Can retailers benefit from selling coffee?

When it comes to retail, competition is fierce and standing out is all about doing things differently. Sure, one retailer might sell the same items as their next competitor but that doesn’t mean that they should follow this path because there are many things that they can do to ensure they offer each customer something different.

Customers might seem loyal but that loyalty can be easily swayed, especially when they are offered something completely unique. This something could be an item as simple and as satisfying as retailers selling coffee.

We all know how big coffee is, you only need to take a look on every high street, every shopping centre and small villages to understand the way in which coffee brings people together and this is key to ensuring each customer feels valued. However, how can retailers benefit from selling coffee?

It can increase profits

For any retailer, it’s about making money and the profits any business makes will determine its overall success. What coffee offers is a great opportunity to make excellent profits with minimal outlay. First of all, they should ensure that the coffee tastes good, after all, we are a nation of coffee lovers which means that people can recognise a bad cup of coffee. As a result, it can help to take advantage of commercial coffee machines. This will allow retailers to make excellent coffee with high-quality machines that really help to extract the flavour, creating coffee that leaves people wanting more.

When it comes to profits, the margins are significant on a cup of coffee. If you take a 9oz cappuccino. The cost, on average is around 10p for coffee and 8p for milk, which is a cost of 18p.

If that’s sold for £2.20 and the VAT is deducted, that leaves a NET sale of £1.76. This leaves a gross profit of £1.76 less the cost of 14p which equates to £1.62 which leaves a profit of 92%.

Coffee leads to the sale of other products

There is something satisfying about sipping delicious coffee, regardless of whether that’s as a takeaway or a drink-in. However, for retailers that choose to sell coffee, it’s important to recognise that selling coffee can lead to sales of other products. This might lead to the purchase of a sandwich or a cake to accompany the coffee, all of which helps to increase sales and profits. It’s a simple way of enticing customers to make further purchases without barely realising. What’s more, retailers could go one step further and create coffee deals whereby customers can purchase a coffee and a snack for a fixed price. Despite this, all of this boils down to ensuring the coffee is freshly made and of high-quality too, which is where a reliable coffee machine can really make a difference.

Give customers choice

Whether you opt for a professional coffee machine or a coffee vending machine, giving customers choice is vital. Sometimes, a plain black or white coffee is not enough but with the right machine, you can open up your menu and choices to coffees such as espressos, lattes, cappuccinos and Americanos to name a few. Whichever way you look at it, the more you offer, the more likely you are to attract a wider customer base, resulting in delivering further satisfaction. All of this is helped with professional coffee machines and vending machines that make it all possible.

So, if you’re a retailer and looking to benefit from selling coffee, then it could be time to invest in a coffee machine or a vending machine that can really help to set you apart