Abstract For brick-and-mortar retailers to be successful, it is critical for them to optimize their rack layout and product placement to draw the attention of shoppers. Recent studies show that racks placed at a non-90° angle along the shopper's path or rack heights positioned below a shopper's eye-height can provide improved visibility of products on those racks. While this can increase the likelihood of a shopper entering that aisle for an impulse purchase, the increase in floor space and restocking costs cannot be ignored. To address these tradeoffs, we propose the Joint Rack Configuration and Shelf Space Allocation (JRC-SSA) problem that jointly determines rack decisions (orientation and height) and product decisions (location and number of locations) in order to maximize the retailer's impulse profit. We propose an optimization model for JRC-SSA and solve it using a Particle Swarm Optimization based algorithm. Results indicate that a retailer can realize up to 10.1% increase in profit through the JRC-SSA compared to a traditional 7 ft high rack placed at 90° orientation. Acute-angled racks appear to increase impulse profit over 90° racks at low space costs; shorter racks were prominent for low restocking costs. We also notice that product location and allocation on the rack were altered substantially; high impulse products were often switched from the front to the back face (or vice-versa) to maintain high visibility in different rack orientations. Retailers can use these findings to redesign store sections for enhanced product visibility, which would not only increase their revenue, but also improve shopper experience.

中文翻译：

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零售商货架配置和货架空间分配的联合确定

摘要 实体零售商要想取得成功，优化货架布局和产品放置以吸引购物者的注意力至关重要。最近的研究表明，沿购物者路径以非 90° 角放置的货架或位于购物者视线下方的货架高度可以提高这些货架上产品的可见度。虽然这会增加购物者进入该过道进行冲动购买的可能性，但不能忽视占地面积和进货成本的增加。为了解决这些权衡问题，我们提出了联合货架配置和货架空间分配 (JRC-SSA) 问题，该问题联合确定货架决策（方向和高度）和产品决策（位置和位置数量），以最大化零售商的冲动利润。我们为 JRC-SSA 提出了一个优化模型，并使用基于粒子群优化的算法来解决它。结果表明，与以 90° 方向放置的传统 7 英尺高机架相比，零售商可以通过 JRC-SSA 实现高达 10.1% 的利润增长。锐角机架似乎以较低的空间成本增加了超过 90° 机架的脉冲利润；较短的货架因低重新进货成本而突出。我们还注意到货架上的产品位置和分配发生了重大变化；高脉冲产品通常从正面切换到背面（反之亦然），以在不同的机架方向保持高可见度。零售商可以使用这些发现来重新设计商店部分，以提高产品的知名度，这不仅会增加他们的收入，还会改善购物者的体验。