Don’t neglect the five o’clock shopper

“Fresh at five.”

I’m not sure if that’s a statement, a phrase or even a slogan proclaiming the produce department at a store is as fresh at 5 p.m. as it is for early morning customers.

Instead, I’ll present it a question. Fresh at five?

Well. Are you? It’s quite a commitment to attempt offering a clean and fresh produce department when shopping traffic heats up. When crowds of people are streaming into your store, tired from working all day, often in the middle of several errands between work and home.

In this time, they’re facing yet another chore when they walk through your store, looking for something — anything — for dinner. But something still good.

There are two services you can provide your weary customers at this point.

First, ideas that will ease their dinnertime search, and, more importantly, ample selection of products that they can pick up that are tasty and satisfying. And fresh.

If the produce department is depleted when the five o’clock bell rings, you can bet your customers will walk past everything and subconsciously go to plan B, or beyond — be it to prepared foods in other departments, processed or frozen foods, or possibly to abandon all hope, leave, and add a fast-food stop to their already-squeezed evening time.

On the other hand, if you could find a way to indeed be “fresh at five” you’re helping not only the consumer, but also helping to boost sales tremendously, as well as the gross profit that results from the effort.

Of course, being fresh, full and inviting to shoppers in the weekday evening hours between 3-9 p.m. is a constant goal of many chains. In most communities this is by far the heaviest customer traffic period. More hungry shoppers in your produce department means lots of opportunity for displays to slow them down, catch their eye, appeal to their senses and get them to buy.

But only if you’re prepared.

However, the commitment to pass the evening freshness test involves a certain amount of careful planning. The department should be freshly rotated and stocked going into the middle of the day, certainly. Additionally, the labor schedule needs a boost too. Every store, every chain is different, but when you consistently invest the extra shift — or two or even more — into an evening schedule, this will build a profound return on that investment.

I see a lot of lackluster evening stock conditions at different chains, at home and when I travel. It isn’t pretty.

But just imagine if this was turned around. With enough trained clerks and enough hands on deck, not only to meet the demand but also to maintain that “early morning” fresh look — clean, level, and well-stocked — you’ll reap maximum sales, optimum gross profits, and minimal shrink.

And, best of all, very happy 5 o’clock customers.

Armand Lobato works for the Idaho Potato Commission. His 40 years of experience in the produce business span a range of foodservice and retail positions.