I’ve not made any changes recently, big or
David Lomas, Lomas News, Bury, Lancashire
small, but what have other retailers done
that’s had a positive impact?
Small changes to shop layout can lead to big sales increases
Oliver Blake, Oasis Services, Long Riston, Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire
“We had spent a few thousand pounds on a special stand for all the sweet treats that we make in our kitchen – doughnuts, croissants, cookies, mince pies and the like. We even had stuff on there from Dunkin’ Donuts, but they were placed near the rest of our food to go, so they weren’t generating any impulse sales for the store. As I walked around the store, I saw we had a beer stack on the way to the till.
“I asked myself ‘why do we have that there? Cases of beer aren’t bought on impulse’. We wanted to put something more impulsive there, so we put the sweet-treat stand there instead.
“We didn’t lose any sales from the beer stack after it was moved, but we saw a 40% increase in sales of sweet treats – we have to top it up several times a day. It started growing from day one and hasn’t stopped. I can’t recommend doing store walks enough. They help you make far better sense of your store.”
Small expansions to product range can grow sales quickly
Dhaval Ghosaliya, Barton Seagrave Post Office, Northamptonshire
“We’re a post office rather than a newsagent, but last year, we introduced a fridge so we could sell cold soft drinks. We invested in a new fridge in March 2023 and stocked it with soft drinks. It was slow at first, but people bought into it.
“We now get teenagers from the local secondary school coming into our shop all the time to buy our chilled soft drinks. They started asking if we sold sweets as well, so we brought in a small range that included Skittles and Maltesers, which flew out, so we’re expanding it further now. It’s something small we can do over the counter to boost basket spend, but it’s also increased footfall to the shop.
“Adding just couple of in-demand products has had a big impact on our sales. Our bestselling soft drinks are currently Coca-Cola and Dr Pepper, while the energy drinks are also working very well.”
A strong confectionery range and small adjustments to shop layout can pay dividends
Ashish Pal, Mount Pellon Newsagent, Halifax, West Yorkshire
“We’ve only been in the store since January 2024, but one of the small changes we made after we took it on was to introduce a wider range of children’s confectionery.
“We have started stocking a lot compared with the previous owner, and we’ve now got a strong selection, with the sweets ranging in price from 10p to £1.
“We’ve highlighted the prices with marketing materials. It means if children come into our shop they’re almost certain to buy something. Delving into this section and expanding it has had a big impact, and we’ve seen so many more kids coming into the shop as a result.
“It hasn’t required any extra space – we just adjusted our newspaper section and managed the space more effectively. We source all our confectionery from Bestway, Booker and Parfetts. I recommend retailers get involved in smaller sweets and confectionery.”
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