The layout of grocery stores change regularly. While this change helps to keep aisles organized and help customers locate products easily, it is also a strategy to boost sales. Think of it as a mouse in the maze. Retailers trap you within their matrix untill you have to buy something you didn’t plan for before getting out.
A grocery store has many aisles, and you could easily get lost even with signs pointing everywhere. It’s better to know the sections off the top of your head and familiarize yourself with the arrangement. You want to go straight to a part of a store, pick the product you are looking for, and get out as fast as possible.
Visual breakdown of different sections in a grocery Store
You’ll find the most common aisles in grocery stores in this section:
Entrance
A lot of stores have a sizeable space in the front of the building often referred to as the ‘Landing zone’. It slows customers down and gradually sets them into the shopping mindset. The entrance is empty, except for the billboard or merchandising display.
The setup introduces a conducive environment for shoppers to feel more at ease than make it a mission to simply grab an item and get out. Some stores even go a step further to install a delicatessen or coffee shop with tables.
Front end
The front end is the confluence of the store. No matter how you wander off and fill your cart, all the aisles lead to the front end. Some big stores like Walmart and Kroger have ATMs there. You will find the cashier, customer service, and the manager’s office.
The cashier has to ensure customers find what they are looking for. So if you don’t know where to find a product, it’s the work of the cashier to direct you to where you can find it. They also help bag groceries and disburse change to customers.
Produce department
After you get past the entrance the produce department is right in front of you. In this department, you will find vegetables and fruits stashed on different stands and boxes.
Center area
If you move past the produce department, the aisle will lead you to the center of the store. It’s the largest part of the store where you will find the majority of shoppers searching for products on the shelves. Examples of products here are:
- Baking
- Cereal
- Dry goods
- Cleaning products
- Paper products
- Canned goods
- Frozen foods
Beer & wine section
The beer and wine section is not a staple product in many stores. This largely owes to the fact that liquor has restrictions in the USA.
Stores that have the beer and wine section will have a large aisle dedicated to beer in transparent refrigerators. Most of the wine and champagne sit on the shelves.
Meat department
Also known as the butcher. In the meat department, you will find different types of meat put into different cold storage from pork and chicken to beef.
Some large stores have a meat department with a counter for customers that want fresh meat diced or cut to steaks.
Seafood department
The seafood department is not far off the meat department. Here you will find fish, shrimp, and fish of all kinds.
Health and beauty department
In the health and beauty department, you will find health items like toothpaste, mouth wash, vitamins, and toothbrush. Beauty items like shampoo, skincare, deodorant, hair care, shaving, and hygiene products.
Perimeter department
The perimeter lines up near the walls of the store. These are mostly on the sides and at the back of the store. Dairy products are kept there away from the front because many shoppers will only come to the store for dairy products. The seafood, bakery, deli, or meat departments are close to where dairy products are found.
Deli/bread department
The deli (delicatessen) sells already cooked meals. It’s located close to the bakery area. They have a show glass with a variety of meals that could be packaged for buyers, and some tables and chairs are set by the side if you want to eat there.
In some stores, the bread department is the same as the Deli area. You can get different types of baked delicacies from hot dogs, breakfast breaks, and dinner rolls to bagels.
Most stores that incorporate the Deli or bakery department vent the smell across the store to flirt with your taste buds. Remember that every setup is meant to make you spend more time picking up products off the shelves and carting them to the cashier.
Conclusion
You should remember that grocery store sections are like the matrix. They have been designed by analyzing patterns of customer behaviors to ensure that you spend as much time as possible.
Even the baskets and carts dropped on aisles are tricks to make you add more products into the cart. While it is a service that helps buyers easily pack their products, the main intention is for monetary gain.
The sections of a grocery store will help you understand the aisles and where you can find items with relative ease. You must make a list so that you don’t get sucked in the loop of picking more than you need.
The grocery is a place to get all your needs in a single location. Be careful not to stay too long there, your purse might suffer. With that said, Enjoy your shopping experience.
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Moses Dzarmah is the founder of Grocerycorridor. Having worked in the grocery store for almost all his life. His colleagues called him the grocery hermit for his knowledge around the field that’s encompassing. Almost disturbing that he’d know every nitty gritty part associated to grocery stores. I decided to pen down as my colleagues will endearingly say with a slight mockery “wealth of experience”.