Abstract
This study examines the effects of reallocating shelf space from established to emerging brands in the flavored malt beverage category, a fast-moving, impulse-driven product category. Using a 13-week field experiment in 16 U.S. grocery stores (six treated, ten control), we reallocated one shelf facing from an established to an emerging brand for four weeks before reverting the shelves to their original configuration. Then we analyzed weekly SKU-level data on sales with fixed-effects panel regressions. Results show that the shelf-space reallocation increased category sales by 21.2% during treatment and 27.6% after reversion, revealing persistent gains. At the brand level, emerging brands gained substantially during treatment, established brands experienced delayed declines, and untreated brands benefited through spillover effects. We explain these brand-level responses with mechanisms such as habit disruption, consideration set adjustment, and cross-brand learning. Our findings demonstrate that even modest shelf reallocations can yield significant, lasting performance improvements, offering actionable insights for shelf-space strategy.
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DOI
10.20429/jamt.2026.130102
Publication Date
6-2026
First Page
1
Last Page
17
Recommended Citation
Core, J., & Kim, H. (2026). Beyond the shelf: How reallocating shelf space to emerging brands enhances store performance through dynamic brand-level effects. Journal of Applied Marketing Theory,13(1), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.20429/jamt.2026.130102