An end cap (also called end-aisle or gondola end) is the shelf at the end of a gondola run. Thanks to its accessibility and visibility it usually attracts more attention than the aisle itself, which is why retailers use it for promotions and launches, and why brands pay for it. But not every end cap earns its price: it depends on the category and the position.
Gondola end: the same display, another name
A gondola is the double-sided shelving unit that forms the sides of an aisle, and a run of gondolas usually ends in a short unit facing the main or cross aisle. That unit is the gondola end, the name most used in UK retail; in the US it is the end cap or endcap, and in Spanish a cabecera de góndola. Because it faces the busier aisle, shoppers see it before they decide whether to walk down the aisle behind it.
What is an endcap display?
An endcap display is what the end cap holds at a given time: a price promotion, a new launch, a seasonal set or a cross-category bundle, such as pasta, sauce and cheese for one meal. It usually shows few products with many facings, often with signage, a shelf talker or a screen, and it changes more often than the aisle shelves, following the promotional calendar. Each set is planned like any other shelf, with its own planogram.
Because brands often pay for the space, an endcap display is also in-store media inventory, and the question it has to answer is the same as for any media: did the shoppers who saw it buy more?