Personal Care @ GT

The retailers we spoke to had little knowledge on shopper marketing or point of purchase, but they knew customer engagement and how! At all the four retail stores visited, the retailers along with their assistants, were busy helping shoppers with transactions across categories - from medical prescriptions to chocolates and lip balms. And they were quick with their response to the customers. The average footfall for the stores would be easily more than 50-60 shoppers on a daily basis.

As we spoke to retailers on merchandising parameters, one thing emerged very  clearly - placement of the brand product in this case is ultimately their call based on the commission and higher the visibility, higher the cost. The merchandising initiatives, unanimously agreed upon by retailers, are initiated and implemented by top brands namely P&G, Unilever and Nestle.

The merchandising parameters change depending on the store, while the displays are changed every month to two months' time. As for the shoppers, women still lead on the shopping front for personal care items closely and the ratio of women to men shoppers would be  60:40.  

Let's now do a round of these stores:

Ashok Medical Store:

As we enter Ashok Medical store, we are greeted by Shankar Singh, the Owner assisting his customers along with his two assistant boys, while his father sitting at the back of the store handles the finance.  He answers our questions with an easy demeanor while tending to his customers. And while waiting for his answers and observing his interactions with his customers, we found that there is a personal relationship created which is hard to explain, as he proudly shows off his new car to one of his customers and the camaraderie between them is obvious.  
Shankar Singh says that out of the 50-60 customers visiting his stores, 8-10 customers prefer buying new items in the personal care category and that there is a strong connection between impulse purchase and personal care items. He further adds that even though the customer knows what he or she wants, many of the personal care items purchased are impulse-driven and they ask for the retailer's suggestion on their purchase.

Rajputana Medical store:

Vinod Jain, owner, is a busy man as he tends to around six customers and distributers along with his team of three assistants. With an average of 200-250 customers visiting his small but comfy store; the often crowded store buzzes with activity due to its prime location. He says there is no time to chat or guide the customers. As the location is key and the chemist is situated on a busy street, customers do a quick purchase and move on. There is again a healthy mix of medical prescription items sold along with personal care items which can be seen from the glass displays which though cluttered look neat.
Merchandising at retail is important but Vinod Jain feels there is no space for any merchandising or innovation as adequate space is a requirement.

As for the message to brands, he is very clear on one thing; they need to take responsibility for the goods damaged while transportations.

Muthu Thevar Surya Medical

The store Surya Medical store is built along the lines of a supermarket with two floors dedicated to the medical store. We spoke to Muthu Thevar sales assistant, Surya Medical, and according to him there is strong emphasis on packaging and that shoppers are sure of their choices.

He also felt that even though the personal care products are premium in nature, customers are not afraid to shell out more because it makes them look good. He further added that most shoppers visit for buying medical items but ended up buying personal care items as well.
 
Suburban Chemist Pvt Ltd:

The owner here was hesitant to disclose his name but not his shopper insights and he firmly believes that educated or not, shoppers are price sensitive beings and also quality sensitive. He further added that the educated shoppers are more curious; and that they also read the product information and take suggestions from retailers.

According to him, brands today are getting aggressive towards merchandising at GT even though there is no space; and for shoppers the newer the merchandising, the better. He also revealed that the merchandising displays change at a frequency of one to two months.

This store also adheres to strict parameters on product positioning and merchandising and the placement is sold to brands on a commission basis.

Conclusion

As the aspirational shopper is getting exposed to the personal care items in medical stores their regular trips are also resulting in a boom in the personal care market. To sum up:

• Personal care items are also impulse driven.

• Shoppers are both price sensitive and quality sensitive, but at the same time, shoppers don't mind paying a premium price in this category and that is the dichotomy here.

• Retailer's suggestions are still considered important

• Merchandising in medical stores is preferred by brands

• Innovation is gradual but here the space is gearing up for changes