In-store Merchandisers – An Overlooked Strategic Asset for National Brand Manufacturers to Build Retailer Relationships and to Gain Product Visibility

Many national brand manufacturers are struggling to maintain or grow their market share as they face increased competition. In search for strategic responses to this issue, academic research frequently suggests building stronger retailer relationships as an answer to this development. We add to this stream of literature by investigating the role of the in-store merchandiser as a relationship-building agent for national brand manufacturers. Surprisingly, academic research on the effectiveness of the use of in-store merchandisers is scarce. By conducting an experimental field study, we investigate how increased investments in in-store merchandisers translate into better manufacturer performance. Furthermore, we show that these effects can be explained with increased relationship satisfaction for the store managers. Thereby we show that in-store merchandisers can help enhance manufacturer performance through an improved relationship with retailers and add a new strategy to the relationship building portfolio of manufactures.