Top tips on effective pub merchandising

Because of the many roles licensees undertake, it's easy to overlook the fact that pubs are predominantly retail outlets, a shop that sells drink and food. As the saying goes, "retail is detail", and the quality of detail licensees afford their back-bar and other displays and will reflect the level of sales achieved.

What is merchandising?​

It's all about exciting your customers' senses. Effective merchandising grabs the attention of drinkers by stimulating one or more of the five senses to trigger emotional responses and generate action. These emotional responses form the basis of all customer decisions.

If you teach your staff to recognise the value of display and various merchandising techniques, you will watch your sales rise. And customers need your help - give them a display that will lead them to a more profitable sale.

Effective merchandising techniques​

Merchandising techniques or tools are almost endless in their number and variety. Here are some of the most common - and effective.

• Field of vision or 'eye dwell'​
  The right-hand side of customers' field of vision is the strongest area to display product as it is the first place they will see and remember. The middle positions are less strong as the customers' eyes will glance over them. Most retailers will position the brand they want to sell on the right-hand side of a field of vision.
• Hot spots​
  These are prime selling positions where customers are most likely to be influenced to make a purchase decision and where your high GP products should be located. The first point to remember is that "eye level is buy level", so any display located at a height of 3ft and 7ft high will be within the immediate focal point of your customers. The most probable locations to maximise sales are:
  - Above the till (where tills are located on the back bar)
  - Beside the till (especially on the right)
  - The optic rail - sales of impulse spirit products such as spiced rums, Archers, Malibu, some liqueurs and high GP malt whiskies are much more likely to increase if you can find space on the rail.
  - Coolers
  - By the fonts
  - Dedicated display or shelving areas that are at eye level behind the bar
  - Prime eye level locations on route to bar service point - eg, pillars.
• Cold Spots​
  These are areas of low visibility, again using the eye-dwell model, bottom right is the least effective display space and best used as storage (or in the case of your menu design, a place to put pictures).
• Impact Displays​
  A bulk display of a single product is also known as a double or mass facing. This is where two or more of a single product are grouped together to increase visibility and impact and give the product authority. Even just a double facing of a product will stand out in a customer's field of vision - it is particularly effective with spirits on Optic. One test showed that simply placing two bottles of a well-known vodka brand side-by-side increased sales by 11%.Other impact displays include Horizontal Stacking with products displayed along a shelf or Vertical Stacking with double facings running down shelves. These are especially effective in maximising sales of premium packaged lagers and premium packaged spirits in back bar coolers. Leading-edge retailers now keep their fridges looking pristine throughout the busiest sessions by serving the product from a different area so as not to disturb the display and to maximise its effectiveness.

Points of contact​

Customers often approach the bar in a certain direction and arrive at the same point to be served. This is called the point of contact. It is a potentially powerful point for merchandising displays. Similarly, other arrival points exist, such as entrances, toilets and spaces where customers gather.

Displays and posters on the way to the bar at eye level will help customers make their minds up faster when they reach the point of sale, which again will help increase your turnover during busy sessions.

The toilets​

Your pub loo is a very important point of contact. Putting up quality displays above men's urinals or on the back of cubicle doors means you have customers' undivided attention for several minutes. As well as products you can advertise forthcoming events, wines of the week, new lines in stock, lines currently having millions spent on TV advertising and much more to this captive audience.

In ladies' toilets you may also pick up so-called "distress" or "must have" purchases, for example, advertising that you sell pairs of tights or headache tablets.

Grouping related items​

Lead your customer to the next profitable sale. For example, high GP tonics with gin, Danish pastries with coffee during the day, liqueurs, brandies or malt whiskies with coffee in the evening.

Declutter​

A customer walks into a bar and says: "Can I have two darts trophies, three packets of cocktail sticks, a box of straws, a crib board, a dozen glasses and a Spanish donkey please."

The barman looks at the customer in astonishment. "This is a pub sir, we sell beer wine, soft drinks and sprits." The barman then takes a long hard look at his back bar display and everyone hears the penny drop!

The back bar display in your pub is your shop window and should not be filled with space wasters. Get your staff to identify and remove any from your back bar. Then get them to design a decent display based on the above merchandising techniques.

Action points for effective merchandising​

• Having a small bar is no excuse - in fact it's more important that you merchandise effectively to maximise its effect
• Make your display match your customer profile
• Remove all unsaleable clutter
• Keep it clean and well lit
• Promote products to meet your objectives
• Establish a "new product" area
• Group related items for the next sale
• Group product categories together
• Back up the display with product knowledge
• Change it regularly
• Sell more of your most profitable products, it's why you get out of bed every morning!

This article was originally written by Ali Carter, former BII Licensee of the Year.​