Cat Specific Strategies
Dog Specific Strategies

Dry Cat Food

Discover how to make shopping for dry cat food easier by improving organization, product visibility, and variety to help shoppers find and choose the right formula.

!

Dry Cat Food

Understanding Shopper Decision Trees in Retail Shelving

Shopper decision trees (SDTs) provide valuable insights into how shoppers browse products and prioritize their choices. By understanding the hierarchy of what is most important to shoppers, we can enhance the shopping experience.​
 ​
While SDTs serve as a guiding framework for organizing the retail shelf, they are not meant to be followed rigidly. Instead, they should be used to make the shopping experience more intuitive and convenient for the customer. By referencing SDTs, we can ensure that products are arranged in a way that aligns with shopper priorities, facilitating easier and more satisfying shopping journeys.

Decision 1:

Formulation or Type

Decision 2:

Brand or Sub-Brand

Decision 3:

Lifestage

Decision 4:

Health or Lifestyle Benefit

Challenges Shoppers Face in Navigating the Aisle and Finding Dry Cat Food

By understanding these challenges, retailers can take steps to simplify the shopping experience, making it easier for customers to find and choose the right products.

Swipe through the carousel to explore challenges shoppers face

Dry Cat Food – Overwhelmed

“

There are so many options that it’s overwhelming.

The vast number of brands, sizes, flavors, and prices makes it daunting for shoppers to decide what to buy.

Dry Cat Food – Specific

“

I can find my brand, but we need something very specific.

There is limited variety within the brands of Dry Cat Food, making it harder for shoppers to find products that meet their cat’s specific needs and preferences, such as the right life stage (kitten/senior) or functional food (UTI health, healthy weight, etc.).

Dry Cat Food – See All Options

“

I can hardly see all of the options, nevermind finding our specific formula!

Shoppers find it difficult to see all the pertinent information on the bags depending on how they sit on the shelf (panels vs. PDPs), and the inconsistent use of color blocking across the category adds to the challenge of quickly finding what they are looking for.

Dry Cat Food – Specific

“

I can find my brand, but we need something very specific.

There is limited variety within the brands of Dry Cat Food, making it harder for shoppers to find products that meet their cat’s specific needs and preferences, such as the right life stage (kitten/senior) or functional food (UTI health, healthy weight, etc.).

Dry Cat Food – See All Options

“

I can hardly see all of the options, nevermind finding our specific formula!

Shoppers find it difficult to see all the pertinent information on the bags depending on how they sit on the shelf (panels vs. PDPs), and the inconsistent use of color blocking across the category adds to the challenge of quickly finding what they are looking for.

Dry Cat Food – See All Options

“

I can hardly see all of the options, nevermind finding our specific formula!

Shoppers find it difficult to see all the pertinent information on the bags depending on how they sit on the shelf (panels vs. PDPs), and the inconsistent use of color blocking across the category adds to the challenge of quickly finding what they are looking for.

Best Practices

for Retail Shelving

Click on a tactic to learn more

"

Organize shelves to make it simple for shoppers to find what they need quickly and efficiently.

  • Flow the aisle by price tier, leading with pinnacle/ultra brands and blocking by brand to create a clear and logical shopping experience.
  • Flow the aisle by life stage, as it can make it harder for shoppers to compare products within their budget and preferred brand.

Motivate shoppers to try new or different items to cater to their cats' ever-changing preferences.

  • Use simple, clear signage to guide shoppers toward new or different items that cater to their cats' changing preferences.
  • Overwhelm shoppers with excessive signage that clutters the aisle and blocks product facings.

Ensure high-growth and popular items are prominently displayed and easy to find, using their visibility to draw shoppers into the aisle and drive traffic.

  • Within each brand block, organize by formula first, then life stage, and finally flavor to create a logical and intuitive shopping flow.
  • Organize by protein type within each brand, as it can make product navigation more complex for shoppers.

Offer a decent variety of smaller bag sizes to encourage trial purchases, accommodating finicky cats.

  • Front-face smaller bags (XS/S) for better visibility, while placing larger bags (M/L/XL) on the shelf with the butt panel facing out to maximize space efficiency.
  • Use butt panel organization across the entire shelf, as it reduces product visibility and makes shopping more difficult.

Create a connection between wet cat food, dry food, treats, and litter to encourage cross-purchasing.

