At Naveed Amjed's Day Today store in Motherwell, impulse selling is treated less as an art of opportunism and more as a carefully engineered part of the customer journey.
Located on Varnsdorf Way, the store serves local residents, commuters and families and has been trading for more than 20 years. Since taking over, Amjed has focused on modernising the business, sharpening its customer offer and building it as a local destination for food and drink on the go.
The 1,000–2,500 sq ft store operates as an off-licence and is part of Day Today, while retaining the flexibility to tailor its range to local demand. Its approach to merchandising starts with the basics: make popular products visible, make them available and give shoppers plenty of reasons to add something extra to their basket.
Soft drinks, confectionery, crisps and snacks are placed in high-footfall areas including the entrance, aisle ends, meal-solution displays and checkout. Secondary siting is used to create natural links between products, with confectionery positioned alongside soft drinks and snacks placed close to lunchtime food-to-go.
It is a strategy built around the idea that impulse purchases are rarely completely random. The positioning of products can create the opportunity for an additional purchase, provided the offer is relevant and easy to spot.
The store also keeps its impulse proposition moving. Fixtures are refreshed regularly, while new products, limited editions and seasonal ranges are introduced quickly. Amjed points to strong supplier relationships as an important part of this, giving the store access to new launches, promotional displays and point-of-sale material.
Availability is another major focus. The business monitors sales performance and local demand, giving more space to strong performers and removing slower sellers. The thinking is particularly pertinent in impulse: an empty shelf is not simply a stock problem, but a missed opportunity.
Promotions are used to give shoppers another reason to buy, with meal deals, multibuys and promotional offers designed to create value while encouraging customers to pick up products they had not originally planned to purchase.
The approach also depends heavily on the team. Staff are expected to maintain full and engaging displays, understand promotions and actively recommend products. In Amjed's view, that combination of product knowledge and enthusiasm can turn a planned shopping trip into a larger basket.
The store's customer base also gives the business plenty of opportunities to adapt. Its location on a housing estate means the offer needs to work for everyday local shopping, while the wider strategy is increasingly focused on food and drink on the go.
Amjed has built the business around continual adjustment rather than a fixed formula. Sales data, customer feedback and supplier insight feed into decisions on range and space, while new products and seasonal opportunities are brought into the mix.
The result is a store where merchandising is less about filling shelves and more about influencing what happens next: what catches the eye, what complements the original purchase and what ultimately finds its way into the basket.