
“Interruptive merchandising gets a customer to stop at displays they hadn’t planned,” says Paul Kneeland, senior vice president of sales and merchandising for Gelson’s, a 27-store chain headquartered in Encino, CA. Today, retailers want to be able to change the configuration of the department and direct traffic flow past seasonal, sale and spectacularly cross-merchandised displays of fresh fruits and vegetables. GO MODULAR & MOBILEįorget cookie-cutter plan-o-grams carved in stone. This was part of the Bentonville, AR-headquartered chain’s self-proclaimed Produce 2.0 merchandising reset. These bins are abundantly filled with colorful produce, like ripe red tomatoes and seasonal items like pumpkin and squash and are designed to spotlight freshness and quality of the produce. Starting in 2019, Walmart revamped the produce departments in its 3,000-plus supercenters by rolling out low-profile display bins to create an open market feel, according to a November 2019 blog post on the retailer’s website by Charles Redfield, chief merchandising officer.

Similarly, Market Tables in sizes from 30×30 inches to 4×2.5 feet can be mixed and matched to create display sets, both in the produce department and in front of the store for warm-weather seasonal merchandising. The company’s modular Island Tables have inner sections of 2.5- and 4-foot lengths, with three width options and 2.5-foot end sections, which can combine to create customized produce displays to fit an array of store configurations. So instead of mega dumps of products on large pieces, we’re seeing a greater demand for shorter and narrow displays where produce is replenished more often and customers can easily reach in,” says LemonTree’s Countouris. They’d be filled to the brim and exploding in produce. “The trend 10 years ago was long, wide island displays.


Plus, some say smaller fixtures, both in height, length and width, offer more space for customers to shop and to do so from all sides.

“Lower profile displays are something we look for,” says Jeff Cady, who oversees about 10 store remodels annually as director of produce and floral at Tops Friendly Markets, a 149-store chain based in Williamsville, NY. 2022 Marketing Excellence Award Winners.Research Perspective/Comments and Analysis.
