Center Aisle Phobia
What consumers love and hate about the center aisle

WD Partners’ whitepaper, The Fundamentals of Aisle Attraction, details what we discovered when we shared various instore marketing and merchandising concepts to a wide range of shoppers.
Discover what more than 1,500 shoppers think about the center aisle of the typical grocery store. Their responses will likely surprise you.
“A place to be avoided.”
Unfortunately, that is how many shoppers regard center of the grocery store. While ends of aisles are constantly refreshed with seasonal presentations, sales items, and creative brand promotions, the center is static and monotonous. Row after row of sameness.
“Crowded.” “Intimidating.” “Confusing.”
These aren’t our words. They’re the voices of shoppers WD talked to about their impression of shopping in the existing center-aisle. Our challenge was to explore shopper perceptions and capture their reactions to a variety of approaches to in-store marketing and merchandising. The feedback was unguarded, honest — and remarkably informative.
The results of this research are presented in an easy to understand report that may inspire change within your own organization.
“The good news is that all generations respond positively to the same attractions, which leads to a huge opportunity for retailers to attract all types of shoppers. But it is imperative to understand that Millennials will be greatly disappointed if the personal payoff isn’t there, as they are the least likely to want to shop center store.”
Michelle Fenstermaker
Executive Director, Consumer Insights
WD Partners
Over the last decade, center-store profits have continued to decline. Today, the center store contributes approximately 70% of weekly profit at the store level.
Flimsy, stand-up cardboard displays, coupon dispensers, and floor graphics don’t impress shoppers.
Rounded edges on merchandise displays are much less intimidating. Some study participants winced when describing the fear of getting snagged by a display corner.
Innovation is not only possible, it’s an imperative. The store perimeter has been the focus of retailers for many years. Now it’s time to reinvigorate the center of the store!
People like novelty, surprise, permanence, and symmetry no matter where they are. Even in a grocery store.
But only where they’re appropriate. Some areas lend themselves to this kind of solution better than others.
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This is a very interesting topic and intrigues me as I have been involved in designing many big box retailer locations across the country. I would agree that the center of the store is usually not the most attractive as far as shopper experience. It makes perfect sense that the average consumer would avoid the center for fear of feeling “closed in” or crowded. Something that I feel may have been missed during the research of this topic though, is also the hesitation for consumers to shop the center aisles based on health needs and/or desires. Typically, the center of the store is filled with fatty, sugar filled treats full of carbohydrates. The perimeter of the store includes the major essentials for leading a healthful diet. Focusing the perimeter of the store around the major food groups, a health conscious shopper can walk the perimeter, buy only the necessary foods for sustaining life, and avoid buying cookies, ice cream, frozen dinners, sugary drinks, and of course who can forget, potato chips. For this reason, I believe focusing consumer’s attention to these aisles will not only be a design challenge, but also one that includes providing healthier choices attracting those that are concerned with their belt line. Just a thought.