The 6 Best Small Café Merchandising Tips

So, you've started your dream business and opened up a café all of your own. You've promoted your business in the local community, advertised on social media, used outdoor signage to attract café footfall. Customers are coming in. Life is good.

But there's one small problem:

Once you've got people through the door, how do you get them to spend more with you?

People are coming in to check out the place, but tend to leave just with one small coffee. You need to stay on top of overheads, and maximise every interaction.

Put simply, you need to sell more, and fast.

That's why we created this list of the 6 best tips for small cafe merchandising. These tips will help you succeed and make the most of every sale. Read on to find the answers...

1. Make your food offerings irresistible
2. Boost impulse buys
3. Sell branded merchandise
4. Make items visible and accessible
5. Cross-merchandise complementary items
6. Offer extras to drinks customers

1. Make your food offerings irresistible

• Use attractive display stands around the till. This way, customers will see the available snacks easily when they're waiting to order and pay for their drinks.
• Advertise prices clearly with ticket clips to make it easier for them to make that last-minute purchase decision.
• Put stunning imagery of your tastiest treats on posters and digital signs to get their mouths watering!

2. Boost impulse buys

Sell small but irresistible products that boost order values, such as crisps, chocolate and biscuits. Put these in the queue and checkout areas. This way, your customers can easily grab them on the way to pay for their drinks.

3. Sell branded merchandise

Loyal customers who love the vibes in your café might want to buy a cute t shirt, tote bag, or reusable coffee cup. Not only does this bring in extra revenue, this means that customers are doing your advertising for you!

Items like these look great when displayed behind or nearby your service counter. Try using grid mesh panels for this. You can easily fit them out with adjustable hooks and garment rails.

4. Make items visible and accessible

Use your café interior wisely and ensure that all your merchandise and food products are all accessible, or at least easily visible, from the queuing area. When customers are biding their time waiting to get their coffee, this is the moment that they're most susceptible to making additional purchase decisions. This makes it the perfect time to entice them with extras using your café displays, and increase your sales!

5. Cross-merchandise complementary items

Put related items next to each other in your café merchandising displays. This will make it more likely that customers will buy both.

You can show coffee beans with coffee grinders, cafetieres, and mugs. You can also place dump bins of crisps in front of your sandwich display.

6. Offer extras to drinks customers

This is a simple adjustment that could make a huge difference if you're not already doing it. When customers come in for a drink, make sure you, or your staff, always ask them if they want any cakes, brownies or sandwiches.

Sometimes, using specific terms helps. Instead of saying, "Would you like anything else?", try asking about a chocolate brownie. This can make them think, "Yes, I would like a chocolate brownie!".

Furthermore, you can upsell your customers on their drinks by asking if they would like an extra shot of coffee, or any flavoured syrups.

I hope this list has made you think about how to use your café merchandising space wisely. This way, you can make every customer count. While some of these adjustments might seem simple or small, they can have a significant impact on your income going forward.

Good luck, and happy merchandising!