July 27, 2012
Grocery Store Launches ‘Men’s Isle’ to Drive Sales
In recent years, it has been posited that men’s "fear of the feminine," as described by Dr. Gary Mortimer of Australia’s Queensland University of Technology’s School of Advertising, Marketing and Public Relations, has gotten in the way of some guys shopping for personal care items in grocery stores and other mass outlets.
The opportunity, according to Dr. Mortimer, was for stores to create male product-only aisles to address this phobia and remove an impediment to sales. Here in the U.S., Procter & Gamble has teamed with H-E-B, for example, to implement the Men’s Zone concept to drive incremental business.
Another aspect of Dr. Mortimer’s research that got less attention was his assertion that male gender segmentation could also work in other categories. He pointed to liquor as a category heavily skewed toward male customers that might benefit from a merchandising bias.
While not connected, Dr. Mortimer’s theory is being put to the test in a store on New York’s Upper West Side with a men’s aisle that includes not only personal care items, but also food and beverage items.
Ian Joskowitz, chief operating officer of Westside Market NYC, told the New York Post, "If you’re going to have some guys over to watch a game, you can pretty much stand here — not move two feet — and get your beer, barbecue sauce, chips, whatever. It’s all right here!"
"I think it’s a great idea," Andy Huber, a Westside Market customer, told the Post. "I don’t like to spend much time in the grocery store, so having this aisle makes things much easier for me."
If the test proves successful, Westside Market plans to incorporate what it calls its "men’s isle" into four other locations it operates in New York.
BrainTrust
Recent Discussions
Discussion Questions
Discussion Questions: Will we see more stores testing men aisles as males take over more of the household’s shopping duties? Do you think the men’s aisle concept has applications beyond personal care items?
Poll
Not a fan. Maybe it is my many years working grocery that has a grip on me. The design of a grocery store is to allow… no sorry, force the shopper to visit many aisles in order to get more impulse buying. If we segment the aisles into gender categories, what’s not to stop the use of age categories. I understand getting all the necessary junk food for a football game, but that is no longer a male-only requirement. And what about men who like fresh fruit and salad, will these stores mix male personal care items and apples? I think not; it’s a fad that will come and go much like many other themes such as generic products, trading stamps, and weekly dish promotions.
So in order to avoid “fear of the feminine” in the drug store or supermarket we’re now going to have men’s aisles? Hmmm, okay. So will the aisles have TVs on with ESPN? Ha! Fine line whether this concept actually works well or not. I think I might be more embarrassed to hang out in the all men’s aisle than I would buying my shaving cream next to the feminine hygiene products. And besides, my wife and I usually shop together. Will she be allowed in the men’s aisle?
I was struck by the Post article as it illustrated a basic concept we’ve discussed here from time to time. In my words it’s targeted shopping. We heard about the woman’s aisle and the organic aisle, for example. But the Westside Market approach which includes snack foods, beverages and condoms talks to the male shopper directly and without apologies.
I don’t think this has to do with men taking on more household shopping duties. I think this has more to do with men shopping for themselves. It’s the hunter versus gatherer approach to shopping. You go guy!
A men’s aisle is like an ethnic foods aisle — it’s a matter of time before these items are more widely acculturated. I say let’s have men’s items in every aisle (liquor, personal care) rather than a store-within-a-store format, which will limit men’s exposure to new categories, brands and features. An aisle-by-aisle modular integration would speed the acculturation process and create wider selection for both women and men.
Greater segmentation of the customer shopping base is more heightened than ever, as continuously shifting consumer dynamics play a larger role for in-store merchandising, as well as the media mix used to pull and push consumers to the store or online experience.
Testing a men aisles, as well as other segments of a stores shopper base (ethic populations, demographic differences of families with children compared to singles, or consumers living with significant others, etc.) will prove beneficial in holding shopper loyalty and time in the store.
Retail is still a great and exciting industry, but the speed of change isn’t making it any easier.
Making the shopping process easier by customizing the selection and layout is a winning strategy for the target segment (“beer, barbecue sauce, chips…”). The challenge is that there is a fixed amount of space and plenty of operational challenges with segmentation. The question isn’t just about performance in that segment but the impact on overall store performance.
Grocery stores have long been designed for “Mom” as the primary shopper. As the balance shifts with “Dad” taking on more, merchandising adjustments make sense.
With masculinity in my bones
I have no need for being pumped up
By glorified ‘man aisles’ and male zones.
But stores will copy Westside Market
It’s the common thing to do today
But after the test, many will cork it.
