The center-store aisles are responsible for 88% of candy sales, and The Hershey Company is testing variations of its aisle reinvention project at 20 stores, across three national retailers, to take advantage of this opportunity. The company’s solutions draw on the emotional appeal of candy to improve the shopping experience, while making it easier for shoppers to find what they’re looking for.
“Before our reinvention, consumers were having to search long and hard for items, and our solution makes finding what they’re looking for easier and more engaging,” said Laura Renaud, a spokesperson for Hershey. “We also know that no two retailers are the same. Our team of experts provide customized solutions for our retail partners that will further their success and inspire shoppers to purchase more candy and snacks.”
Advertisement
The digital features of the redesigned shopping experience are scalable for retailers of any size, and resulted in a 50% decreasein product search times during testing. The updated design also increased traffic and conversions by 4 percentage points.
Hershey also has introduced a concept for checkout areas called the Snack Zone, where retailers can feature multiple types of immediately consumable items at the front of the store. Testing found that the Snack Zone boosted sales of included products by 20% when all snacks were moved to the front of the store. Additionally, 81% of shoppers said the Snack Zone created a positive impression of the retailer.
“As snacking throughout the day grows, we want shoppers to have one place to go for all their snacking needs at the front of the store,” said Renaud. “Our research shows that 91% of shoppers would value having one single-serve snacking section.”
