After a few such jostles, most of the shoppers would move out of the way, abandoning their search. . . . The solution, elegantly common-sensical, was to move the tie rack to a more protected spot. A few weeks later the head of store planning called me to say that sales from the rack had gone up quickly and substantially. Since that day we've found countless similar situations in which shoppers have been spooked by too-close quarters. In every case, a quick adjustment was all that was needed.
Comfortable consumers equal higher sales.
No detail is too small. Move them ten feet in and the fliers and baskets will disappear. Kind of like a speed bump. He has noticed, for instance, that teenage shoppers don't mind bending down to get whatever product they're looking for, while older people resist stooping to get at items on the lowest shelves. Know who's buying what, and it's easier to figure out where to put it.