Arrange the soft drinks vertically by
package size and horizontally by brand.
Never put beer and soft drinks in the
same cooler door.
Keep your fastest moving products at eye
level. Single cans or bottles of Pepsi and Coke will probably move fast. Major brands of
beer in 12-packs or 6-packs will be your best seller in that department.
The isle where you keep the large bags of
chips should be in line with the beer doors. The confectionery isle should be in line with
the soft drink doors.
Consider stocking bacon and eggs if the
Food Shop is located near a residential area.
If it is illegal to sell beer in the
community at certain times lock the beer cooler doors.
Offer the 12-ounce cans and 16-ounce
bottles in the soft drink department.
Keep single cans of soft drinks in every
cooler door that soft drinks are merchandised. This practice will keep
customers from breaking up 6-packs.
Consider merchandising two-liter bottles
of soft drinks from a distributor supplied display rack. This practice will free up
valuable space in the cooler. Customers do not mind buying two-liter bottles that are
warm.
Keep the fountain drink area spotless.
This area requires constant cleanup.
The age 18-34 age group is the prime
customer base for soft drinks.
Have promotions of fountain drinks during
December, January and February (the slower months for fountain sales). Avoid promotions
during peak summer months. When sales are strong you do not need to cut margins on these
highly profitably products.
If the fountain area is not clean, bright
and well organized, the customer will loose interest in a pretty big hurry.
Merchandise a counter candy rack with
chocolate bars next to the fountain machine.
Carry a sugar-free noncarbonated drink
such as Crystal Light and a decaffeinated diet cola drink. Today's society is very health
and diet conscious.
Get into the coffee business. Make fresh
coffee every twenty-five minutes. Coffee starts breaking down after this point.
Wash the coffee pot every time you make a
new one. Coffee oils will build on the glass even after one pot. This can
result in bitter tasting coffee. Offer liquid and powered coffee whitener, sugar and
artificial sweetener.
Establish a coffee "refill
club".
Dry snacks, candy, popcorn, sandwiches,
pizza and cookies are natural tie-ins with retail beverages, fountain or cold vault.
Milk is a planned purchase. Set
competitive prices.
Avoid double facing of slow moving
products.
Stock 16-ounce bottles of juice. Juice
and juice beverage sales have grown 50 percent during the last five years. The 16-ounce
bottles are the fastest growing package size.
Ice is extremely profitable. Merchandise
your freezer area. make sure the bags of ice are lined up neatly, with the logo facing
out. Stockpile it for the holidays.
Do not think of your cooler or freezer as
a storage area.
