Promotional Placement Key to Magazine Sales: Speaker

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Highlighting the importance of product placement, Herb Sorensen, global scientific director, shopper insights, TNS Sorensen, Columbus, Ohio, said 40% of all sales across all categories occur on end caps and other promotional locations. Sorensen was presenting the findings of his company, based on hundreds of store audits, to attendees of the Marketing of Magazines and Books: Retail Conference 2007, co-hosted by the Magazine Publishers of America and the International Periodical Distributors Association, both based in New York, here this week. Sorensen studied the placement of magazine racks at the front end and found that if the magazine rack is placed to the right of people at the checkout they are twice as likely to buy. He also found that 80% of sales occur in 20% of the space in every store. “It has nothing to do with the design and layout of the store,” he said. “It‘s human nature. You'll sell a lot more goods if you can get them where the shoppers are.” -- Wendy Toth