C-Store Planning for the Summer Snacking Rush

Summer is just around the corner so C-stores should begin planning now for the snacking rush. Warm months can be a busy time for convenience stores, with the average stores seeing a 9 percent increase in traffic. However, just because more people are stopping to refuel or grab a cold beverage doesn’t mean you’re poised to cash in. Retailers must be ready with the types of snack foods their shoppers are looking for to curb their summer cravings.

Rethink Shelf Space

In the summer months, C-Store sales of soup, baked goods and grocery items typically decline. However, in many markets, salty and whole-grain products actually index higher than candy and soft drinks.  Depending on the historic sales trends of an individual store, it makes sense to reduce shelf space for these items and focus on stocking up on the types of high-margin snack foods that will move quickly.

Summer Is About Health

In the winter months, people tend to be less active than in the summer. In order to feel confident in their swimsuits and shorts, many people focus on healthy eating from May through September. Research shows categories that sell well in the summer include trail mix, nut snacks and seeds. These types of snacks provide energy without the added sugar of traditional candy snacks. C-stores would serve themselves well to advertise and provide easy access to these types of healthy snacks.

Make Snacking Easy for Customers

Customers that pop into C-stores in the summer are typically looking to cool down from their daily activity or fuel up for a trip. Though people are a little more laid back when it’s warm, they don’t want to spend all day in a convenience store looking for the right snack. Effective merchandising is critical to capitalize on increased traffic and connect with customers who may be unfamiliar with the store’s layout and offerings.

Don’t hide healthy summer snacks where shoppers can’t see them. Guide customers to them with a mix of clear signage and attractive merchandising, and consider co-promoting them with other products to make a buying decision a “no-brainer.” Healthy snacks could be paired with tea, juice or water, and indulgent snacks could be paired with sodas, for example.

Find the Right Partner to Capitalize on the Snacking Rush

The right vendors can make all the difference when it comes to meeting customer demands in the summer. Mister Snacks works closely with our stores to provide the right mix of single-serve snack items from healthy to indulgent, and we provide our stores with signage, displays and packaging to catch attention and drive sales.

Are you looking for a strategic partner to help you manage your healthy snacks inventory?

If you want to learn more about the ways Mister Snacks has been helping convenience stores increase their snack sales, contact our team today.