Improving Brand Visibility in a Multi-Brand Channel for Consumer Electronics Industry

In the present era, a multi-brand space is a preferred choice for both - the brands and the customers. Brands typically get the advantage of higher footfall than their exclusive stores, and the customers get to choose amongst a wide variety of products and compare multiple product features under one roof. While browsing, a customer’s eye continuously scans the shelves/aisles to explore the available products. Due to high competition, it, therefore, becomes imperative for the brands to stand apart from the crowd and grab the potential customer’s attention so it can become a part of their purchase consideration.

 Around two-thirds of a customer’s purchase decision is influenced by how well a brand is placed and is visible in a multi-brand space. There is a direct correlation between being seen and being bought. Therefore, brands are trying hard to get themselves noticed by investing heavily in Share of Visibility (SOV).

 Another important business driver is the Share of Shelf (SOS) that is allocated to the brand. Share of Shelf implies the volume of space occupied and on-shelf availability of the products. But shelf space in a multi-brand channel comes with a price. So, the brands need to decide how much space is optimal for their products to gain a competitive edge.

 Channelplay offers Mystery Shopping and Retail Audit services which help the brands in assessing their Share of Visibility and Share of Shelf through competition benchmarking. The approach followed to assess these are as mentioned below:

1. Share of Visibility- SOV is assessed through retail audits from two aspects:

1. Exterior SOV- Assessing the brand’s share vs. competition with exterior branding elements i.e. signage/ The parameters considered during the evaluation are as follows:
   1. count and size of signages/brandings vs. competition
   2. Placement - Assessing how well the branding elements are placed i.e. at the façade level or above the eye level

2. Interior SOV- This involves the assessment of the following:
   1. Branded Fixtures (Shop-in-Shops/Endcaps)- The battle of getting noticed can be won only if we have a decent number of brand fixtures that are placed within the customer’s reach, i.e. the closer it is towards the entrance, the better are the chances of a customer browsing the displayed products. The parameters observed are-

•             count of shop-in-shops/ endcaps
•             placement of the fixture WRT aisle 

1. In-store Branding- It is paramount to highlight the brand’s availability and draw the customer towards its section. This includes any form of branding i.e. wall/fixture, POSM, etc. The parameters observed are:

• count & size of branding vs. competition
• placement as per line of visibility

1. Share of Shelf- SOS is assessed by the volume of the brand’s products compared to the total number of products available in that category and what percentage is occupied by their focus products. This helps the brands to identify where they rank against the competitors and enables them to determine if their paid space is encroached upon by some other brand/product category.

 The retail audit vertical of Channelplay has helped Consumer Electronics brands evaluate their share of visibility and share of shelf compared to competing brands. The insights through the activity have helped them identify the growth opportunities in different channels and take investment decisions or desired actions to enhance their visibility and shelf space to maximize its impact.