Even in construction, you pick up some tricks. I've seen retail stores put stuff people use together, like items for Hispanic shoppers and signs in Spanish. It makes them feel more at home and spend more money. It's just a simple tweak, but it shows people you actually thought about them.
We turned the former idea of keeping items in separate aisles on its head and built "complete meal stations" near the meat department. We juxtaposed fresh peppers, onions and specialty spices against popular cuts of beef and pork. This is a strategy that reflects the reality of how food is planned and cooked in home kitchens throughout Latino homes. Segmenting items by use instead of type dramatically increased the average basket. It saves customers time and exposes them to high-quality brands that they might otherwise have overlooked. The reason I recommend others give this a shot is that it shifts away from the sale of single-item priorities to selling convenient, culturally-appropriate fixes.
Displaying products by "occasion," not category, has been very successful. Instead of layers and aisles where we kept the beans separate from the rice, and all these spices over here, we have a Sancocho station or a Tamale Station. This keeps every ingredient necessary for a specific traditional dish in one place. I recommend others do this as well because it saves the customer time and is really personal. It shows the store gets their culture and how they really cook at home. This one small change significantly speeds up shopping. It also benefits the store to be selling more because you've got the consumers who can do their shopping in one place for a meal.
One fun method to merchandise is grouping by recipe. You can arrange the entire base of an old-fashioned dish in a single display. Put your fresh cilantro and pepper right next to the tomatoes. This method is a favorite because it cuts down time for busy households. It keeps shopping list forgetters from getting in over their heads with what they don't need for the meal. The others should do this and improve their sales and trust level. It tells us you respect each of your customers' singular culinary traditions. All this little change does is make for a more inviting and accommodating store.