Display Trends, 2004

Kraft Foods and PepsiCo typically have more than twice as many products on display in food stores than any other packaged goods manufacturer.According to yearend data from Mosaic InfoForce's Display Express Insights auditing service, both Kraft and PepsiCo commanded more than a 6.0% share of displayed products in 2004. That translates into more than 20 items on display in a typical store.The 10 manufacturers with the largest shares of displayed products all boast broad portfolios that span an array of categories. Most of them also benefit from leadership positions in one or more of the most heavily displayed food and beverage categories, such as salty snacks, cookies, carbonated soft drinks and chocolate candy.Mosaic InfoForce tracks weekly display levels at more than 3,000 supermarket, drugstore and mass merchant outlets. Packaged goods companies are credited for each product receiving special display beyond primary in-line positioning. (For example, an endcap for Kellogg's Pop-Tarts would count as one display, while a pallet carrying cases of Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Pepsi Vanilla and Sierra Mist would be counted four times.)However, only two of the top 10 -- Unilever and ConAgra Foods -- gained share in 2004, a year in which product display levels increased almost 10% in supermarkets, 6% in mass merchants and 4% in drugstores, according to Mosaic data. Similarly, only two of the 10 most heavily displayed categories increased market share last year (see chart).This disparity reflects a continued move among retailers -- especially supermarkets -- toward a wider assortment of non-traditional products. It also represents a trend toward multiple-product displays that cover a variety of categories and, often, multiple manufacturers. This results in diminished impact for any single brand. Top ChainsThe average supermarket had almost 313 products on special display each week during 2004, an increase of 27 compared with 2003, although levels can vary dramatically among chains. Kroger, Cincinnati, the nation's largest supermarket company, averaged 397, while No. 2 Albertsons led the channel with 493; No. 3 Safeway, Pleasanton, CA, was well behind the top 10 with a total closer to the industry average.Among the chains with the greatest number of products on display each week were H-E-B, San Antonio, and Wegmans, Rochester, NY, two regional independents widely considered to have organized, shopper-friendly store environments. Their presence suggests that the merchandising "clutter" often discussed as a detriment to the supermarket channel is more the result of presentation strategy than it is display volume.The average number of vendor-supplied shippers, which typically represent about 20% of all product displays, declined at a number of leading chains, including Albertsons, Winn-Dixie, Publix and Wegmans. The channel-wide average dipped by about one display to 32.4. Still, a number of top chains, including Kroger and Safeway, averaged more displays than they did in 2003.Two non-supermarket chains landed among the food retailers with the most products on display with averages well above their channel norms. California drug chain Longs had a weekly average of 361 products while the typical drugstore had 179. At 640, Meijer had nearly three times as many displayed products as the average mass merchant, which had 214.Meijer typically carries far more shippers than any other chain, too, averaging approximately 91 per week in 2004.Editor's Note: In April 2005, Information Resources Inc. acquired the outstanding ownership of Mosaic InfoForce, which had been jointly owned by merchandising company Mosaic Group. MIF will be integrated into IRI's Content Operations Group, which will now be called IRI In-Store Solutions Group.

Display Trends, 2004

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