Maximizing Profit with These Effective Produce Merchandising Tips

If you are a grocery store owner, you likely already know just how important your store’s produce department is in relation to setting the tone of a customer’s shopping experience. As it is typically the first place your customers go to when entering a grocery store, your produce department should be easy to navigate and invite your customers to spend more time in your store. Learning about fresh produce merchandising can help you learn how to create a successful produce department and become the favourite grocery store of your customers.

At LemonTree Products, we are a leading designer and manufacturer of high-quality produce display systems. We understand that your produce department is the heart of your grocery store and know just how important optimizing this department can be. In this post, we provide you with our best produce merchandising tips to help you make the most of your produce department no matter its size.

Focus on Freshness and Visual Interest

There’s more to fresh produce merchandising than simply displaying your produce. The freshness of your produce and how it is displayed goes a long way toward enticing your customers to buy it. Ensure that your staff are adequately trained to rotate produce to reduce spoilage. Beyond educating staff on how to reduce produce shrink, you may also wish to consider unique ways to sell produce that may be nearing the end of its lifespan. Consider merchandising discounted produce items in a dedicated area to alert your customers of bargain prices and avoid less-than-optimal produce being placed next to your freshest inventory.

Lean Into Seasonal Features and Events

In-season and local produce offers you an opportunity to highlight beautiful produce and draw in your customers. Consider highlighting a produce item that is in season or has been sourced locally through thoughtful displays. Also, consider celebrating holidays and cultural events with your customers by having traditional produce in stock and displayed in a way that recognizes the holiday in question. Our post, How to Display Produce in a Grocery Store, offers additional suggestions on making the most of your produce displays.

Utilize Displays to Make Produce Shine

Produce display systems can also play a significant role in boosting the appearance of your grocery store. Look for produce display racks and produce display stands that help to show off the natural beauty of your produce. Even “B-grade” produce can look beautiful and enticing with the right storage solution.

Ensure Your Store is Accessible

There is nothing more frustrating than a grocery store that has an awkward layout that isn’t accessible to all shoppers. Always keep the accessibility of your store in mind so that everyone can easily maneuver the isles and find what they are looking for. By having an easy-to-shop produce department, your customers may be more likely to spend time in it rather than rush to complete their shopping list. A custom-designed produce display system can make a tremendous difference in making stores of all sizes more accessible.

Fresh produce merchandising works best when a store is designed to suit the needs of its customers and department staff alike. If you are looking to improve your produce department, starting with the display solutions is a smart place to start. Book a free design consultation with the experts at LemonTree Products to see how your produce department can be better for you and your community.