Confectionery is key in convenience, but with a wide range of brands and constant launches to choose from, deciding what to stock and merchandising your display can be challenging. Better Retailing joins Joy Hewson and Aileen Penman, representing Mars Wrigley, at two stores near Birmingham to help make their fixtures easier to shop.
THE EXPERTS
JOY HEWSON
Team Manager representing Mars Wrigley
AILEEN PENMAN
Team Manager representing Mars Wrigley
FOCUS ON
SHAILESH PAREKH
Nisa Local New Invention, Wolverhampton, West Midlands
“We are a forecourt in a residential area, so we have a lot of locals. We also have great links to the motorway, though, so we have a lot of passing trade. However, my confectionery sales are struggling as shoppers are becoming more health conscious. I have a wide range, but the display can be quite overwhelming for customers and it’s difficult to locate bestselling brands.”
Joy says
“Shailesh has a large range, and he caters for his regular and transient customers well. However, it is difficult for his customers to locate bestselling brands. To make the display easier to shop, we will group different types of confectionery, such as duo bars, together at eye level. To make it easier for shoppers to find what they want for different occasions, we’ll face the larger chocolate bars forward to make them more visible and add a secondary siting for sharing bags by the coffee machine.”
ACTION PLAN
Disciplined display: To help customers find popular products, we remerchandised duo bars and placed them at eye level so they’re easier to find.
Presentation: To help customers shop the fixture, we grouped duo bars together in a prime position, which makes it easier to find favourites.
Range: We introduced top-selling lines like Maltesers Buttons that were missing from Vicky’s display to help her cater for different shopper needs.
FOCUS ON
VICKY ONIONS
Vicky’s Convenience Store, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire
“The confectionery category is fast moving, and it can be difficult knowing how to merchandise my display effectively to drive sales, or to price competitively. My fixture is not immediately visible so I struggle to encourage shoppers to purchase other products or trade up. I’m located near a prison and I have a lot of passing trade from visitors so my chocolate is often picked up last minute.”
Aileen says
“Vicky has utilised the limited space in her shop well, however there is an opportunity to introduce sharing bags and block chocolates into her range to encourage people to buy them as gifts or for sharing, which would mean a higher spend and growing sales. Placing them on the gondola end will help customers locate their favourite brands and highlight the range. We’ll also look at introducing a secondary siting to improve visibility nearer the till and encourage impulse sales.”
ACTION PLAN
Visibility: To maximise key sales opportunities, we added a secondary display of block chocolates and sharing bags in a high traffic area.
Presentation: To help customers shop the fixture, we grouped duo bars together in a prime position, which makes it easier to find favourites.
Range: We introduced top-selling lines like Maltesers Buttons that were missing from Vicky’s display to help her cater for different shopper needs.
MARS WRIGLEY TIPS FOR YOUR STORE
1
Make sure bestselling lines are located in the centre of the fixture
2
Confectionery is a sociable treat so stock a range of sharing bags and block chocolates
3
To meet the demands of busy customers, block standard bars together
4
Think about your local area and the occasions for which people are buying confectionery and make it easy to find something to suit
What happens next?
Over a six-week trial period, Shailesh and Vicky followed Joy and Aileen’s expert advice and we tracked the sales data. To find out how they got on keep a look out for RN on 25 October.
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