Research conducted by the “Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences” finds that simply changing shelving strategy can reduce food waste and boost profits. Stores that are open to offering discounts on products based on expiration can benefit more than those just the implementing shelving strategy. Dairy products work best when older products are promoted most with modest discounts, meats perform well when the newest items are shown prominently with aggressive discounts on older ones, and bread products are not found to have a substantial benefit with discounting. Improved displays on these items can be enough to make an impact on food waste for those stores with already slim margins. I think that any easy changes retailers can make like this that would improve their bottom line while reducing food waste is a no brainer, and a great step in the right direction.

Link to article: https://phys.org/news/2026-02-smarter-shelf-strategy-boost-retail.html