Best Practices Summary

1. Products merchandised at the checkout should be driven by consumer buying behavior. Select items with high penetration, high frequency & impulse appeal.
2. Focus should be on the power categories that represent 79% of Front-End sales and profits: confectionery, magazines & beverages.
3. Identify the key lanes in each store that represent the bulk of the transactions and make sure to carry the power categories on those lanes.
4. Be sure to merchandise the self-checkout lanes. Most consumers will not shop across lanes, so stocking confectionery, beverage and magazines at the self-checkout lanes as crucial.
5. Carry confectionery on all the lanes. Sales are proportional to exposure. Merchandise it on both sides of the consumer to maximize impulse sales.
6. Maximize magazine presence at the Front-End, Merchandise magazines on end caps as well as in the lane and over the belt to enable consumer buying opportunities.
7. Over the belt sales are optimized when merchandised with top-selling items for both confectionery and magazines.
8. Make sure the top selling magazine titles are broadly available. It is more important to carry the right titles that a large number of titles at the Front-End.

Source: Dechert Hampe, FEF Study