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When I go to the grocery store, for example, the items are side by side on the same shelf. GIF peanut butter is next to the store brand at the same eye level.

by mfer 5y ago

When I go to the grocery store, for example, the items are side by side on the same shelf. GIF peanut butter is next to the store brand at the same eye level. When I look for something on Amazon the higher rated item is often below the fold. Being below the fold makes a huge difference to buyers. Sometimes I see it on the second page. These are two very different ways of displaying things.

gruez 5y ago
> When I go to the grocery store, for example, the items are side by side on the same shelf. GIF peanut butter is next to the store brand at the same eye level. That depends heavily on the type of product being sold. For small/low volume items, they'll be side by side as you mentioned, but for big/high volume items, they're definitely going to be placed on different levels. Overall, this behavior isn't because stores are fair or anything, but that they're subject to space constraints. Where space constraint isn't an issue (ie. for big/high volume items), brick and mortar retailers also engage in discrimination to make certain products more visible. I'm skeptical that placing products "below the fold" is any worse than what brick and mortar retailers engage in. Isn't "the fold" just a row that's slightly higher than the organic results? I'm not sure how having to scroll a few more inches is any way comparable to having to go to the backroom.
- mfer 5y ago
  While I have not looked at store eye tracking data, that from web pages will tell you the fold is a real issue. With the fold on a web page you have to scroll and keep scrolling for something to come into the visible space. For shelves you can look at a wall and see, even if not at the focal point, other items. In my personal experience, it's much easier to spot and look at the alternatives on store shelves than it is to navigate sites and look for comparable things.

by mfer 5y ago

gruez 5y ago

> When I go to the grocery store, for example, the items are side by side on the same shelf. GIF peanut butter is next to the store brand at the same eye level. That depends heavily on the type of product being sold. For small/low volume items, they'll be side by side as you mentioned, but for big/high volume items, they're definitely going to be placed on different levels. Overall, this behavior isn't because stores are fair or anything, but that they're subject to space constraints. Where space constraint isn't an issue (ie. for big/high volume items), brick and mortar retailers also engage in discrimination to make certain products more visible. I'm skeptical that placing products "below the fold" is any worse than what brick and mortar retailers engage in. Isn't "the fold" just a row that's slightly higher than the organic results? I'm not sure how having to scroll a few more inches is any way comparable to having to go to the backroom.

mfer 5y ago
While I have not looked at store eye tracking data, that from web pages will tell you the fold is a real issue. With the fold on a web page you have to scroll and keep scrolling for something to come into the visible space. For shelves you can look at a wall and see, even if not at the focal point, other items. In my personal experience, it's much easier to spot and look at the alternatives on store shelves than it is to navigate sites and look for comparable things.