Store tests are good and wonderful tools
They enable us to see the folly
That we actively embrace as fools.
Still when done well by HEB or Westside
The change in approach will have appeal
But I don’t envision a landslide.
Every retailer I talk with recognizes the reality that customers want to find what they want efficiently, and purchase it quickly. A “guy’s aisle” sounds like pure retailing genius. When will they add a flat screen showing ESPN?
Are the articles in the “men’s” aisle also available elsewhere? One would have to believe that retailers would not remove all their salty snack items beer, liquor, men’s HBS items, etc. from their regular locations because to do you would mean missing impulse sales from those that elected not to shop that aisle.
If this assumption is correct, does that mean twice the inventory of these items is being carried? To allow for this duplication I wonder how many SKUs were rationalized to allow for the item duplication.
Men’s aisles have existed for years (so to speak). We have cold beer with chips displays next to it, and pepperoni cryovac hanging up as well. I’d like to do more, and the concept is fine, especially for football season. Men like to shop quickly and get out, so make it as easy for them as possible.
I am not so sure having a men’s aisle will do anything but create conversation such as this. Are there going to be items that force me to that section? What can be the driver? My wife does the majority of the grocery shopping in our household. Not for anything macho; just be cause it works better that way. I buy. She shops for value, use-by dates and things like that, that I had no idea existed until she got hurt and I took over those duties.
Seems to me that the demographics of Westside Market will have a greater influence on the “Men’s Isle” functioning than the concept itself.
In most markets, if men want to avoid the grocery store they simply walk into a drugstore (like Walgreens, Rite Aid, or CVS) and buy their beer and chips a few feet away from their shaving cream.
Will we see more testing of this type of concept? Probably. Will it accomplish anything meaningful? Probably not. Though there is nothing inherently wrong with targeted marketing, the key is doing it thoughtfully…this sounds like a parody.
So women are totally unlikely to buy these items? Just how many female shoppers are likely to stop buying them if they can only be accessed by stepping into the men’s area? I got the impression from the article about Westside that their merchandising team saw it as something of a joke — quite right, too. But if not, what a step backwards for equality.
Nothing wrong with a bit of relevance in merchandising, but is the Man-Realm the only place to find such items in the store or a secondary outpost? There is an operational dimension to consider.
Chain drug stores tend to group men’s shaving, hair and skin products together already. Snacks and beverages are another story — guys know how to find those. Steaks, charcoal and spark plugs fit the gender pattern, but it’s a stretch to merchandise them alongside the deodorant.
I doubt many guys will linger in front of a screen showing ESPN in the supermarket. If they are buying shampoo on game day they are probably not sports fans anyway.
My question is, who does the majority of the shopping for men; do they do it themselves or the wife/girlfriend do it for them? I guess it would also be different by category; men don’t mind their woman picking up deodorant or shaving cream for them, but would want to buy hair lotions for washing away the gray themselves. Never let them see you lose your youth.
As more men do shop for themselves (family statistic – 4 men in my family), this form of targeted selling makes sense. Hey, we are tired of hunting in general soap aisles for man soap!
Tuned targeting and execution like this can gain a retailer a larger chunk of wallet share and that is good/great retailing!
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Not a fan. Maybe it is my many years working grocery that has a grip on me. The design of a grocery store is to allow… no sorry, force the shopper to visit many aisles in order to get more impulse buying. If we segment the aisles into gender categories, what’s not to stop the use of age categories. I understand getting all the necessary junk food for a football game, but that is no longer a male-only requirement. And what about men who like fresh fruit and salad, will these stores mix male personal care items and apples? I think not; it’s a fad that will come and go much like many other themes such as generic products, trading stamps, and weekly dish promotions.
So in order to avoid “fear of the feminine” in the drug store or supermarket we’re now going to have men’s aisles? Hmmm, okay. So will the aisles have TVs on with ESPN? Ha! Fine line whether this concept actually works well or not. I think I might be more embarrassed to hang out in the all men’s aisle than I would buying my shaving cream next to the feminine hygiene products. And besides, my wife and I usually shop together. Will she be allowed in the men’s aisle?
I was struck by the Post article as it illustrated a basic concept we’ve discussed here from time to time. In my words it’s targeted shopping. We heard about the woman’s aisle and the organic aisle, for example. But the Westside Market approach which includes snack foods, beverages and condoms talks to the male shopper directly and without apologies.
I don’t think this has to do with men taking on more household shopping duties. I think this has more to do with men shopping for themselves. It’s the hunter versus gatherer approach to shopping. You go guy!
