The traditional checkout is no longer the only place consumers pay for items as “Transaction Zones” are found throughout the entire shopping experience, whether brick and mortar or online.

To address this shift, in 2015 Wrigley and Mars Chocolate North America implemented a fresh, research-driven approach to driving incremental purchases across all products typically found at check out.

In the first part of this program, Wrigley and Mars Chocolate introduced these insights along with customized recommendations by channel or retail partner and the company says its already seen meaningful results.

Refresh, Reward, Remind 

Not everyone’s needs are the same when it’s time to pay and three primary mindsets — Refresh, Reward, Remind — drive purchases at checkout. Merchandising accordingly to meet these needs can drive critical incremental sales: 

• Refresh: Shopping can be stressful and tiring, so shoppers look to refresh or recharge themselves once the job is done. Items fulfilling the Refresh need state, like gum, mints, beverages and snacks, should occupy 51 percent of total space.
• Reward: Shoppers often seek a treat or reward, like chocolate and non-chocolate candy, after the “chore” of shopping. Items fulfilling the Reward need state should occupy 39 percent of total space.
• Remind: It is helpful for shoppers to find items they forgot to add to their lists, like batteries and lip balm, in the transition zone. Items fulfilling the Remind need should occupy about 10 percent of total space.

And, about 60 percent of shoppers don’t mind standing in line and recognize benefits to doing so when products they need are present, which represents an opportunity to help them easily satisfy Refresh, Reward and Remind need states.

Wrigley and Mars Chocolate’s Shopper Decision Tree tool can help retailers shelve products at checkout based on how shoppers think of a category and connect them with these essential products.

In the first part of this program, Wrigley and Mars Chocolate introduced these insights along with customized recommendations by channel or retail partner. Wrigley and Mars Chocolate will continue to bring these concepts to life in stores and share key learnings from our retailer partners.