How an impulse open freezer can boost your winter sales

What’s the first thing your customer sees when they walk in for a frozen meal or a cheeky tub of ice cream?

If it’s not a clear, visible product that makes them reach out and grab it, you’re missing a trick.

In a busy convenience store, a late-night takeaway or a local corner shop, every eye movement and hand reach is an opportunity for you to make a sale. And the impulse open freezer comes into its own here.

Impulse open freezers play a vital role in thousands of food and drink businesses across the UK. Sure, that behaviour shifts a little bit in winter, but your impulse freezer still has a lot of work it can be doing on your behalf. That’s what this blog’s about…

Why do impulse freezers still work in winter?

It’s winter and it’s cold outside on the streets. But that doesn’t mean people stop buying cold food. Quite the opposite. Supermarkets and convenience stores sell frozen pizzas, ready meals, chips and veg all year round. And after a long day, many people still walk into your business looking for a quick, familiar grab-and-go option.

An impulse open freezer works so well, even in winter, because there’s nothing (except perhaps a glass lid or door) between the customer and what they want to purchase. They can see straight in and, if there’s something they need (or want), they can reach in and grab it. Sale made.

You can see why this approach works so much better than other freezer types, especially solid-door models. There’s an important role for solid door fridges (such as rear-of-house), but when a customer can’t see what they want, they’re far less likely to buy it.

So, while your footfall trends are likely to shift in winter, impulse decisions are a basic factor of human nature. They don’t go anywhere. In fact, around Christmas, New Year and Valentine’s Day, you might find that people are even more likely to impulse buy, grabbing food for a last-minute party or frozen sides to go with a roast.

What should you stock in an impulse open freezer this winter?

Just because something is frozen doesn’t necessarily mean it’s seasonal (ice cream excepted, of course). The right winter stock for your impulse open freezer depends on who your customers are.

For example, if you’re a local café, consider pre-prepared desserts (cheesecakes, cakes, sweet pastries etc) or seasonal treats like mince pies. Corner shops might benefit from switching their impulse open freezer stock to ready meals, garlic breads, party foods and that sort of thing. On the flip side, a busy convenience store might opt for those large frozen platters, snack selections or family-size frozen meals.

And, of course, don’t neglect ice cream entirely. There’s still a demand for it, especially around the season of festive cheer.

You know your customers and your sales data best, so why not come up with a plan and decide what stock you’re most likely to shift quickly?

And one last thing on this topic. Try to avoid filling your impulse open freezer with just one product. Varying your stock makes it look better and increases sales. For instance, if someone buys a frozen pizza, they’re perhaps even more likely to grab a garlic bread to go on the side. If a mum picking up fish fingers for dinner also sees the chips? They go well with fish fingers, so perhaps she’ll grab those, too.

Where should you place an impulse freezer to get the best results?

An impulse open freezer is designed to do what it says on the tin. It’s about ‘impulsive’ purchases. You want your customers to stumble across ideas about what they could spend their money on.

That means putting your impulse open freezer in a high-traffic area, such as near a till, next to a seasonal display or at the end of a popular aisle. Think about where people pause and where you can capture their attention. Perhaps that’s somewhere near an existing line of multideck units, or near other impulse fridges or freezers. Maybe it’s somewhere near the tills.

The key is to make sure that you hook someone’s attention. Try stocking some of your best sellers in your impulse open freezer, alongside some other products with great aesthetics and branding. You’ll still shift your high performers, but now they might bring in other sales with them.

The only other real consideration is power supply. Most freezers run on standard UK wall plugs, so as long as your premises has plenty of outlets, you should be fine. They won’t need any special wiring. That said, it’s worth having an electrician analyse the electrical load on your circuits, so you don’t run into any problems.

Fridgesmart can help you get your impulse open freezer

An impulse open freezer isn’t just for the summer ice cream rush. In fact, you can usually leave broadly the same kind of stock items in it year-round. Done right, an impulse unit drives sales, increases margins and enhances the way that customers interact with your space.

Here at Fridgesmart, we’ve made it our mission to help businesses all around the UK. With a wide range of fantastic impulse open freezers (among many other styles), your success is ours. We’ll do everything we can to help you find the right unit, with no overcomplicated jargon or hidden conditions. Plus, with industry-leading delivery and warranty options, we’ve got you covered.

Check out our range of impulse open freezers today, and let’s get your shop, c-store, café, bistro or catering business ready to make more sales over winter.