Not every product left on the shelf is ignored. Some are avoided.

While marketers obsess over attention, what’s often overlooked is the emotion consumers bring into the aisle. Feelings like guilt, embarrassment, social anxiety, or shame can deeply affect what gets picked up, or passed over.

It’s not just about what looks good. It’s about what feels safe to be seen interacting with.

From personal care and supplements to snacks, alcohol, and even tech, shelf shame is a real phenomenon, and it’s reshaping how brands should think about POSM, packaging, and product presence.

🧠 The Psychology Behind Avoidance

We talk a lot about how to capture attention. But sometimes, consumers aren’t looking for what grabs them, they’re scanning for what they can engage with comfortably.

Research from behavioral psychology shows:

• Perceived judgment from others significantly influences in-aisle choices.

• Shoppers modify their behavior based on who's around them (especially in shared spaces like convenience stores, beauty aisles, or pharmacies).

• Self-conscious product categories (e.g., deodorants, weight loss items, certain spirits, intimate wellness, anti-aging products) see higher levels of hesitation, even when interest is high.

The result? If your product makes people feel exposed, they’ll wait until no one’s watching, or not buy at all.

👀 What This Looks Like in the Real World

• A man hesitates before picking up a high-SPF face cream in a unisex skincare aisle.

• A woman glances at a low-calorie cocktail mix but walks past it because she’s standing next to a group of people buying regular beer.

• A teen wants to try a mood-enhancing drink but is unsure what it “says” about them in public.

• A shopper avoids picking up a vegan chocolate bar because they feel it makes them look fussy.

These are not product issues, they’re perception issues. And perception is shaped by context, storytelling, and design.

🛠️ How POSM Can Reduce Shame, Not Reinforce It

1. Design for confidence, not just clarity

Use bold, neutral language rather than “fix-it” framing. Instead of “problem skin,” say “clarity-focused.” Instead of “low-alcohol,” say “light refreshment.” Remove the apology. Reinforce the choice.

2. Invite private discovery

Create space within the display for quieter browsing. Consider layered shelf displays, fold-out panels, or QR-led deep dives that allow shoppers to engage without performance.

3. Neutralise visual tone

Avoid oversaturated POSM in categories where discretion matters. Minimal, calm design in the right context signals that the brand understands your emotional state—not just your buyer persona.

4. Empower, don’t expose

Use messages that reframe the choice as empowering. “You’re in control,” “Your kind of smart,” or “This one’s for you” works better than “Finally, a fix.”

🛍️ Brands Getting It Right

• Seed Health frames gut health supplements in soft grey packaging with science-forward copy, smart, not shameful.

• Hims & Hers use neutral POSM and lifestyle-forward visuals to reframe intimate health and mental wellness products.

• Athletic Brewing Co. places non-alc beer in premium performance contexts (trail running, cycling), removing the “compromise” narrative entirely.

• Function of Beauty lets you customize products with your name, shifting the experience from secretive to personal.

These brands reduce shelf shame by increasing agency. They don’t tell you what’s wrong. They show you what’s yours.

🧠 Merch & Effect POV

At Merch & Effect, we believe the future of POSM isn’t just louder, it’s kinder. We build for confidence, not coercion. Our best-performing retail tools give consumers the freedom to interact without self-consciousness: through language, layout, materiality, and emotional tone.

Because at the end of the aisle, it's not just about visibility. It's about dignity.

And the brands that respect that will be the ones picked up, and remembered.