Loyalty (rewards) programs seem like such a no-brainer.  For any industry where the products and prices are similar, why wouldn't a consumer go to the store where their purchases earn them something?

And yet, no loyalty! 

The problem is you're asking the wrong question.

My wife and daughter can happily go through a dozen stores, looking through the racks, trying things on and may or may not buy anything. In fact, if they even have something to get, they might end up coming back with something completely different. Talk about cross selling and increasing basket size.

In liquor stores, people want to try out new products - just look at the dramatic increase in breweries, distilleries and vineyards. But people typically buy their go-to products every time. Why?

Let's look at the stats...

Joe is leaving work and gets a text from his wife. 

It’s another sunny Thursday in Colorado. There’s just a couple of wispy white clouds in the blue sky and it’s so clear you can see a couple 14ers.  Mary’s in the car running errands and thinking about the “Girl’s Afternoon Tea” tomorrow on her deck.  She’s got to pick up a couple extra ingredients she forgot for the appetizers and a few bottles of wine – including a Merlot for Stella. It’s always something with Stella.

Where to go?  There’s that big discount store with a billion choices. It’s cheaper, but it’s out of the way and kind of a pain to get in and out. Too nice of a day for that. There’s the store she always goes to. That’s fine, but…

End caps are fantastic. They grab the customer's attention. Get products noticed. Get products purchased.

As long as the number of products on the end cap is managed so as not to overload the customer, it is extremely effective.

Of course there's always a downside.