Control the cooler and you control the contents

Cooler at the checkout at a Safeway store in Kelowna

There are a few interesting things about this cooler. (I spotted it at my local Safeway this week.)

1) It is not branded. Usually coolers in retail stores are branded. Coke only wants Coke products in its coolers and Pepsi only wants Pepsi products in its coolers. This cooler contains Pepsi, and 7-Up, with are both Pepsi products in Canada, but it also contains Red Bull, not a Pepsi product, and Dr. Pepper which is distributed in Canada by Canada Dry Mott's, a subsidiary of the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group.

2) The cooler door hinge is on the right and handle is on the left. As a result shoppers approaching the checkout can open door without getting in the way of shoppers waiting in line.

3) Despite the sign on the glass, the door must be pulled not pushed to open.

4) The pile of empty shopping baskets is so high that shoppers can't actually open the cooler.

I know, a few petty details, but that is what retail is all about, petty details. Get them right and shoppers will give you their money. Get them wrong and shoppers have plenty of other places to spend their cash.