How To Display Fresh Produce Effectively

Whether you're wanting to achieve an uplift in product sales, improved customer loyalty or welcome new visitors into your store this article is full of helpful ideas and tips that will make your fresh retail displays more engaging and help you achieve your goals.

Keep it fresh

Maintaining freshness is key to sales, customers aren't going to buy limp lettuce or overripe tomatoes. Only display produce that you would purchase yourself.

It never feels good to throw away stock, but if you don't your customers may focus on the damaged, shriveled and bruised items in your display rather than the best ones. To keep throwaways to a minimum remember to stack older produce in front or on top of the newer items so that it sells first.

Fresh fruit, vegetables and flowers are almost always displayed near to a store's entrance as this immediately gives a fresh and healthy look. The front of your store will make a lasting first impression on shoppers so it's important that you optimise your fresh displays.

Super fresh produce is super vibrant and you can use this to your advantage to create a striking arrangement of colourful produce. We stock a huge collection of retail display stands, display baskets and retail props to help you create a winning display. Mix and match wicker, wood and metal styles to create something unique that adds variety and showcases your products.

Be sure to display food at least six inches from the ground for hygiene reasons, conversion rates will be much lower if produce is near the floor. Simply use a display plinth or riser to raise floor standing displays off the ground level.

Make sure it's visually appealing

The way your fresh produce is displayed can have a big impact on how much you sell. Are there any visual improvements that you could make to your fresh produce section that can help make your fruit and veg more attractive? We've rounded up some of the best visual display tips to help you optimise your displays.

Natural materials such as wicker and wood will make produce appear organic, fresh and more appealing. Consider stacking your fresh offering in wooden display crates and wicker display baskets to give the impression that the fresh stock has come straight from a farm or local producer.

Choose the right size display wicker basket relative to the volume of produce you want to display, you don't have to stick to one size throughout. Use small display baskets alongside larger alternatives if you have fewer items, this will make your display appear full rather than sparse.

As any Bakery will know, the aroma of fresh-baked bread, cakes and pastries make it hard for shoppers to resist adding a sweet treat to their shopping basket. Counter-top stands are perfect at the till point or on a counter for triggering those hunger pangs. Our versatile wooden counter-top stand sets offer you some of our best-selling products together as a point of sale solution. Simply choose from a combination of wicker display baskets or wooden display crates to create a retail display stand which fits your exact requirements.

Make it easy to shop

As a retailer there are lots of things you can do to make it easy to purchase as well as providing an enjoyable shopping experience to customers. Here are a few top tips to turn browsers into happy loyal clients.

• Make carrying items a little easier - Customers will buy more if they have free hands so provide wicker shopping baskets or wooden crates for them to fill up with fresh produce.
  
• Provide inspiration - Display fresh ingredients that complement each other or are commonly used together in recipes in display baskets or retail stands near to each other. Introduce shoppers to new seasonal flavours with product samples and tasters.
  
• Declutter- A disorganised and messy fresh produce display makes it difficult for customers to find what they are looking for and can immediately turn customers away with a lasting bad impression. If a small shop floor or awkward space is limiting your merchandising then multi-tier display stands that are easy to reposition or our modular CrateWall could be the solution.
  
• Keep displays topped up - We touched upon the importance of a full display earlier in the article. If you have the stock then regularly top-up your wicker display baskets and wooden display crates, there is nothing more off-putting then empty shelves, what's more, you can't sell what isn't on the shop floor!
  
• Get signage right - Unclear signage is a common display pitfall. When the balance is just right it can increase sales but done incorrectly and it can overwhelm or frustrate shoppers. The next section will help you optimise your signage for the best results.

Create effective signage

Stylish and engaging signage will help your food displays look fresh and appealing as well as communicating key product information. What type of signage can you incorporate in your display without overcrowding it?

Consider signage as another sales team member, they are great for highlighting fresh deals, pointing out new seasonal produce and guiding customers around your store. To achieve the right balance of signage for your retail displays think about how you'd want your sales team to assist a customer; making product recommendations, highlighting key ingredients, directing them to what they came in for - your display point of sale should do exactly the same thing.

The appearance of your signage is just as important as the visual appeal of your fresh produce displays. Poorly designed, broken, tatty and illegible labels and signs have an impact on how your produce and customer service are perceived by the customer. Going for good quality signage that's in keeping with the rest of your store's decor is well worth the investment.

We're a huge advocate of chalkboard signs as they are well suited to selling fresh produce. The popular point of sale products are ideal for creating quick and adaptable messages and you can get creative with hand lettering to product a sign that's really eye-catching. They come in all shapes and sizes from mini chalkboards to large hanging slate signs so it's easy to find something to suit your requirements.

Utilise plastic wicker

Natural wicker is charming and timeless but it's not always practical, especially for refrigerated displays in butchers and delicatessens. When organic wicker display baskets are just not feasible the next best alternative to go with is plastic wicker, or 'polywicker'.

Plastic wicker is the dishwasher safe alternative to natural wicker. The realistic material is a fantastic substitute, ideal for chilled food display because it's strong, durable and easy to keep clean. Plastic wicker baskets are still hand-woven and carefully finished in the traditional way but they use a polymer-based material in place of natural wicker.

So, what are the benefits of plastic wicker for Cheesemongers, Butchers and Farm Shops?

• All of our plastic wicker baskets use solid fibres for strength and durability.
  
• The rims are all reinforced with stainless steel wire and larger baskets also have stainless steel reinforced bases.
  
• Polywicker baskets are moisture resistant making them hygienic and resistant to mould and mildew.
  
• Synthetic wicker is easy to clean and maintain.
  
• They look as good as the real thing but can be used in chiller cabinets and refrigerators.

Choose from a wide range of sizes, shapes and designs. We also offer a choice of black or natural colours for selected products. You can still maintain food safety with an attractive, rustic and welcoming retail display.

Are you a fashion or homeware retailer? Read our next article - Boost Your Fashion Home Sales With These Top Tips. Browse the other guides in our Retail Display E-Learning Hub.