Does In-Store Marketing Work? Effects of the Number and Position of Shelf Facings on Brand Attention and Evaluation at the Point of Purchase

TLDR

Marketing increasingly focuses on in‑store spending to capture consumers at purchase, yet its effectiveness remains uncertain. The study investigates how in‑store and out‑of‑store factors jointly influence consumer attention and brand evaluation on supermarket shelves. An eye‑tracking experiment measured how the number of shelf facings affects brand evaluation through visual attention, particularly for frequent users, low‑market‑share brands, and young, highly educated consumers. The findings reveal that more facings raise evaluation via heightened attention, but attention alone does not guarantee sales, and only top‑shelf positions translate attention into evaluation, underscoring the need to combine eye‑tracking with purchase data.

Abstract

Recent trends in marketing have demonstrated an increased focus on in-store expenditures with the hope of “grabbing consumers” at the point of purchase, but does this make sense? To help answer this question, the authors examine the interplay between in-store and out-of-store factors on consumer attention to and evaluation of brands displayed on supermarket shelves. Using an eye-tracking experiment, they find that the number of facings has a strong impact on evaluation that is entirely mediated by its effect on visual attention and works particularly well for frequent users of the brand, for low-market-share brands, and for young and highly educated consumers who are willing to trade off brand and price. They also find that gaining in-store attention is not always sufficient to drive sales. For example, top- and middle-shelf positions gain more attention than low-shelf positions; however, only top-shelf positions carry through to brand evaluation. The results underscore the importance of combining eye-tracking and purchase data to obtain a full picture of the effects of in-store and out-of-store marketing at the point of purchase.