Four ways to build sales with pre-packs

When Steve Friesen is waiting in line at a store, he finds himself looking for last-minute deals to add to his basket. That’s why, as the owner of Thornview Grocery in Morden, MB, he uses promotional displays near the cash to incent his customers to pick up an extra item or two.
5/30/2013

Check out this 2-minute video featuring Faye Peterson from Express 24 in Red Deer, Alberta, and learn about how you can engage your customers with cause-based promotions.
When Steve Friesen is waiting in line at a store, he finds himself looking for last-minute deals to add to his basket. That’s why, as the owner of Thornview Grocery in Morden, MB, he uses promotional displays near the cash to incent his customers to pick up an extra item or two.

“We put pre-packs close to the till, where people stand and wait, and we go through product like crazy,” he says. When an item goes on promotion, Friesen notices a substantial increase in sales for that product – sometimes a lift of up to four times. “When you put a product in front of people, they’ll always want to grab two or even four. Sometimes people are just looking for something to buy.”

When Friesen launches a promotion, he ensures the price is right to attract his customers’ attention. Any time he can get a deal from a supplier on a promotion, he’s sure to pass the savings on to his customers. “I usually do 2-for-$2 or 2-for-$2.22,” he says. “We’ll try and move through them quickly, so we set a price that’s attractive; as opposed to taking 10% off, we’ll take 25% off.”

Although price and location are extremely important in his store, Friesen believes there are certain promotions that will always succeed. “I don’t think I’ve ever had a promotion that’s aligned with a movie release that has not done well,” he says.

If Friesen sees an ad on TV for a consumer promotion, he jumps at the opportunity to get it into his store. “When they’re promoting a new movie, it always does really well because it catches everyone’s attention. Those are the pre-packs I put up because there’s POS and other support around it,” he says, explaining that if he has seen the ad, he knows the majority of his customers have, too.

Friesen has simple advice for retailers looking to boost their promotional success: “If you have promotions, and if it’s a really good product, put it out, because people are always looking for something new and exciting – we all are.”

Quick tips for a successful in-store promotion

Build excitement. Take advantage of promotions that align with movie releases or strong consumer marketing campaigns.

Keep it fresh. Ensure your pre-packs are always relevant and full of products that sell in your store.

Entice with price. Offer your customers a deal they can’t pass up, and chances are they won’t.

Showcase innovation. Customers are looking for new products, so be sure to promote innovation.

To learn more about promotional tools like PROMO SELECT, visit ccentral.ca/promoselect.

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