As our country adjusts to what normal looks like, it’s more important than ever for customers to have options that will fit their new circumstances. Offering a variety of cost-efficient and value-minded products in grocery, general merchandise, and health and beauty care is critical to making your store a destination for all shoppers.
Valu Merchandisers Company (VMC) offers the most comprehensive dollar/value program in the grocery industry. Executed in over 1,000 stores, VMC offers 144 linear ft. of dollar foods planograms and 100 linear ft. of GM/HBC planograms. The flexibility of VMC’s dollar/value program is tailored to fit your needs by selecting category specific items, top sellers, or installing a complete dollar section.
With over 3,500 items available to you and your customers, the VMC Dollar Program can help keep shoppers in your store that might otherwise visit a competing Dollar General, Dollar Tree or Family Dollar. With dollar stores being a $63 billion market with an expected sales growth of 18 percent over the next several years, it’s clear that dollar stores are not going away any time soon, which is why VMC is here to help.
A common concern for retailers is whether adding a dollar program will cannibalize sales of in-line items. The simple answer to that is, no. By adding a segregated dollar section you are increasing the opportunity for incremental sales. An independent dollar section with proper signage can become a destination category for your store without having a negative impact on your more traditional categories. With 81 percent of consumers viewing dollar stores as a great place to get everyday non-essential items, you will be adding a category that consumers will otherwise seek out elsewhere. When you add a dollar store customer to your customer count, you are increasing the likelihood that they add other traditional items to their basket.
The VMC team has designed best practices for setting up and running dollar sections. The dollar section needs to be separated as its own distinguishable area. The same impact will not be received if you try to integrate dollar items throughout your store. It is important to keep your dollar section planogrammed, organized and consistent. A disorganized dollar section is less appealing and more difficult to shop for consumers.
Remember, a dollar section doesn’t necessarily mean only single items priced at $1. Offer multiples like 4/$5, 2/$3, 2/$1 or 3/$1 to drive variety within the section. One of the key philosophies of dollar stores is keeping decisions as easy as possible for customers so that they don’t think too deeply on putting those items in their cart.
Having proper signage calling out your dollar section is amongst the most important factors to implementing a successful program. Customers need clear instructions on where the dollar section is located. On top of calling out the section, you need to make sure your items are marked appropriately with the correct retail. Proper shelf tags should call out items that are 4/$1, 3/$1, 2/$1, or $1. VMC offers a variety of “More for Your Dollar” signage on the Ecommerce website (EComm.AWGInc.Com).
If you’re interested in the dollar section in your store, make sure to reach out to your local VMC representative to work together on a plan.
