You know that moment when you’re in the supermarket, staring at a sea of cereal boxes, and—without fail—you grab the same one every time? It’s almost automatic. There’s real science behind that choice, and brands work hard to land well the best spots on the shelf.
Challengers need to convince shoppers to break habits, while leaders focus on reminding and reinforcing. Let the battle begin!
With a little help from AI, we now know exactly where the shopper’s eyes—and money—will go.
The Eye Zone
Shelf position plays a crucial role in a product’s visibility and can significantly influence consumer behaviour.
Products placed at eye level are generally the most noticeable, giving them an immediate advantage in grabbing shopper’s attention. In contrast, items positioned on lower or higher shelves tend to be overlooked, unless specifically sought after. The “golden zone” in retail refers to the shelf space between the waist and eye level, where products are most likely to be noticed and selected.
The view that eye level is the best zone on a shelf is supported by several psychological and behavioural principles rooted in how humans perceive and process visual information. To recap the evidence:
Visual Attention: Humans naturally focus on what is directly in front of them, with the highest concentration of attention given to objects within their central field of vision. Products placed at eye level fall into this zone, making them more likely to be noticed first. This is linked to the “visual dominance” effect, where shoppers tend to focus on items that are easiest to see and require the least effort to locate.
Ease of Reach: Eye-level products are not only easier to spot but are also within arm’s reach, reducing the effort required to retrieve them. This ease of access plays into human behaviour, as people are more likely to choose items that require less effort.
Cognitive Biases: There’s also a psychological phenomenon called the “primacy effect,” where people tend to remember or favour the first items they encounter. When shoppers scan shelves, products at eye level are often the first they see, giving them a cognitive advantage.
Sales Data: Studies have consistently shown that products positioned at eye level sell better than those placed in less visible areas, such as the bottom shelf, as they receive more attention.
Be Close To The Winners
Additionally, placement near category leaders or complementary products can enhance visibility and encourage impulse purchases. For instance, positioning snacks next to beverages or toiletries near essentials often results in higher sales.
The evidence supporting the idea that placement next to category leaders helps challenger brands is grounded in several psychological and behavioural principles.
The Halo Effect: When challenger brands are positioned next to established category leaders, they benefit from the “halo effect.” This cognitive bias occurs when the positive attributes of one product (the category leader) influence consumers’ perceptions of a neighbouring product. Shoppers may unconsciously attribute the leader’s reputation for quality or popularity to the challenger brand, making it appear more credible and appealing.
Comparison Shopping: By placing a challenger brand next to a category leader, the challenger gains immediate visibility. Shoppers are more likely to evaluate the challenger as a viable alternative when they can directly compare features, prices, and packaging.
Trust Through Proximity: Psychologically, consumers tend to trust products that are associated with familiar or respected options. Proximity to a well-known category leader can signal legitimacy and trustworthiness to shoppers.
Anchoring Effect: Being positioned next to a premium-priced category leader can create an anchoring effect, where consumers perceive the challenger brand as offering better value if it’s priced lower. The comparison makes the challenger seem like a smarter, more cost-effective choice.
Increased Traffic and Visibility: Category leaders typically draw more attention and foot traffic because they’re well-established. By positioning challenger brands nearby, these products naturally receive more visibility and consideration.
So Predictable
The shopper IS predictable, with the right tools and insights.
Predictive tools for identifying optimal shelf positions leverage a combination of data analysis, machine learning, and consumer behaviour insights to forecast which shelf placements will enhance visibility. Predictive tools can identify optimal shelf positions to enhance visibility, but they should be seen as a starting point and other evidence sought.
Heat Map Analysis: Predictive tools often incorporate data from eye-tracking studies and learn what is seen and how the eye tracks across a shelf. These studies show where consumers naturally look and which shelf zones attract the most attention. Heat maps generated from this data highlight areas of high visual attention, areas of focus and eye flow helping to identify the prime spots for placement.
Online Consumer Testing and Insights: Brands should support predictive analytics with online quantitative research for structured consumer testing, allowing them to gather feedback on different shelf layouts and product placements before rolling them out in-store. By simulating planogram options and exposing participants to a variety of configurations, brands can measure which setups capture the most attention, drive engagement, and are easy to navigate.
Creating a stir on the coffee shelf
At DVJ, we run hundreds of experiments using AI to learn about consumer response. We harness the power of AI and fuse our insights with other data points drawn from Consumer Research.
To illustrate the impact of placement on shelf visibility we took two ground coffee brands – challenger brand Arvid Nordqvist and leader Lavazza. We imagined the shelf as six zones and rotated the brands into the fixed positions from zone 1 to zone 6.
We ran predictive heat mapping on the multiple rotations for the two brands, each inserted into positions 1-6. A snapshot from the results indicates:
- Good pack design, wherever placed on the shelf drives visibility. In every scenario Lavazza outperforms
- Some zones on the shelf provide a significant advantage
Indeed, the results show a significant visibility advantage for products placed in zone 2 and 5 compared to other zones. Specifically, in zone 2, The stand-out rates are 42.4% for one product and 46.1% for another, considerably higher than both the average market stand-out rates of 29.4% and 32.3%, as well as the rates in zone 1 and zone 3, where visibility hovers around the low 20% range. This data demonstrates that zone 2 is a prime location for capturing shopper´s attention.
In retailer negotiations, fighting for prime shelf position—being central and in the coveted eye-to-waist zone—is naturally a high priority. Now there is quantitative evidence of the benefit of the better positions.
With so many brands competing, the reality is that not every brand can win the argument for prime real estate on the shelf. That’s where pack design becomes the brand owner’s most powerful tool. As demonstrated by the Arvid Nordqvist versus Lavazza comparisons, Lavazza’s stronger design consistently has more on-shelf impact, regardless of where it’s positioned. This showcases the power of packaging as a key differentiator. A well-optimised design can either reassure loyal consumers with familiarity or disrupt shopper habits with bold, attention-grabbing visuals.
Insights Are Sharper With People
Consumer research adds important explanatory power. We use additional metrics to understand asset recognition, the ability to navigate the shelf to find a product quickly and head-to-head purchase intent.
Shoppers often spend just a few seconds scanning a shelf. Our search-and-find tasks measure how easily a shopper can locate a product. These tests assess both speed and accuracy, allowing brands to compare different planograms and refine shelf layouts to improve accessibility. Also, to replicate real-world consumer behaviour, we use implicit measurement techniques like the tachistoscope (T-scope) test. In this test, respondents view packs for just 60 milliseconds—barely enough time for conscious processing. This measures brand recognition and appeal, offering a more accurate prediction of real-life consumer responses.
AI And Human Insights
Shelf placement is no longer a guessing game. AI-powered predictive tools have revolutionised how brands approach visibility, identifying the optimal zones that capture shopper attention and drive sales. Our coffee shelf example highlights how data can pinpoint the advantage of prime real estate like Zone 2, where stand-out rates soared compared to less visible positions.
To truly understand how products perform in-store, combining AI insights with structured consumer testing is essential. Tools like the tachistoscope test and search-and-find tasks bring the human element into focus, revealing how quickly and easily consumers recognise and navigate products on the shelf. By layering real consumer behaviour onto AI predictions, brands can create a more complete, evidence-based approach to shelf optimisation.
Does your testing blend the best of both worlds: the speed and scalability of AI with the depth of human insights?
