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Closed Vs. Open Front Fridge – Features, Advantages, and Disadvantages

Whether your store will be successful or not, doesn’t solely depend on the products you’re selling but also on how good you are at capturing and retaining customers’ attention and encouraging purchases. When it comes to the food retail business, appealing display fridges are an important investment. Besides preserving food and keeping drinks at the perfect serving temperature, display fridges also help to showcase your products in a visually attractive way in order to maximise sales. Today, the selection of display fridges on the market is generally divided in two types – open front displays and closed displays. Now, let’s see what they’re all about.

Open Front Fridge

As commonly seen in convenience stores, sandwich shops and liquor stores, the open front fridge is a cold storage merchandiser that does not have a door, which gives customers an unobstructed access to chilled products. And since customers can easily see and take products such as bottled drinks, packaged salads or sandwiches without any help from the staff, you can get a more efficient traffic flow in your store. This in turn is perfect for reducing long queues and maximising your sales. The easy access an open front fridge provides can also be beneficial in buffet-style restaurants as it allows for a quick and easy self-service.

But perhaps the greatest advantage of these merchandisers is that they are very effective in encouraging impulse purchases, especially near queuing areas. For this reason, many business owners try to make open front fridges as noticeable as possible by giving them a prominent spot or using LED interior lighting. Just place such an open display fridge near your register and watch how customers instinctively grab a drink or a snack while waiting in line.

However, the only downside to open display fridges is the fact that they are not very energy-efficient as they need more power to keep the air inside them cool. Luckily, the latest advancements in technology have helped to significantly reduce the costs required to run an open display fridge.

Closed Front Fridge

A closed front has one or multiple glass doors and it is commonly used to showcase the delicate and unboxed products you’re selling. The glass front protects the products inside the fridge form dust, dirt, or any outside manipulation, while also allowing customers to have a clear view of what’s inside it. And since it doesn’t accumulate much dust, this fridge is very easy to clean – you can simply use a damp cloth to go over its glass. Another great advantage of these fridges is that their door ensures they retain the cold air inside, which means they need less energy to operate.

However, these fridges do tend to break down more quickly and in some cases might be more of a hindrance than help. Like for instance at busy isle sections where everyone is in a hurry, or at buffet-style restaurants where people look to grab something on the go. As you can see, part of the success of your business depends on a good mix of easy-access open front fridges that encourage impulse purchases, and closed display fridges that properly protect your goods.