1. Marketing-at-retail?
Harish Bijoor
The point of purchase is where all the consumer decision-makinghappens today. And
the salesperson must market his products right here.
IS the point of sale morphing? Need salespersons look into the challenge that brands
are facing at the point of purchase? The answer is a vehement Yes. Wake up, guys!
Smell the coffee! The marketplace is changing after all these years of it being what it
was — a point of sale.
The retail landscape is in morph mode. Vanishing are the small little outlets that
operate out of dimensions that would boggle many a marketing man, woman and child
from every part of the world. Have you heard of and seen an outlet with a dimension of
2 feet X 20 feet? The 2-feet dimension is the façade. Its depth is 20 feet. Barely two
people fit into all this retail space, but a lot of stock does. Of the 12 million retail outlets
in the country, 11.2 million outlets are this small. Forty sq. ft. of space enlarging itself
to a princely 160 sq. ft. of shop space. These are surely points of sale.
Points that stock the product and sell them to consumers who throng these corner
outlets out of comfort, by habit and because of proximity to home or work. Watch the
other trends that are causing a massive upheaval in the country's retailscape. The big
one is the fact that the 600 or less supermarkets are causing a shift in business, albeit
gradually. As this happens, the small guy in the business of retailing wakes up and
wants to spruce up as well.
Have you noticed that the friendly corner kirana is in morph mode as well? The guy
enjoyed a robust business out of a dark and dingy place. Every dal, cheeni, chawal and
atta thrived in his outlet amidst the rats, cockroaches and other exotic insects.
But not anymore. The guy is very conscious of how his store looks. He is out to spruce
up the frontage. The signboard is the first one to change. The frontage is getting metal
cladding as well. The colours are largely red and grey. In comes superior lighting. In
come the racks and shelves inspired by the supermarkets. As all this happens, the point

2. of sale morphs in what it offers the selling man. A lot can happen over a retail outlet
then.
Let's examine the logic here. Traditionally, over these years, the retail point has been
one where the salesperson sells in stock. The retailer in turns displays the same where
possible and paid for, stocks using every bit of space available, and sells to the
consumer, who reaches the point of purchase wanting to buy a packet of tea or a SIM
card for that matter. The competence of the traditional outlets is therefore all about
stocking, display and selling.
And look at the consumer. She is changing as well. In the very old days, she would
walk in, look around, peek at the prices, compare a range of items, see, touch, smell
and eventually buy. There was the element of retailer recommendation if there was
some indecision detected. The retailer as an opinion leader was a fact. Alas! Only for a
while. And then in came the power of mass media advertising. The consumer started
walking into the shop of desire with a more confident gait. With a pre-decision of
purchase. These decisions were made at home. The aiding device for this key decision-
making was the friendly idiot box that blared out messages — overtly at the level of
conscious decision-making and covertly at the level of subliminal influence. Television
largely built the awareness, the interest and the desire in the consumer.
This era continued for a while. Marketers kept plucking at this trend and the power of
the brand ruled. Retailer influence waned, and the hitherto strong retailer who was a
friend, philosopher and guide to the confused customer was now just a postman of
sorts. He stocked. He displayed. He charged for both.
Today is different. And tomorrow will be different altogether. The data is out. The
modern consumer is getting more and more confused about options that stare back at
him. Decision-making on brand purchase is getting more and more complex. As this
happens, 76 per cent of all purchase decisions are being made at the point of purchase.
This varies from category to category.
Nevertheless, the point of purchase is emerging as a point of decision-making. The
power of the point of purchase is morphing as well. This time round, the retailer will be
the point of focus for sure, but the selling point is being used as a point to market the
brand as well.
The point of sale is going to be a point where a whole new form of `marketing-at-retail'
is set to emerge - in our kiranas and supermarkets alike. As the point of sale emerges
as a potent point of marketing as well, the salesperson at large competes with every
medium there is to make an impact. As the influence of television in brand decision-
making reduces, the decision-making process gets outsourced to the point of purchase.
It is here, therefore, that all the influencing will need to happen. What some of you, and
most certainly I, did in the old days with the friendly idiot box and the pony-tailed
creative guy from the creative hot shop, I see happening at the point of purchase.
Decisions are being made here rather than in the comfort of the bedroom or bathroom
or study or wherever the idiot box lies.

3. The game gets tougher. The salesperson is needed to morph into someone who
markets at the point of purchase. Marketing-at-retail is therefore the tail of the trend
you need to catch if you need to hitch your sales wagon to a star.
Over to marketing-at-retail then!