Nonsensical Display Policies Are Now Controlling Sales

Aggressive selling has been placed into solitary confinement—and that should worry everyone in the produce business. One must ask: Has management lost sight of what drives sales?

Early in my career as a produce manager, I had the privilege of learning from seasoned veterans who truly understood how to sell. There were no spreadsheets, no category management programs, and no layers of restrictive policies. Instead, they relied on instinct, experience, and bold merchandising.

They selected hot items, pushed them hard over the phone, and then visited stores to ensure the product was out on the sales floor in massive, unmistakable displays. Selling wasn’t complicated; it was aggressive, visible, and effective.

Our district produce supervisor would call every Monday afternoon to promote a hot item. I still remember my first call with him—his deep, gruff voice barking instructions.

“I’m sending you 25 cases of avocados,” he said. “Put them all out on a big display.”

I followed his instructions, and we sold out in two days.

That single experience taught me a lifelong lesson: Product doesn’t sell in the back room or on weak displays. If those avocados had been stocked a few cases at a time in the regular section, most would have gone unsold.

Those were exciting days. Leaders encouraged bold merchandising and removed obstacles instead of creating them. The goal was simple: Get product in front of customers and sell large volumes.

Today’s environment is dramatically different—and far less conducive to aggressive selling. Many companies now:

• Prohibit freestanding sales floor displays
• Ban waterfall merchandising
• Restrict display quantities due to shrink policies
• Forbid displays in lobbies, aisles, or storefront entrances

The result? Selling by rulebook instead of by results.

Almost every function in today’s supermarket operates on a part-time basis—and that’s exactly what we’re seeing on the sales floor: part-time displays.

These limited, low-profile presentations generate only a fraction of their potential sales. Stores are now governed by a growing list of “you can’t” rules:

• You can’t display apples in the lobby
• You can’t stack bagged potatoes more than two layers high
• You can’t waterfall peaches
• You can’t place displays in the aisle

And the list keeps growing.

Selling produce requires more than running weekly ad items. Anyone can sell advertised products—especially when they’re priced low. But low prices often mean lower margins.

Non-ad items require strong visual merchandising to generate incremental sales and improve the overall gross profit mix. Without bold displays, sales stagnate.

When sales decline, the blame often falls on pricing, competition, or advertising. Yet the root cause is frequently conservative, restricted merchandising.

Too many companies are operating in a vacuum, ignoring the fact that merchandising is more than placing product one level high on a display. Excessive, illogical policies are steering the produce business off course and down a dangerous path.

Not all companies restrict display sizes. Some still encourage large, aggressive merchandising—and those companies are thriving. Their success stands in sharp contrast to the declining sales of retailers that continue to impose senseless limitations.

Sales volume is critical to survival and financial growth. When sales are down, doing more of the same—discouraging aggressive selling—only makes the situation worse.

It’s time to set aside these harmful display mandates and return to selling produce the way it works best:

In the lobby. On the storefront. Down the aisle. Anywhere a bold display can be placed.

Produce was never meant to be sold timidly. Until management recognizes that fact, sales will continue to suffer—not because customers aren’t buying, but because we aren’t truly selling.