Crack on and prepare for Easter

Sukhi Khunkhun, Woodcross, Wolverhampton

Start early Our supplier delivers our Easter chocolate at the beginning of December and I put Cadbury’s Creme Eggs out for sale on Boxing Day. Customers laugh and say things like: “It’s still Christmas, for goodness sake.” But they still buy the Creme Eggs because they like eating them.

Stock variety We sell eggs for £1 which are very popular with the kids. They eat them instead of sweets on their way home from school. We also did pretty well with premium products last year, with a big display of eggs for £10 at the front of the shop. They sold out.

Promote Easter products online We are proactive about getting Easter chocolate out in the shop and about how we get the word out about it online. Every year, we receive the Premier electronic brochure for Easter chocolate. We upload it to our Facebook page and let customers have a look. It’s simple, cheap and effective advertising. 

Sandeep Bains, Simply Fresh, Faversham

Start early I sell Cadbury’s Creme Eggs from the end of November. Everyone is thinking about Christ-mas but Creme Eggs are always popular. I’ll put the first Easter eggs out in early February and do everything I can to let people know we have a great range.

Cover the range It’s no good having only £1 Easter eggs. They might sell but they’re so cheap you won’t make big money on them. Also, customers want variety. Easter comes only once a year and customers are prepared to spend on special gifts, so we stock everything from £1 to £20.

Shout about your stock Easter egg sales are difficult for convenience stores because we can’t match the supermarkets’ loss leaders. Customers come to us on Easter weekend, for last-minute purchases, so we need to make sure they know we have the stock – by displaying well in advance and promoting our range on Facebook.

Amandeep Singh, Singh’s Convenience, Premier, Barnsley

Shop around I shop around the big wholesalers and the local ones for all my products, and Easter chocolate is no exception. Last year, I found good deals and was able to make 20% margins on some eggs. We were very competitive and some of our prices were cheaper than the supermarkets.

Stock up your seasonal bay I start with impulse products. The day after Christmas I put MaltEaster Easter bunnies out around the till. Cadbury’s Creme Eggs come next in early January and they fly off the shelves, as everyone loves them. The day after St Valentine’s Day, I fill our seasonal bay with Easter Eggs.

Put premium at eye-level I put the cheapest eggs on the bottom shelf, average price eggs on the top shelf and expensive eggs on the middle shelves. That way, the expensive items are at eye-level. Children see them and pester their parents. By the Easter weekend, parents have given in and bought them.

Harvinder Singh Thiara, Marty’s Convenience, Birmingham

Stay ahead of your customers As a retailer, you constantly have to be thinking ahead and Easter is a great example. I’ll put impulse products out after Christmas and Cadbury’s Creme Egg will be the main one, as they always sell. This lets customers know that Easter is only a few months away.

Make a showpiece If customers are excited about Easter then they’re likely to spend money on chocolate. So I make a big deal of Easter in the shop by creating a showpiece display, featuring everything from £1 eggs to  premium products.

Save the best for last Getting your Easter chocolate out early is essential but I hold the premium eggs back until three weeks before Christmas. We only have one shelf dedicated to premium but there are always a small number of people who buy them, so I will keep stocking them.