Are you looking to transform your delicatessen counter into a sales powerhouse? Here is your step-by-step guide on how to create a delicatessen counter that achieves maximum sales and profit. We'll cover everything from attracting customers to streamlining operations, while highlighting how displayware and merchandising techniques can elevate your counter to the next level.
Designing for Attraction
Grabbing your potential customers' attention with a visually appealing counter is the first step to success. Here's how to entice them to explore your delicatessen counter:
- Create a feast for the eyes: Invest in high-quality displayware to showcase your products beautifully and elevate their perceived value – then apply visual merchandising techniques to guide the shopper towards various elements.
- Colourful choreography: Layer colours and textures to create eye-catching contrasts. Let natural colours of produce take centre stage, while add flair to more neutral products with more colourful display pieces
- Strategic lighting: Highlight your products with lighting that emphasises their freshness and texture. Choose wisely though, as your lighting can quickly age the fresh products on display.
Pro Tip: Feature a "Chef's Choice" section showcasing a pre-made gourmet platter using various deli items. This inspires customers to create something new at home, so encourages higher-value purchases.
Engage and Hold
Once you've attracted attention, it's time to keep customers engaged and browsing.
- Tell a story - the power of suggestion: Place complementary items near each other, or group items by themes, such as geography or flavour profile. Pair artisanal cheeses with gourmet crackers or cured meats with fresh figs to encourage add-on sales.
- A rolling landscape: Use varying heights and depths to create an engaging flow that invites customers to explore every corner of the counter. Achieve this with risers and stands, or a mix of different size display pieces.
- Clear and concise signage: Capture attention with clear, easy-to-read food signage. Think beyond price communication – instead, use this as your silent salesperson that educates and prompts your customer to act.
Pro Tip: Utilize digital signage screens to showcase customer testimonials, highlight new seasonal offerings, or display preparation videos for signature dishes. This adds a dynamic element to your counter and keeps customers engaged if they are waiting to be served.
Demonstrate Value
Perception drives profits - your presentation can convince customers that your delicatessen items are worth a premium price.
- Storytelling through presentation: Elevate simple ingredients by presenting them in an artful way. For example, arrange meats in a cascading layered display or use colourful skewers for marinated vegetables.
- Premium packaging options: Offer customers the option to have their purchases beautifully packaged for gifting. This adds value and encourages impulse buys.
- Highlighting quality: Use descriptive signage to emphasise the premium nature of your ingredients. Mention local sourcing, unique production methods, or award-winning recipes.
Pro Tip: Help your team to expertly answer customer questions and provide recommendations. Passionate employees build trust and create a more positive buying experience. We’ve shown many of our clients how to use the back of their food signage to build expertise with conversation starters.
Streamline your Counter
A well-organized and easy-to-maintain counter saves time and reduces product waste. Here's some steps to built-in efficiency:
- Optimum product placement: Group similar items together and position frequently purchased products within easy reach to reduce serving time.
- Capacity control: Use portion-controlled display pieces specifically designed for deli counters. For examples, dishes that have matching capacity-reducing inserts, prevent overstocking and reduce food waste.
- Modular display system: A layout that works with a flexible footprint lets you adjust quickly to accommodate seasonal offerings or special promotions – or to changing purchase patterns through the day. Something as simple as a change in the weather can affect movement of specific items – your display pieces and footprint determine how efficiently you can react to that
Pro Tip: Implement a regular cleaning and restocking schedule to ensure your counter remains immaculate and enticing throughout the day.
Start and Finish – Simple Deli Set Up and Clean Up
Minimising set-up and clean-up times translates to lower labour costs.
- Durable, easy-clean surfaces: Invest in high-quality countertops that are resistant to stains and easy to wipe down.
- Flexible display elements: Use display systems with components that work to a footprint makes set up quicker – especially when changes need to be accommodated. This allows for quick product replenishment during peak hours.
- Food grade ticketing equipment: Old style ticketing with many pieces (eg – push in numbers) are a time-drain at end of day clean-up. Use food-safe, waterproof tickets and attachments made for purpose, that can go straight into a normal wash-up cycle.
Pro Tip: Reduce set-up and clean-up times to increase effective selling time!
Conclusion
By following these steps and incorporating systemised display solutions, you can create a delicatessen counter that not only attracts and retains customers but also streamlines operations, ultimately leading to increased sales and profit. For supermarkets, butchers and delicatessens in Australia looking to enhance their retail space, these strategies are essential for success.
For a more detailed discussion on each step and to explore our range of Dalebrook displayware and Edikio food sign printing systems, please contact the Euroswift Australia team. We’re here to help you design a counter that not only looks delicious but also performs exceptionally in the fast-paced world of retail.
