Even though some produce managers may worry about increased shrink, expanded dry vegetable facings (not requiring frequent misting) are often a safe risk to take. Hardier items especially lend themselves well out of refrigeration with increased exposure, vibrant color breaks, and the impulse sales that follow.
But first, a little history. Many chains still cling to the notion that most every vegetable should only be stocked on the refrigerated wet rack in order to minimize shrink. This old-school way of thinking actually may subject certain products to higher shrink, especially if exposed to the misting system. Green beans, eggplant and peppers, for example, rapidly break down when misted.
These and several other produce items will, in fact, hold up well out of refrigeration for a while — some even for the better. Some are even susceptible to chill damage, such as eggplant, cucumbers and basil. So why not merchandise some of these items off the wet rack, give each a generous space allocation, and test their sales wings?
Consider a dry “salad” table, preferably positioned close to the wet rack
Picture your customer shopping the wet rack. She has just purchased some leaf lettuce, some bunch radishes, she’s obviously thinking salad … what else, what else? A nonrefrigerated, well-merchandised salad table nearby can build that basket. An off-rack vegetable table can provide one of the best “wow!” factors in the produce aisle.
What items apply?
Having an end cap such as TOVs (tomatoes on-vine) is an excellent start. You can combine this with other tomato varieties or have an opposite end cap of avocados to help catch the eye. Using color breaks to offset, try stocking items such as cucumbers (including English cucumbers), yellow and zucchini squash, eggplant, asparagus, artichokes, and green, yellow and red bell peppers. Even specialty items such as jicama and potted herbs are a nice merchandising touch that call attention to this powerful salad/dry vegetable table.
Consider orchard bins, nesting tables up front
You needn’t limit the off-rack salad items to a single table within your produce department. If you have bell peppers on ad, for example, try building a series of orchard bins near the front lobby or in a high-traffic area. Alternate colors to catch the customer’s eye. Even something like source-wrapped head lettuce (careful to limit amounts for frequent rotation control) will move well when flanked by colorful tomatoes and cucumbers.
If your store has a shaded area and steady customer traffic, consider building similar orchard bins in outdoor displays. These provide wonderful curb appeal and help drive home the message that your store is serious about selling fresh produce. Because of the potential shrink risk this presents, this merchandising effort may be best limited to busier shopping periods such as evenings or weekends. Also, try dummying the displays with false bottoms to limit your inventory to manageable levels. Cull and rotate the displays often. Remember to sign everything clearly and provide plenty of plastic bags and twist ties for shoppers’ convenience.
Precautions (of course):
Ensure that everyone on your crew understands the importance of giving the off-rack salad vegetables extra attention. Again, while off-rack merchandising will help drive sales, frequent culling and rotation will help minimize shrink. Assign clerks to maintain the out-of-sight displays, such as anything outdoors or in the front lobby — not only for shrink control but to maintain the fresh impression that you’re trying to achieve. Finally, assign clerks to transfer any remaining product at closing time to the walk-in cooler for overnight protection.
Certain vegetables are truly in the high-volume, power category. Why limit or relegate some of these items mentioned to narrow space allocations on the wet rack, simply because of limited refrigeration space? Building off-rack displays allows this category to really take off. When merchandised together, this combines to appeal well, both aromatically and visually, to the customer’s eye, which in turn sparks the impulse to add these items to the weekly shopping cart.
By transferring vegetables to a destination table, it also frees up space on the wet rack, so facings can expand on the colorful leafy greens, broccoli, carrots and more. Off-rack vegetable merchandising has terrific potential to dramatically increase sales and build gross profits.
It’s a table worth setting.