---
title: "Coca-Cola Terminal Merchandising Detailed Guidelines (Text Version)"
description: "Coca-Cola, founded in 1886, is one of the most successful consumer goods companies in the world. Entering China in 1981, it has maintained a leading market share through superior product quality, advanced marketing management, and successful brand management. As market competition intensifies, 'winning at the terminal' has become a crucial strategy, and terminal merchandising is the core of terminal operations. This article details Coca-Cola's merchandising principles, including basic theories, benefits, and specific guidelines for display, advertising, cold drink equipment, and inventory management."
author: "可口可乐"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
telephone: "+8615854817671"
published: "2015-07-01"
language: "en"
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# Coca-Cola Terminal Merchandising Detailed Guidelines (Text Version)

> Coca-Cola, founded in 1886, is one of the most successful consumer goods companies in the world. Entering China in 1981, it has maintained a leading market share through superior product quality, advanced marketing management, and successful brand management. As market competition intensifies, 'winning at the terminal' has become a crucial strategy, and terminal merchandising is the core of terminal operations. This article details Coca-Cola's merchandising principles, including basic theories, benefits, and specific guidelines for display, advertising, cold drink equipment, and inventory management.

Coca-Cola was founded in 1886 and is one of the most successful consumer goods companies in the world.
It entered China in 1981. In its operations in the Chinese market, Coca-Cola has maintained a leading position in market share through its first-class product quality, advanced marketing management models, and successful brand management.
With the intensification of market competition, 'winning at the terminal' has become an important means of capturing the market, and terminal 'merchandising' is precisely the most core part of terminal operations. At the same time, product merchandising, as a marketing tool to increase sales and win at the terminal, has been indispensable.
So-called merchandising refers to all activities at the point of sale that can influence consumers' purchase of Coca-Cola products.
I. Basic Theory of Merchandising:
At Coca-Cola, merchandising refers to all work done at the point of sale regarding the display and management of our products, advertising materials, market equipment, and cold drink equipment.
Because Coca-Cola has a huge product line (Coca-Cola, Sprite, Fanta,醒目, Minute Maid orange juice, etc.) and also has many types of cold drink equipment (display cabinets, post-mix machines, etc.), there are different merchandising requirements for different channel types and market equipment. Therefore, Coca-Cola's merchandising techniques are much more complex than those of other companies.
Simply put, the definition of merchandising is: all work done at the retail terminal to make products more attractive to consumers. Clarifying the concept of merchandising will help us fully understand the following content:
(1) Benefits of Implementing Merchandising
When asked what the benefits of merchandising are, most people will answer: 'increase product sales.' This view is correct but still relatively one-sided. Coca-Cola more comprehensively explains that merchandising will bring many benefits to different roles in the commodity circulation field:
1. Benefits to consumers
◇ Make it easy for consumers to find Coca-Cola products;
◇ Make it more convenient for consumers to purchase;
◇ Make consumers feel pleased when choosing products;
◇ Standard product displays make shopping more comfortable;
◇ No out-of-stock situations, improving customer satisfaction.
2. Benefits to customers (retailers)
◇ Shorten shelf turnover cycles;
◇ Reduce inventory holding costs;
◇ Reduce out-of-stock situations;
◇ Identify slow-moving products;
◇ Establish a good image in consumers' minds and increase loyalty to retailers.
3. Benefits to Coca-Cola Company
◇ Increase product sales;
◇ Stimulate consumers' 'impulse buying' characteristics;
◇ Increase product market share by increasing shelf space share;
◇ Block competitors by highlighting display positions and enlarging display areas.
4. Benefits to sales personnel
◇ Easier to achieve sales quotas;
◇ Increase capital and income;
◇ High-density market visibility, enhancing sales managers' pride;
◇ Absolute market dominance;
◇ Win customer trust.
In summary, merchandising can bring different benefits to different marketing roles from four aspects, forming a virtuous cycle of this value chain to achieve a win-win situation satisfactory to all parties, thereby highlighting the important position of merchandising in terminal marketing.
Sales work must solve two problems: one is how to distribute products to consumers so they can buy them; the other is how to place products into consumers' hearts so they are willing to buy. Terminal market construction is to solve these two problems. (The role of the brand is to place products into consumers' hearts).
