A joint MDM-Real Results Marketing survey revealed that most distributors don’t view in-store marketing and merchandising as a core competency. The authors of this article argue that it should be, and that smaller and mid-size distributors have significant opportunity to improve in-store revenue through more effective and strategic use of displays.

Although e-commerce initiatives are front and center for many distributors today, in-store revenue remains essential. Yet most distributors with walk-in trade place limited emphasis on in-store marketing and merchandising. Analysis from a recent MDM survey showed that many of the merchandising decisions are decentralized, or left up to the location manager, including which products to feature, how often to rotate featured products and planograms, or shelf layouts.

Furthermore, while distributors value the expertise and involvement from …