Like every convenience store and supermarket in the country we sell potato crisps and snacks.

We allocate a one metre bay for standard bags on a stand provided by Walkers, another metre for family bags and multipacks, and we almost always have special offers in our promotional area.

To maximise sales we need to think about who is buying a product and why they are making  their purchase – what is their shopping mission?

When we last undertook a store replan in 2011 this knowledge led us to place the crisp display next to our alcohol section. Before this, crisps had been merchandised next to confectionery, the traditional CTN channel approach. However an analysis of basket mix enabled me to identify that our key crisp purchasers also bought alcohol so the change made their visit easier. The new position of the crisps is also opposite our sandwich display so we get complimentary sales from these customers too; and we’ve included 150g bags and other nibbles such as dipping crackers, chilli puffs and fava beans to our range to cater for customers who have drinks and dinner parties – a significant part of our business.

Our range reflects the customers that use our small Somerset market town. Although Walkers products are the most significant brand in our range we tend to only stock their traditional best sellers such as ready salted and salt and vinegar. The other brands that we stock are Tyrells, Kettle and regional producer Barts, who make their crisps in Devon.

Our top 10 sellers by sales volume:

Walkers Salt ‘n’ Shake
Kettle Crisps 150g Lightly Salted
Walkers 32.5g Ready Salted
Walkers 32.5g Salt and Vinegar
Kettle Crisps 40g Lightly Salted
Walkers 32.5g Cheese and Onion
Tyrrells  150g Lightly Salted
SupaValue Roasted and Salted Cashew Nuts
Windway 275g Toffee Popcorn
Hula Hoops Bar-b-que Beef

Key points for your crisps business:

• Ensure your display is in an easily accessible position, as this will deliver more sales
• Tightly define your range to significantly reduce waste
• Suit your range to your customer. Due to our grocery heritage we have a predominantly adult customer base and are able to sell higher priced products and “grown up” flavours such as Barts Guinness. These sold extremely well in the run up to Christmas.
• Adapt planograms to your store. We use a Walkers planogram tweaked to make it fully relevant to our local market, and to and take our sales data into account.