Product Display:
(1) Strive for display positions with high foot traffic. At the point of sale, salespeople must master customer movement routes and place products as much as possible in places where consumers frequently walk, such as end caps, corners near entrances, etc. Generally, the more people who see the product, the greater the chance it will be purchased. If placed in a remote corner, the product is not easily seen by consumers, and sales will not be good. Salespeople must strive for the best display space.
(2) Place products on shelf positions within easy reach of customers. To attract people to buy, salespeople must place products at a height parallel to consumers' sight and within easy reach, according to consumers' height. Too high or too low display positions will create purchase barriers. For example, if the target market is children, the product should be placed on the lower shelf or even on the floor. That is, the display height should vary according to the target consumers to facilitate their selection. The specific placement of products is based on precise consumer psychological analysis and years of market sales experience. For example, shelf length, number of layers for product placement, placement of different types of products, and shape of displays are all clearly specified. The purpose is to improve the standardization and attractiveness of product displays and stimulate consumers' desire to buy.
3. Stand out among competing brands. Facing more and more competing brands, consumers feel at a loss, and brand loyalty is decreasing. Therefore, manufacturers must invest more effort in terminal market operations to make their products stand out in stores. Through displays, exhibitions, POP advertisements, and other methods, they differentiate their products from competitors and attract customers' attention with novel and unique images, stimulating customers' demand and creating a competitive advantage in retail stores.
The principles of merchandising include three aspects: the position of products and point-of-sale advertisements, the display method of products and point-of-sale advertisements, and product display and inventory management.
1. Objectives of Merchandising Work:
● Strengthen point-of-sale advertisements and increase visibility;
● Attract consumers' attention to Coca-Cola products;
● Remind consumers to buy Coca-Cola products;
● Make it easy for consumers to see Coca-Cola products.
To achieve these objectives, salespeople must pay attention to five key aspects when doing merchandising work:
(1) Shelf Display:
Consider four aspects: position, appearance, price tags, and product order and proportion.
Position: Coca-Cola emphasizes that products should be placed in the position with the highest consumer traffic and seen first. To this end, salespeople should choose the best position to display Coca-Cola products based on the store layout, shelf arrangement, and traffic patterns. For example, places where consumers can see the product as soon as they enter the store, near the cash register, etc. These places have high visibility and more sales opportunities.
Appearance: Shelves and the products on them should be clean and tidy. Price tags: There should be clear price tags. All displayed products must have price labels, and all products in different display equipment must have consistent prices. Product order and proportion: Products displayed on shelves should be strictly arranged in the order of Coca-Cola, Sprite, Fanta, and Coca-Cola brand products should occupy at least 50% of the shelf space. Products should be within easy reach on the shelf. Products with the same packaging must be placed on the same shelf layer, parallel, with light packages on top and heavy ones below. Pay attention to the correspondence of different packaging brands on upper and lower shelves. For example, if the upper layer is canned Coca-Cola, the lower layer should correspondingly display bottled Coca-Cola. This is the so-called brand verticality. When the store does not have enough product display space, Coca-Cola provides customers with mobile shelves to gain display and inventory space for brands and packages with high sales volume and fast turnover.
For the management of mobile shelves, Coca-Cola also puts forward detailed requirements: Inventory: Coca-Cola should account for 50% of the company's product display (vertical display), and other brands should be displayed according to sales volume ratio. Generally, no more than one packaging type and 4-5 brands should be displayed on mobile shelves. Position: In front of the main beverage area in supermarkets or self-service stores (convenience stores); at the end of the main display area; in front of competitor products; near related products (such as snack areas).
Packaging: Plastic bottle packaging is most suitable for display on mobile shelves (unless the mobile shelf is specially designed for cans or Tetra Pak); cans are more suitable for 'floor displays.' Display: Each brand/packaging display must clearly indicate 'brand,' 'packaging,' 'price,' and promotional information such as special offers, and ensure all prices in the store are consistent.
Floor Display: Floor displays are used to promote products, emphasize a promotional activity (product/packaging), holiday special sales, or provide more inventory for high-turnover products.
Display methods: End-type floor display, where consumers can take products from three sides. Island-type floor display should be placed in the center of a wider aisle, usually the main position in the store, where consumers can take products from all four sides of the island display.
