The world is full of things which a man likes or adores. In supermarkets, for example, people try to choose something about food or about household; in galleries one cannot but admire the pictures of different painters; on railway stations one can be astonished with well-run work of the administration in management about the trains and frequency of the arrivals without cutting-in. The diversity of what we choose or use when looking at it concerns marketing principles in supermarkets, shops, galleries etc. A man’s eye is able to catch even little detail in a supposed object. It is clear now that without good preparations there will be no sales or attendance. People are still developing the mechanisms of better processes within companies and corporations to promote everything they produce to a higher level. The aim of this report is to point out how the psychology of marketing tends to distribute the place, visibility, type and popularity of a product in supermarkets. It is interesting to view this from inside and will help to create an impersonal outlook on this issue.
Looking at the supermarkets from outside on the whole one can notice their visible brightness and tendency to make simple steps in appearance in terms to associate their supremacy and significance. Many of such stores are united in chains to expanse more area and people. Among them are: “Tesco”, “Walmart”, “Real”, “Metro”, “Aushan” etc. Special attention about the issue touches on money turnover in supermarkets, especially, when talking about food departments. With regards to Tesco supermarket chain, it is formidably impresses a simple server with a great statistics proved in company’s policy to support customer in quality of goods:
In any other organization but Tesco, you would question the sanity of those making such a huge financial demand. But as Britain’s biggest supermarket chain, raking in more than pounds 2.5bn in profits a year, no one can deny that Tesco is a dab hand when it comes to maximising revenues by accurately gauging the mood of shoppers (The Journal, 2008).
Large supermarkets have a clear structure in arrangement of departments, system of seniority within staff and policy of promoting different products as of the character of them. To have a long history is a plus for every supermarket, for instance, in case with “Harrods”. If it is a national chain of supermarkets, there is a president, board of directors, store, floor and department managers up to a simple worker playing in one team. If it is an international company, the above mentioned subordination is accompanied with country managers and other boards including that of buyers who attract new suppliers and producers to fulfill well-consolidated work of a company. Team-building is also conceivable in terms of strengthening the work culture and spirit of unity within a company. In age of high technologies these organizations are supplied with computers and local net to contact with everyone who is in charge of a definite work within a supermarket from upper to lower level of stratification in different cities where a company is present.
When going to one of Tesco supermarkets one sees a huge area with a parking lot and supermarket. It is a characteristic feature of every organization of such format to be within easy reach from the city. This one is closer than usually. The parking is full of cars, trucks and minivans. This reflects an enormous concern of people who live, work and associate in various fields of activity. One can meet here an ordinary citizen as well as a director of a restaurant or of a smaller supermarket.
Passing the entrance control it is obvious to go through the guard. This board is well-equipped with several devices like cameras in the trading area and portable transmitters which each of them should have for a probable fast reaction. As a rule, the administration of the supermarkets considers man’s honesty to be the best means to prevent robberies and thuggery.
It is very important for every store manager to place near the entrance those goods, which take part in seasonal promotional events. The assortment of them is shown in the booklets and brochures with current prices with or without VAT. These are usually given at the entry to provide people with “holiday special” or other offers.
The structure of departments grabs people’s attention in terms of logic and proportion. In large supermarkets there are two main divisions of all which is sold, namely: food and non-food unions of departments. Usually the warehouses begin with non-food departments to give people a look on the household, home decoration or DIY (do it yourself) departments. As usual, non-food departments are divided into soft and hard ones. As food goods need special conditions to protect deprivation, so in this case the supermarket has another half of the trading area where goods are stored in appropriate conditions. This area is distinguished between fresh and dry departments. Among dry are: Cans and Tins, Sweets, Beverages and Detergents. Among fresh are: Fish, Meat, Dairy and Fruits and Vegetables departments.
The goods in the supermarket are labeled and bar-coded. Each of them is clearly seen on price-checks. There are some of them with red or green or yellow color to show the properties of each product or to indicate a character of a put up to sale unit (whether it is a piece or a box) or current discount. The most popular goods or articles, as it is called in supermarkets, are placed in well-reachable and well-lit places, where the flow of customers is especially intensive. Of course, it is used to enlarge the sales for a supermarket to get more profit.
The variety of shelves and layout of goods creates a logical picture of accessibility of this or that sort of goods. In this case end faces stay the most important being the extemporaneous signals for a customer. Store managers seem to lay out articles of less ability to be sold on end faces. Also the structure of lanes is definitely of a higher importance for every person involved in a process of trading in supermarkets. Main lanes provide customers with plenty of advertisements on light-boxes or signboards, though they are usually placed higher than goods on the helves.
According to shelves, one can surely point out the form and model of these aids. There are living, flat or washing shelves. If somebody comes around the shelves with press, it will be easy to take a magazine, for example, because it hangs down a little making people read it. In Clothes department there are rags, with help of which it is easy to fumble with a great curiosity. In Fruits and Vegetables department it is no felt need in shelves. Goods are in the boxes already.
If a customer needs goods in ample quantity or there is an empty tray within a lane, load-transfer devices are preferable to take down another pallet with goods. This guarantees steadiness of a trading process. The other aspect is that such devices also provide occupancy on the shelves.
One of the devices required in the supermarkets is the public address system. It helps to play rhythmic or soft music to give customers right intention in choice of goods as well as for administration to expect their coming back, because music supports people with feeling of conveniences in the choice of the melody. It is also useful to announce about that somebody is needed in a definite area, as the store is of huge size.
On the one hand, if goods are far from the beginning of the shelf or the products were unpacked, it means that the gap-check was omitted and a new piece of control should be appointed. On the other hand, it is a presentation of a good buying power. It is a pointer of development stability and growth of the company.
The growth of attendance in supermarket is the reason of in-store banking appearance, as an additional source of income for supermarkets:
To support the aggressive sales culture, supermarket branches need a separate recruitment and training program. Staff are typically young – the average age of one bank’s in-store branch managers is 25 – and retailing oriented. Sales skills are all-important, banking skills secondary (a strong referral and support structure should be in place to handle complex transactions). Measurement systems too should be tailored to the environment. Many banks pay a commission for new accounts (usually $5 each). Sales targets are usually higher than they are in traditional branches, and results may be posted on a “leader board” to keep bankers motivated (The McKinsey Quarterly, 1996).
The reason is that it is an interrelation between different spheres of interest, which needs more inflow. People do not always have money at the moment, but desire to buy something of a lower price is often bigger than lack of money. That is why people can borrow money on a bank.
In conclusion, it is obvious that supermarkets help countries to improve buying power and to provide people with quality products. The other thing is that the commercialization of supermarkets leads to branding struggles resulting in a further absence of fitting control because of gain.
Reference List
Hall, J 2008, ‘Taste: Store Giant’s Local Pledge; More People Than Ever Are Coming to Realise the Environmental and Economic Benefits of Buying, Using and Eating Local Produce – Including Supermarket Giant Tesco. Jane Hall Reports. FOOD MATTERS LOCAL SOURCING.’, Newcastle, England.
Flur, DK & Mccoy, M 1996, ‘Supermarket Banks’, The McKinsey Quarterly, No. 4, pp. 1.