New photo tags improve diabetes marketing

Drug Store News, April 8, 2002 by Michael Johnsen

Safeway in January rolled out a new look in its diabetes set: an eye-catching Image Shelf Tag system created by planogram designer and category management expert Gladson Interactive. The new tags feature color product photos and augment the traditional bar-code shelf labels, thus reinforcing proper product placement within the planogram and making it easier for consumers.

The photo tags, provided by Roche Diagnostics, have been developed for a range of diabetes-care items, including meters, strips and lancets. Most of Safeway's approximately 1,075 one-stop diabetes sets are positioned behind the pharmacy counter, leaving 30 percent of the over-the-counter diabetes products in the aisles. The chain's Randalls Food Markets and Vons pharmacy layouts include a diabetes set in the run of the store, and the chain is considering taking the sets in other stores from behind the pharmacy counter.

The new shelf tags have garnered plenty of complements. "People at store level thought they were a good addition," commented Pat Beaty, national account manager at Roche Diagnostics, which is providing the tags for all products in the set. Beaty said Roche considered the tags a good investment because, in part, of the impact they may have on remedying out-of-stocks. The tags also help technicians keep the products in the right place on the shelf.

Although it's too early to tell if the tags have helped drive sales, they have improved out-of-stock compliance, which was an issue.

Gladson contends that traditional bar-coded shelf tags create confusion among store personnel, who must decipher product abbreviations. Placing a photo on the shelf tag not only alleviates that confusion, it also encourages plan-o-gram compliance because mistakes created by filling "holes" are easily identified.