What are the best display fridges for a convenience store?

Match your fridge type to real-world convenience store stock patterns

Not all display fridges serve the same purpose. Each type supports different goals, layouts and customer behaviours. The best way to choose is to work backwards from your stock and your footfall.

Glass-door uprights are ideal for fast-moving, high-volume items. Think bottled drinks, multipacks, dairy products, ready meals, etc. Their height and clear visibility draw attention from across the store. Most range from 400 to 1,200 litres in capacity. So, if your shop sees steady foot traffic throughout the day, these display fridges work well. They’re lockable, easy to restock and help maintain consistent temperatures without letting cool air escape.

Multideck chillers drive impulse grabs. Sandwiches, lunchtime meal deals, snacks and bottled soft drinks sell well from these. They encourage fast movement (thus, impulse buys) by literally removing barriers. But open fronts can increase energy use. To manage this, look for models with night blinds and intelligent fan controls. Positioning matters more here than with uprights. Keep your open-fronted chillers away from doors or direct sunlight.

Countertop chillers suit smaller items near tills. Items such as single drinks, dairy snacks, chocolate or promotional goods. Because they’re at eye level, you’ll see more impulse purchasing at the point of sale. These units often run quieter and take up minimal space, though, of course, capacity is low. Use them as last-step sales tools to entice your customers to make the most of your store.

Of course, having said all that, the balance between fridge type and stock shifts with seasons. Summer boosts demand for cold drinks, so your multidecks need to work harder.

Many convenience store owners in the UK employ a familiar tactic: pairing a multideck chiller (for quick grabs) with an upright nearby (for bulk purchases).

Understanding your daily and seasonal patterns will help you choose the right display fridges with the right capacities. That’s a far better approach than filling any available unit to the brim each morning and hoping for the best.

 

Carefully consider the lifetime cost of a display fridge

Display fridges tend to consume more power than storage fridges. They’re opened more often, work harder to stay cold, and often have lights and fans running during your opening hours. Plus, there’s always that one customer who leaves the door open or stands there for five minutes deciding what to buy. 

In 2021, the UK updated its Energy Labelling rules to give a clearer picture of how commercial fridges perform. A, B, or C are the best, but an E or F rating under the new system doesn’t necessarily mean poor efficiency. Now, it reflects how the unit works in real-world conditions (as opposed to controlled settings in a lab). This includes factors such as those mentioned above, including frequent door openings, customer use, changing room temperatures and restocking during trading hours.

Two fridges with the same rating can still differ, however. Although the energy rating is undoubtedly important, look for features like EC fans, LED lighting and auto-defrost. These all contribute to lower energy costs and fewer maintenance needs. 

And on that topic, running costs aren’t just about electricity consumption. Poor maintenance, such as a clogged condenser or a cracked door seal, drives up energy use and shortens a unit’s lifespan. As a result, it can sometimes pay to choose a model with a slightly lower energy efficiency rating but a better design more suited to your business. Look for features like accessible panels, washable filters and built-in service reminders.

Ultimately, choosing the cheapest upfront unit can often lead to higher costs later and a greater overall lifetime cost of ownership. You want proven reliability. Look for display fridges from brands that have undergone years of field testing, offer wide parts availability and have established national support networks. The result is a much-reduced risk of downtime.

Best practices and fridge qualities for driving convenience store sales

Ironically, a display fridge is more about shifting stock than keeping things cold. Of course, it’s still a vital part, but display fridges are all about layout, lighting and shelf angles. You want your customers to take those products off the shelf almost as soon as your staff have stocked them.

Here’s how the best display fridges help make that happen:

•    LED lighting makes products easier to see without adding heat to the cabinet.
•    Shelf-edge strips organise stock into clear sections, guiding the customer’s eye.
•    Digital controllers help keep temperatures stable.
•    Adjustable shelving lets you tailor space for different product types and packaging.
•    Night blinds on open units cut energy use after hours.
•    Auto defrost prevents ice build-up and keeps performance consistent.
•    Rear-loading options allow staff to restock from behind without disrupting the front display.

Then there’s what you can do when you set up your layout and your display fridges. Think about what customers see first. That’s what tends to sell first. Focus on your eye-level stock, placing high-margin or time-sensitive products where the eye lands naturally. Use vertical flow. Place your snacks at the top, sandwiches in the middle and drinks at the bottom. Or, zone by need. Full meals together. Dairy in one unit. Grab-and-go items near the front. There are all sorts of stocking best practices to enhance your sales.

Position your fridges to pause foot traffic, but never to block it. For instance, placing an enticing upright along a rear wall draws people into your convenience store and past all your other products. An open chiller near the entrance encourages quick grabs, perfect for those lunchtime meal deals. Countertop fridges near the till catch customers’ attention when they’re queuing.
But crowding the space reduces flow. Leave room to browse and plan your layout to guide movement rather than interrupt it. Tease your customers. That’s one of the best ways to make sales.

Finally, it’s worth mentioning refills. Plan for them. If your fridge looks picked over by 4pm, you could miss out on the evening trade. If your open-fronted ‘meal deal’ fridge by the entrance looks scarce by noon, you’ll miss a large chunk of the lunch rush, and they’ll go elsewhere.

Get in touch with TEFCOLD UK for your convenience store’s display fridges

TEFCOLD UK offers a full range of display fridges for your convenience store. We stock only the best and most reliable units for shops like yours around the UK, maximising energy efficiency, cost, reliability and visibility. From single-door uprights to multideck chillers and compact countertop units, we’ve got you covered.

Interested in what our experts can do for you? For more information about our excellent warranty options and branding services, why not reach out for a commitment-free chat? We’re always delighted to hear from business owners like yourself and promise to provide real help in finding the perfect display fridges for your space.