Glossary
Physical Availability
Also known as · Physische Verfügbarkeit
Physical Availability is how easy a brand is to find and to buy — across places, times and occasions.
Physical Availability is how easy a brand is to find and to buy. It covers distribution, but goes further: shelf position, opening hours, delivery options, the number of clicks to checkout, and whether the product is present at the moment demand appears.
Why Physical Availability matters
It is the second of the two structural growth levers. A brand can be well known and still fail to grow if buying it requires effort. Conversely, brands often grow simply because they became easier to buy — a new channel, a new pack size, a new market.
Physical Availability in practice
- Presence. Being available where the category is bought, not only where the brand feels at home.
- Prominence. Being findable within that place — shelf, search results, menu.
- Relevance of format. Offering the pack, size or plan that fits the occasion.
Physical and Mental Availability work as a pair: attention without access is wasted, and access without recall goes unnoticed.
Source · Ehrenberg-Bass Institute (Byron Sharp)
Related terms
Mental Availability
Mental Availability is the probability that a brand comes to mind in a buying situation — how easily and how often it is noticed, recognised and thought of.
Penetration
Penetration is the share of category buyers who bought a brand at least once in a given period — the main driver of brand growth.