How to choose the right refrigerated displays for your convenience store

The convenience (C-Store) sector is in a constant state of flux, with new products, innovations and trends continuously coming onto the market and driving change. If chilled food and drink are a significant part of your retail offering, then choosing the right refrigerated displays will have a big bearing on the success of your business.

Your refrigeration needs to be powerful enough to meet the ever-changing demands of busy customers while being reliable enough to perform when put to the test. It’s also essential that it looks the part, fits in well within your retail environment and showcases your brand in the best light so that you can deliver a memorable customer experience. So, it’s understandable that choosing the right refrigeration is one of the most important decisions when designing and laying out your C-Store space.

This is especially true in a post-pandemic retail environment, where stores have had to adapt to meet their customer needs while adhering to the latest health & safety considerations. While economies continue their COVID recovery, footfall remains unpredictable, meaning you need refrigeration that can handle fluctuations in demand. Investing in new display equipment is, as always, a big decision, and you’ll want to be sure you’re getting the best returns and value for money. To help make your decision easier, we’ve put together this short guide about choosing the right refrigerated displays for your convenience store.

What commercial display refrigerators are available?

When it comes to choosing refrigerated display equipment for your C-Store, there are plenty of options available. A lot will depend on the type of store you are and the products you offer. Upright glass door chillers are perfect for creating eye-catching chilled food and drink displays. They combine a large merchandising capacity with maximum product visibility and unrivalled cooling performance to help you create tempting displays.

Countertop displays and serve-overs are ideal for showcasing fresh ingredients like fruit and veg and salads, or products like cakes, cheeses or sandwiches. They also create valuable additional surface space, which you can utilise for preparation, storage, or optimising your customer service operations.

Multideck chillers, meanwhile, are the ultimate ‘grab and go’ fridges. They feature multiple shelves and large merchandising capacity, enabling retailers to create attractive, tiered chilled displays to showcase their products in the best light. Multidecks can be used for a wide range of purposes, from chilled ‘grab and go’ and ready meals to dairy products, fresh meat or fish, and general-purpose food and drink products. They are available in open-fronted or glass door models and offer a wide array of configuration options to give you complete control over the shopping experience you want to deliver.

They are great for making the most of your retail space and helping you strike that delicate balance between product visibility and customer convenience. Whatever you opt for when it comes to commercial display refrigeration, here are some of the main things to bear in mind:

Capacity

While the primary function of a commercial display refrigerator is to keep your food and ingredients chilled and safe to consume, it also needs to look good. So, your refrigerators – whether they’re multidecks, uprights or counters – need enough space to store your products while allowing sufficient airflow around the cabinet to maintain the required temperature.

Buying refrigeration with enough capacity to handle your most popular products without affecting their performance is essential. Fortunately, many products now carry labels which state their usable merchandising space – or ‘Net Capacity’ (NC) – in litres, alongside their energy rating. Obviously, the higher the NC, the more products it will hold.

It’s also worth considering how you plan to use your refrigerator, as this will help determine whether you need drawers, glass doors, shelves and other options. At TEFCOLD, we offer a wide array of products designed with every need in mind, so we can supply you with units that fit within your existing floor space and can be tailored to your exact requirements.

Size

Many people confuse size with capacity or think they’re the same thing, when they’re not. While capacity is all about deciding how much refrigerated space you need, size is more about how much space you have available to accommodate your new units. So, think carefully about where you want to place your refrigerator and how you plan to use it, as this will determine your available options.

Refrigeration type

Closely linked to size and capacity is the refrigeration type. There are two types of systems available – integral and remote. In integral refrigerators, the cooling system is built into the unit itself, meaning you can generally ‘plug and go’, straight from the box, without needing a complex electrical installation. Integral units are more flexible, easier to move and relocate, and have a lower initial cost.

In contrast, remote refrigerators have an external cooling system, often mounted outside the store and connected to the display by a series of pipes. While remote units are more expensive and less flexible than integral ones, they are quieter and more energy-efficient. They produce less heat, as the refrigeration system is located away from the shop floor. Over time, the reduction in running costs can save you money on your overall investment

Efficiency

You should always consider energy efficiency when costing refrigerated display equipment. With energy costs volatile and more hikes on the horizon, keeping your running costs down is an essential part of the decision. While display units with better energy efficiency ratings tend to be initially more expensive, they represent better lifetime value because their operating costs are lower. So, while investing in a cheaper – but less efficient – refrigerated display unit may seem tempting, it could cost you more in the long run. The more efficient units are cheaper to run, so deliver a better return on investment.

How can TEFCOLD help?

At TEFCOLD, we understand the importance of choosing the right refrigerated display equipment for your convenience store or retail business. As a UK market leader with decades of experience in the commercial refrigeration industry, we can offer practical advice to help you adapt to the ever-changing demands of the retail sector and supply refrigeration to take your business to the next level.

With an extensive, unrivalled stockholding, we can quickly deliver our products to customers at short notice, to help you keep your business running smoothly. Our products are backed by exceptional customer service and aftersales support, with your satisfaction our number one priority.

If you’re interested in discovering more about how our refrigeration can enhance your retail or catering business, call us on 01332 850090 or email sales@tefcold.co.uk.