100 Days of Summer: Avoid C-Store Merchandising Delays and Missed Sales

In convenience retail, Memorial Day isn’t just the start of summer — it’s the finish line for resets, displays, and cut-ins. Once the 100 Days of Summer are underway, store floors get too busy for heavy merchandising. If it’s not in place by then, it’s not happening.

That’s why the weeks leading up to Memorial Day are a make-or-break window for execution. Miss it, and you miss the season.

Why Delays Cost More in Summer

The stakes in convenience retail are already high — fast-moving categories, limited shelf space, and intense promotional competition. Add the summer rush, and any delay in execution:

• Cuts into peak seasonal sales
• Delays ROI on new product launches
• Opens the door for competitor advantage on prime space

Eliminate the Bottlenecks Before They Start

At InStore Group, we specialize in removing the friction between planning and shelf execution so you never miss that critical pre-summer window.
Here’s how:

• Speed to Shelf – Crews in place, product live, and promotions set before Memorial Day.
• 99.7% Verified On-Time Execution – In-house Quality Assurance teams ensure every display is set right the first time.
• Real-Time Photo Reporting – Proof of execution within hours, not days.
• Category Expertise – From beverage resets to seasonal promotions, our teams know the playbook.

Case in Point: 1,500+ Beverage Cooler Resets — Finished on Time, Every Time

When one of the fastest-growing convenience store chains in the country called us, they had a big ask: reset more than 1,500 stores in just nine weeks. That meant tackling up to 14 cooler doors and beer caves per location, reorganizing center store fixtures, cutting in seasonal items, and relabeling every last shelf and cooler section — all while keeping stores open and customers flowing.

How We Delivered:

We deployed dedicated four-person teams to every location, each one trained on the chain’s planograms and merchandising standards.

• Reset coolers and beer caves from top to bottom
• Pulled discontinued products and prepped them for return
• Repositioned glides and fixtures for new layouts
• Relabeled every shelf and cooler sectionInstalled seasonal displays and cut in new productsCaptured photo proof of every single change — in real time

We delivered 100% on-time execution across all 1,500+ stores with zero planogram deviations. The chain’s merchandising project manager summed it up best:

“InStore Group has consistently exceeded our expectations. Their attention to detail ensures our resets are completed per expectation, often finishing ahead of schedule. They’ve become a trusted partner in our business.”

By the time the summer rush hit, every store was fully merchandised, fully compliant, and ready to sell — without a single missed deadline.

Plan Now, Win the 100 Days of Summer

If you’re heading to NACS 2025, let’s talk about how we can help you lock in execution before the summer cutoff. Book a meeting today and get a $40 Amazon gift card as our thank you. Not attending the show? You can still request a meeting and receive the same offer, just click here.

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