(2) Advertising:
Point-of-sale advertisements can enhance the image of the point of sale, bring customers into the store, and also increase the attractiveness and visibility of Coca-Cola product displays. Advertising also considers four aspects: position, appearance, selection, and point-of-sale and point-of-purchase advertisements.
Position: Advertisements should be posted in the most visible positions, such as entrances, eye-level lines, etc., to attract consumers' attention.
Appearance: Advertisements also represent the image of Coca-Cola, so they should be clean and tidy. Selection: There are many types of advertising materials. When selecting, pay attention to matching the advertisement to the product being sold, which is also a sign of professionalism. Point-of-sale and point-of-purchase advertisements: Merchandising is carried out around products in the point of sale and point of purchase, so advertising materials must be posted within the point of sale and point of purchase.
In summary, point-of-sale advertisements should achieve the following: Advertising materials must be posted in conspicuous places in the store and cannot be covered by other items; Posters or logo stickers must be posted at eye level, not too high or too low; Replace or remove advertising materials that have faded or have old advertising slogans; Do not have two advertising campaigns' materials at the same time: when posting 'Always Coca-Cola' materials, the original 'Can't Beat the Feeling' materials should be removed at the same time; When promotional activities end, advertising materials must be removed.
(3) Display: Display is to regularly and centrally show some products to customers. The goal of product display merchandising is to occupy as much display space as possible and increase the number of products displayed on shelves as much as possible. Coca-Cola products should be displayed in multiple places within the point of sale. The more places customers see Coca-Cola products, the more opportunities they have to buy.
Display position: Coca-Cola products should be displayed in the best position that consumers can easily see.
Display method: Coca-Cola products should be centrally displayed with brand vertical display and packaging horizontal display: maintain at least two display facings for each brand and each packaging to facilitate restocking and increase product circulation. If there is a price promotion, a 'special price label' must be used, including information such as 'original price,' 'new price,' 'savings difference,' and 'brand packaging.' Packaging display should follow the principle of light on top and heavy on bottom, and can be adjusted according to location or store differences. In summary, display space allocation should be determined by sales volume.
Display should consider position, product order and proportion, appearance, and advertising materials/price tags.
Position: Same as shelf position display.
Product order and proportion: The order of product display must be Coca-Cola, Sprite, Fanta, and Coca-Cola should occupy at least 50% of the space.
Appearance: Products should be clean, tidy, and attractive.
Advertising materials/price tags: There should be related advertising materials near the displayed products, and there must be clear price tags.
(4) Cold Drinks:
The taste and special feeling of Coca-Cola and other brand beverages are best only at 0-4 degrees Celsius. People who have tasted ice-cold Coca-Cola will become loyal consumers of Coca-Cola products. Coca-Cola provides cold drink equipment to distributors, such as post-mix machines and glass-door coolers. When arranging cold drink equipment, consider the following: position, appearance, product order and proportion.
Position: Choose a location with obvious display effect, visible to consumers when entering the store, and with frequent entry and exit, such as near the cash register. At the same time, try to remove surrounding clutter to expand the field of vision.
Appearance: Coca-Cola cold drink equipment should be clean and tidy, and ensure all equipment is always in good operating condition.
Product order and proportion: All Coca-Cola products must be stored in the cold drink equipment, and the order and proportion of products must meet company requirements.
Salespeople should correctly use cold drink tools and display tools. Coca-Cola's cold drink tools and display tools must display Coca-Cola products.
(5) Inventory: Inventory has two aspects: inventory on shelves and inventory in the warehouse. Products displayed on shelves should be rotated, with old stock in front and new stock in the back, and attention should also be paid to replenishing products on shelves in a timely manner. Warehouse inventory should also be rotated and placed in an easily accessible location in the warehouse.
2. Merchandising Standards:
In summary, implementing merchandising should achieve the following: Products must be displayed in the best position visible to consumers as soon as they enter the store; Coca-Cola must occupy 50% of all display space area of the company; All products must be displayed after removing outer packaging; Each brand/packaging must occupy at least two facings; Damaged or expired products must be removed during each customer visit; All displayed products must have clear price labels; Regularly rotate products; Keep product displays, cold drink equipment, and display tools clean; Products must be centrally displayed, with the same brand vertically displayed and the same packaging horizontally displayed.
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