  • Utilize cat treat clip strips within the dry cat food area to encourage add-on purchases and enhance the shopper experience.
  • Stock a limited assortment of dry cat food without linking to cat treats, missing an opportunity to drive incremental sales.

Optimizing Fulfillment Methods for Dry Cat Food

​ By addressing these opportunities and challenges, an online best-in-class retail shelving education platform can guide retailers on how to optimize their omni-fulfillment methods, ensuring a seamless and convenient shopping experience for customers.

Dry Cat Food Fulfillment – 1

Showcase a range of smaller food bags to encourage trial and flavor rotation. Help cat owners choose with organized shelves and clear in-store education.

Dry Cat Food Fulfillment – 2

For cat owners managing multiple diets, curbside pickup makes it easy to order various formulas without the hassle of in-store shopping or delivery delays—a true time-saver.

Dry Cat Food Fulfillment – 3

Dry cat food is bulky, making ship-to-home ideal—especially for households with multiple cats buying larger bags. Ensure online platforms are easy to navigate, highlight deals, and encourage larger baskets without overwhelming shoppers.

Dry Cat Food Fulfillment – 4

Dry cat food shoppers tend to stick with preferred brands, making subscriptions an effective way to ensure consistent supply and drive repeat purchases—benefiting both shoppers and retailers.

Dry Cat Food Fulfillment – 2

For cat owners managing multiple diets, curbside pickup makes it easy to order various formulas without the hassle of in-store shopping or delivery delays—a true time-saver.

Dry Cat Food Fulfillment – 3

Dry cat food is bulky, making ship-to-home ideal—especially for households with multiple cats buying larger bags. Ensure online platforms are easy to navigate, highlight deals, and encourage larger baskets without overwhelming shoppers.

Dry Cat Food Fulfillment – 4

Dry cat food shoppers tend to stick with preferred brands, making subscriptions an effective way to ensure consistent supply and drive repeat purchases—benefiting both shoppers and retailers.

Dry Cat Food Fulfillment – 3

Dry cat food is bulky, making ship-to-home ideal—especially for households with multiple cats buying larger bags. Ensure online platforms are easy to navigate, highlight deals, and encourage larger baskets without overwhelming shoppers.

Dry Cat Food Fulfillment – 4

Dry cat food shoppers tend to stick with preferred brands, making subscriptions an effective way to ensure consistent supply and drive repeat purchases—benefiting both shoppers and retailers.

Dry Cat Food Fulfillment – 4

Dry cat food shoppers tend to stick with preferred brands, making subscriptions an effective way to ensure consistent supply and drive repeat purchases—benefiting both shoppers and retailers.

Utilizing the PLUS Framework for the Dry Cat Food Segment

By leveraging these areas of the PLUS framework, retailers can effectively enhance their cat litter segment, attracting new customers, broadening product appeal, encouraging premium purchases, and increasing overall consumption.​

Hover over a card to learn more

Welcome:

Target New
Households

Welcome: Drive Awareness & Simplify Choice

Ensure strong visibility of kitten products and provide clear education on different formulas. Make it easy for shoppers to discover and compare options.

Kittens make up 16% of the cat population, but only 4% of dry cat food sold is kitten formula. Shifting just 2% of sales to kitten formulas unlocks a $7.9M opportunity.

Broaden:

Expand the Definitions of Traditional Segments

Broaden: Increase Visibility & Drive Trial

Position new innovations—like dry toppers and enhanced kibble (meaty centers, freeze-dried, etc.)—where they are highly visible to encourage shopper engagement.

If 10% of dry cat food buyers purchased just one unit of toppers or add-ins per year, it would generate a $58M opportunity.

Upgrade:

Educate Trade Consumers to Higher Price Tiers

Upgrade: Strategically Anchor Premium Tiers

Position Premium and Super Premium price tiers where shoppers spend the most time. Ensure a smooth pricing progression between similar products (e.g., natural chicken varieties) to maintain category value and encourage trade-up.

Shifting just 10% of Premium households to Super Premium would generate a $47M opportunity.

Expand:

Strategies & Tactics to Increase Consumption of Current Consumers

Expand: Optimize Variety & Pack Sizes

Ensure availability of larger bags alongside a diverse selection of mid/small-sized bags within brands. Cat owners are brand loyal but often rotate between flavors—offering multiple options can drive variety, increase consumption, and boost sales.

If 10% of dry cat food buyers purchased just one additional unit per year, it would generate a $51M opportunity.