Site Specific

I’ve been watching this marketing evolution for the past five years, since the pandemic, and frankly, it’s about time for radical change. The traditional end cap—you know, that pile it high at the end of an aisle with maybe a wobbly sign if we were feeling fancy—has been limping along like a dial-up modem in a 5G world. But what’s replacing it isn’t just prettier; it’s fundamentally changing how we think about category management and promotional strategy. There is a lesson to be learned here for any retailer to not ignore what’s hidden in plain sight: prime, site-specific merchandising opportunities.

Here’s what caught my attention: Kroger Precision Marketing (KPM) shared that their digital end cap displays are generating 37 percent higher engagement rates than traditional signage. That’s not a marginal improvement—that’s a seismic shift.  These aren’t just fancy TV screens slapped onto existing displays. We’re talking about AI-powered systems that adjust messaging based on time of day, weather conditions, local events, and even demographic data from loyalty programs. Imagine an end cap for soup that automatically switches from featuring gazpacho at 2:00 PM on a 95-degree day to promoting hearty chicken noodle when the temperature drops and rain starts falling. Use your imagination to substitute soup with sweaters for apparel retailers.

Data Driven

Here’s what this means for legacy marketers. The death of the traditional end cap isn’t just about technology—it’s about data. These digital displays are collection engines, gathering information on dwell time, interaction rates, and conversion metrics that we could only dream about with ancient cardboard and plastic. I recently spoke with a category manager at a major CPG company who told me they can now A/B test end cap messaging in real-time across 200 stores simultaneously. They discovered that their protein bar sales increased 23 percent when the display emphasized “plant-based energy” versus “workout fuel”—and they learned this in 48 hours, not months.

This kind of agility is forcing a complete rethink of how we plan and execute promotional calendars. The days of printing 10,000 pieces of point-of-sale material and hoping for the best are numbered. Finally!  From a consumer perspective, the transformation is even more dramatic. Digital end caps make a retailer relevant and valuable. In grocery stores, the signage can provide recipe suggestions, nutritional information, and even connect to shopping apps—turning what was once a passive promotional moment into an interactive experience. Similar applications for beauty, apparel, and home are equally impressive and effective.

I watched a family at a Walmart in Palm Desert, California spend around three minutes at a digital soup display that was suggesting recipes based on items already in their cart (which was detected via their Walmart shopping app). The mother left with four different varieties of soup and the ingredients for a slow-cooker meal she’d never tried before. That’s not just category management—that’s category brilliance.

The Price of Relevance

Of course, this digital revolution isn’t without growing pains. The technology costs are significant—we’re talking $1,000 to $3,000 or more per installation, versus maybe $200 for a traditional setup. ROI calculations become complex when you’re weighing in hardware costs, content creation, and ongoing maintenance against increased sales velocity and margin improvements.

Costs aside, traditional marketers need to think like digital marketers, creating campaigns that can adapt and respond in real-time. And let’s address the elephant in the aisle: digital fatigue. Consumers are already bombarded with screens everywhere they turn. The key isn’t more digital—it’s smarter digital. The most successful implementations I’ve seen focus on utility and relevance rather than flashy animations.

Where is this technology heading? For any marketer, substitute your products for this grocery use case. I predict we’ll see three major developments:

• Voice Integration: Imagine asking an end aisle display about ingredient sourcing or allergen information and getting immediate, accurate responses.
• Augmented Reality: Point your phone at a product display and see recipe suggestions, user reviews, or even how the item would look in your own kitchen.
• Predictive Placement: AI systems \automatically optimize which products appear on which end caps based on predictive analytics, not just historical sales data.

The traditional end cap served us well for many decades, but it was essentially a static, outdated billboard in an interactive world. Digital signage isn’t just changing what we show shoppers—it’s changing how we think about the entire promotional ecosystem.

For traditional marketers, this means developing new skills, embracing new metrics, and thinking more like media planners than just merchandisers. The companies that figure this out first won’t just see better performance—they’ll gain a competitive advantage that extends throughout their entire category strategy.

Embrace and accelerate change, or become irrelevant