Category Management | Beverage
for Boosting Summer
Beverage Sales With new products continually hitting the market, cooler and storage space at a premium and supply disruptions limiting shipment sizes, c-stores need to satisfy the wide-ranging palates of thirsty customers. Thomas Mulloy • Senior Editor
Summer means hot weather and thirsty customers looking to cool down and enjoy the season. It’s prime time to move non-alcoholic beverages while those seasonal customers are in the c-store. These are our top tips for boosting summer beverage sales. 1. STOCK VARIETY
Today’s customers want options. To position your store as a destination for non-alcoholic beverages, ensuring a strong variety of beverages is key. “The biggest thing we’ve been doing in the stores is basically expanding our variety,” said Brent Mouton, president of Louisiana-based Hit-n-Run’s seven store chain. “Whether that’s extending the walk-in cooler or bringing in additional coolers, just to get a better variety of product out there, that’s worked well for us.” 54
CSTORE DECISIONS •
August 2021
2. USE DISCOUNTS & PROMOTIONS
Discounts have always been a proven way to accelerate sales, whether introducing your own discounts or partnering with beverage makers on promotions. Afterall, vendors want to move product as much as you do. “They’re doing two-fers mostly,” Mouton said of the beverage vendors he works with. “And then a mix of hot prices, where (the vendors) lower the cost a little, and we lower the retail. Each of us makes a little less, but it’s a reward for the customer.” Joseph Bickham, president of Fuel City, with seven stores in the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex, is taking a similar approach at his locations. “The most effective, and the things that we’ve done most consistently, are running promotions for energy drinks and other beverages, doing two-fer and three-fer deals,” Bickham said. Fuel City will cross-promote beverages with food and other items to give the consumer a nudge toward increasing their basket ring.
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