation.

This was also a win with the shopper in-store as the research showed there was more people entering the aisle, noticing the display, interacting with the fixture and ultimately leading to increased purchasing.

What this shows is how with understanding and insights into how shoppers shop and having the figures and information to back up the business case for this within the company is invaluable.

Alterations were made in light of this and now the unit continues to be rolled out nationally with ongoing success.

As with an increasing number of things nowadays opportunity and success come from the capture, understanding and use of knowledge and information. The Point of Purchase has a massive influence on shoppers and is an information rich environment as yet untapped.

Why not look at POP spend within your company or organisation and benchmark it against the national average of 10% of total advertising spend and how do you compare?

Here are some of the other key questions businesses are now asking themselves about their At Retail Marketing strategies and actions;

Q. Are you understanding the differences in actions and behaviour between Consumers & when they become Shoppers?
Q. Are you creating and delivering: Brand communication at Point of Purchase, Memorable In-store presence, Increased sales, Maximising Sales Promotion campaigns, Applying Merchandising and Display best practice?
Q. Are you doing this in a way that is: Clear, Effective, Creative, Professional, Cost efficient?
Q. Are you bringing retailers into and along with your initiatives in order to achieve maximum compliance?
Q. Are you: Controlling, Measuring, Evaluating this process, Calculating Sales & Value uplift, Compliance ratios, Return on Investment?
Q. Are you ensuring this actually, delivers tangible, actionable benefits which, add value to your business.
Q. Are you integrating and aligning this, with your Brand and business strategies?

Don't worry if your answers to most of these are No as you've got a lot in common with your competitors and piers, the question is what are you going to do about it and how are you going to turn your POP strategies in to actions that will deliver bottom line results for your business?

Michael Jeffrey, Synergy POP Solutions

Michael Jeffrey is the Managing Director of Synergy P.O.P. Solutions, Belfast. Synergy is the first and only Point of Purchase advertising specialist in Ireland and works with brands, retailers and agencies in all aspects of Instore Marketing, sales and point of purchase.

Michael has a diploma in Point of Purchase Advertising and has had over 23 years of experience in the industry. He was also a founding member of POPAI UK in 1992. This experience has allowed him to excel in the field of Point of Purchase were he offers strategic solutions to brands and retailers and also understands customer buying behaviours which allows him to maximise any opportunities available at Point of Purchase.

His current role is Head of the Business Development team, which provides both suppliers and retailers with a unique range of insight and understanding of the dynamics of the point of purchase and consumer buying behaviour.

Michael is a Past Chairman of POPAI UK and Ireland (a worldwide organisation founded in the USA in 1936, and now with chapters across Europe and in Australia, Asia and South America). The Association undertakes continuous research and promotes best practice in the increasingly complex discipline of point of purchase and numbers amongst its members the worlds leading FMCG brands, retailers and communication companies. This allows Michael to keep up-to-date with any developments in Point of Purchase and he can apply this to the needs of brands and retailers. Michael has currently taken on the role of Head of Ireland working group POPAI Ireland to develop the organisation and membership there.

Michael has developed Synergy's Retail Audit service within their portfolio as a strategic evaluation and analysis tool for better instore understanding and their POP Programmes are a process for translating this into meaningful point of purchase benefits.

For further information contact:

Michael Jeffrey, Synergy POP Solutions t: 028 9031 3339 e: michael@pop-solutions.net

For further information on POPAI contact:

Martin Kingdon Director General POPAI UK & Ireland. or e-mail info@popai.co.uk

* 1995 Consumer buying habits survey USA
* 1998 Consumer buying habits survey UK & Europe
1 1994 The UK point of purchase study Nielson
2 Joint POPAI / Kmart / Procter and Gamble study, USA