A men’s aisle is like an ethnic foods aisle — it’s a matter of time before these items are more widely acculturated. I say let’s have men’s items in every aisle (liquor, personal care) rather than a store-within-a-store format, which will limit men’s exposure to new categories, brands and features. An aisle-by-aisle modular integration would speed the acculturation process and create wider selection for both women and men.
Greater segmentation of the customer shopping base is more heightened than ever, as continuously shifting consumer dynamics play a larger role for in-store merchandising, as well as the media mix used to pull and push consumers to the store or online experience.
Testing a men aisles, as well as other segments of a stores shopper base (ethic populations, demographic differences of families with children compared to singles, or consumers living with significant others, etc.) will prove beneficial in holding shopper loyalty and time in the store.
Retail is still a great and exciting industry, but the speed of change isn’t making it any easier.
Making the shopping process easier by customizing the selection and layout is a winning strategy for the target segment (“beer, barbecue sauce, chips…”). The challenge is that there is a fixed amount of space and plenty of operational challenges with segmentation. The question isn’t just about performance in that segment but the impact on overall store performance.
Grocery stores have long been designed for “Mom” as the primary shopper. As the balance shifts with “Dad” taking on more, merchandising adjustments make sense.
With masculinity in my bones
I have no need for being pumped up
By glorified ‘man aisles’ and male zones.
But stores will copy Westside Market
It’s the common thing to do today
But after the test, many will cork it.
Store tests are good and wonderful tools
They enable us to see the folly
That we actively embrace as fools.
Still when done well by HEB or Westside
The change in approach will have appeal
But I don’t envision a landslide.
Every retailer I talk with recognizes the reality that customers want to find what they want efficiently, and purchase it quickly. A “guy’s aisle” sounds like pure retailing genius. When will they add a flat screen showing ESPN?
Are the articles in the “men’s” aisle also available elsewhere? One would have to believe that retailers would not remove all their salty snack items beer, liquor, men’s HBS items, etc. from their regular locations because to do you would mean missing impulse sales from those that elected not to shop that aisle.
If this assumption is correct, does that mean twice the inventory of these items is being carried? To allow for this duplication I wonder how many SKUs were rationalized to allow for the item duplication.
Men’s aisles have existed for years (so to speak). We have cold beer with chips displays next to it, and pepperoni cryovac hanging up as well. I’d like to do more, and the concept is fine, especially for football season. Men like to shop quickly and get out, so make it as easy for them as possible.
I am not so sure having a men’s aisle will do anything but create conversation such as this. Are there going to be items that force me to that section? What can be the driver? My wife does the majority of the grocery shopping in our household. Not for anything macho; just be cause it works better that way. I buy. She shops for value, use-by dates and things like that, that I had no idea existed until she got hurt and I took over those duties.
Seems to me that the demographics of Westside Market will have a greater influence on the “Men’s Isle” functioning than the concept itself.
In most markets, if men want to avoid the grocery store they simply walk into a drugstore (like Walgreens, Rite Aid, or CVS) and buy their beer and chips a few feet away from their shaving cream.
Will we see more testing of this type of concept? Probably. Will it accomplish anything meaningful? Probably not. Though there is nothing inherently wrong with targeted marketing, the key is doing it thoughtfully…this sounds like a parody.
So women are totally unlikely to buy these items? Just how many female shoppers are likely to stop buying them if they can only be accessed by stepping into the men’s area? I got the impression from the article about Westside that their merchandising team saw it as something of a joke — quite right, too. But if not, what a step backwards for equality.
Nothing wrong with a bit of relevance in merchandising, but is the Man-Realm the only place to find such items in the store or a secondary outpost? There is an operational dimension to consider.
Chain drug stores tend to group men’s shaving, hair and skin products together already. Snacks and beverages are another story — guys know how to find those. Steaks, charcoal and spark plugs fit the gender pattern, but it’s a stretch to merchandise them alongside the deodorant.
I doubt many guys will linger in front of a screen showing ESPN in the supermarket. If they are buying shampoo on game day they are probably not sports fans anyway.
My question is, who does the majority of the shopping for men; do they do it themselves or the wife/girlfriend do it for them? I guess it would also be different by category; men don’t mind their woman picking up deodorant or shaving cream for them, but would want to buy hair lotions for washing away the gray themselves. Never let them see you lose your youth.
As more men do shop for themselves (family statistic – 4 men in my family), this form of targeted selling makes sense. Hey, we are tired of hunting in general soap aisles for man soap!
Tuned targeting and execution like this can gain a retailer a larger chunk of wallet share and that is good/great retailing!