On the crowded shelves of kirana stores and the neat aisles of supermarkets across India, an unseen force shapes countless buying choices every day. Merchandising, the careful art of how products are displayed, stocked, and made visible at the point of sale, acts like a silent salesperson for brands.
It works quietly behind the scenes but steers billions of rupees in transactions. India’s retail market has expanded a lot, reaching about US$940 billion in 2024, according to BCG and RAI, and is on track to pass US$2 trillion by the early 2030s.
The Quiet Power of In-Store Influence
Most shoppers never notice the careful placement that draws their eye to a particular pack or the timely restocking that ensures availability during peak hours.
However, POPAI has done years of research showing that 76% of purchases are made at the point of sale and are influenced by factors such as where a product is positioned on the shelf or shelf space, as well as visual displays promoting those items. If there are gaps in how these elements have been executed, companies can suffer a significant loss in sales, a fact that is widely acknowledged through industry analysis.
Physical stores continue to dominate the retail landscape, even as digital channels expand. Recent reports suggest e-retail penetration around 10-15% in 2025, implying that physical retail accounts for the vast majority of sales. In this environment, merchandising bridges the gap between marketing strategies and consumer reality in general trade outlets or modern trade formats. A well-executed display in a store can spark an impulse purchase; inconsistent availability can direct shoppers elsewhere.
From Instinct to Precision
In India, merchandising has changed from using manual checklists to using more advanced methods. With technology such as mobile reporting, geo-tagged audits and AI-based image recognition, merchants have more accurate information. Shelf image analysis tools evaluate their share of shelf space, out-of-stock items and planogram compliance with real-time insights to identify problems on an ongoing basis. Store performance critical to seasonality and festive peaks are recorded and acted upon in real time.
As a result of these changes, tailored executions can now be executed across all channels. Frequent visits to general trade channels allow for maintenance of visibility within a fragmented network; in contrast, modern trade is integrated with retail media and activation. Even in categories such as FMCD and OTC, focused checks on POSM execution, promotional activity and compliance add important layers of accountability for the complete sales ecosystem.
The Human Element Behind the Scenes
The foundation of merchandising is a people-based process. Professionals working in the field, work with retailers in local communities every day to ensure store shelves align with the brand’s objectives. Merchandising is a large employer, with one agency alone employing close to 15,000 such resources. Employment is across metros and tier towns, where they reach over 1200 cities. This deep and dispersed employment also focuses on women employment, who account for close to 40% of the workforce.
The impact is immeasurable. These merchandisers not only align product availability with the local market demand and consistently restock in order to prevent missed sales in near and faraway locations, their employment is also a large scale participation in the local economy.
Merchandising’s Role in Driving Premiumisation and Loyalty
The growth of organized retail penetration is expected to continue growing steadily from around 12%-15%. As disposable incomes continue to grow, we expect to see even further expansion. As a result, merchandising will play an important role in creating a consistent shopper experience across all organized retail outlets and formats.
Effective displays not only boost visibility but also build trust in branded offerings, encouraging shifts from unorganised to organised channels. In categories like apparel and consumer durables, where premiumisation is accelerating, strategic placement and thematic activations drive higher basket values.
Younger shoppers want to make more socially responsible purchasing decisions and prefer to see these types of sustainability-based branding on items sold in stores (i.e., eco-friendly packaging, energy-efficient designs). Cross-category adjacencies, such as placing masala next to staples or fresh food, can enhance the ability of retailers to capture incremental sales, up to 20 percent, when properly executed. Merchandisers make this happen, silently, on a daily basis across all types and categories of products.
As quick commerce complements physical stores, in-store merchandising evolves to emphasise experiential elements, such as interactive zones or sampling stations, turning visits into memorable engagements that foster loyalty amid growing competition.
An Enduring Force in Retail’s Future
The retail system in India is becoming increasingly phygital, and the way we merchandise is evolving. Emerging trends such as quick commerce are supporting shelf data, and this is creating the ability to use advanced analytics for forecasting, predictive ordering, assortment mapping and promotion planning. Despite these advancements, the fundamental premise of in-store experiences will always have the greatest impact on choice. Additional professionalisation of the discipline will help brands effectively connect with consumers, ensuring that each store executes successfully.
