The Center Store is packed with a growing number of items that can be bundled for a healthy meal. The problem is getting shoppers to notice them.
More and more retailers are solving this dilemma by giving better-for-you items more exposure in high-traffic areas near the front of the store.
Big Y is doing this with its “Living Well, Eating Smart” nutrition program, which highlights healthier Center Store food and beverages. Items rotate every few weeks under a different theme, such as “healthy snacks” or “better-for-you holiday meals.” All items are put on sale and merchandised on an endcap in the front of the store or adjacent to pharmacy.
The displays help draw attention to products that otherwise may just blend into the shelves, chain dietitian Carrie Taylor told SN.
“People typically shop the aisles the same way, so they overlook certain items,” she noted. “But once it's put on an endcap or tied in with other products, they stop and notice.”
Big Y's current theme is “Family Dinner,” to promote the value of keeping parents and children together during the evening meal. Endcap selections include Keebler Right-Bites, 100-calorie packs of cookies; WaddaJuice, 8-ounce plastic bottles filled with equal parts of juice and purified water; and Garden of the Andes tea.
Depending on the item, “Living Well, Eating Smart” products experience strong sales lifts, according to Taylor.
“The endcap is a winner,” she said.
