The Ultimate Guide to Creating a Convenience Store Planogram [With Planogram Examples]

Running a convenience store comes with unique challenges. Limited space, constant product rotation, and the pressure to boost sales can make organizing your shelves feel like solving a never-ending puzzle. Without a clear strategy, you risk disorganized aisles, missed sales opportunities, and frustrated customers.

That’s where a planogram comes in. Think of it as your secret weapon—a visual blueprint that not only organizes your store but also drives profits by placing the right products in the right spots.
But here’s the catch: creating a planogram from scratch can feel overwhelming if you don’t know where to start. That’s why we’ve created this guide to walk you through every step of the process.

In this article, you’ll learn:

• What a convenience store planogram is and why it’s essential for maximizing sales.
• How to create one with actionable, beginner-friendly steps.
• Advanced tips for optimizing your layout to meet customer demand.
• Plus, we’ll provide some downloadable planogram examples to help you get started immediately.

By the end of this guide, you’ll have the tools and knowledge to create your store’s layout, attract more customers, and boost your bottom line. Ready to dive in? Let’s get started!

What is a Convenience Store Planogram?

A planogram is a visual representation that shows exactly where products should be placed on shelves in your store. It’s like a blueprint for your shelves, designed to maximize sales, improve organization, and make it easier for customers to find what they need.

For convenience stores, where shelf space is limited, a well-planned layout is critical. A planogram ensures that every inch of your store is used effectively, helping you:

• Boost impulse purchases by placing high-demand items in key spots.
• Optimize product placement so your top-selling and high-margin items get maximum visibility.
• Maintain layout consistency across multiple store locations.

Pro Tip: Use heat map in PlaniHero to identify high-traffic zones in your store and prioritize high-margin items in those areas.

Why is a Planogram Important for a Convenience Store?

Without a plan, shelves can become cluttered or poorly organized, leaving potential sales untapped. Here’s how a planogram can transform your store:

• Improved Customer Experience: Shoppers can easily find what they need, leading to faster checkouts and happier customers.
• Increased Sales: Strategic placement of items like snacks, beverages, and seasonal products encourages more purchases.
• Better Inventory Management: Planograms help you allocate shelf space to best-selling items, reducing overstock or out-of-stock issues.

Example: Imagine you’re managing a c-store and notice that bottled water isn’t selling as well as expected. By analyzing your planogram, you discover that water is tucked away on the bottom shelf near the back of the store. You update your planogram to reposition the water at eye level in the beverages section and near the checkout area for added visibility. Within days, sales of bottled water increase significantly. That’s the power of a planogram—it allows you to strategically use shelf space to drive results, backed by data and thoughtful organization.

How Does a Planogram Work?

A planogram is more than just a store layout—it’s a smart strategy to help you place products in the right spots to increase sales and improve customer experience. Instead of guessing where products should be placed, store managers have access to planograms to follow via the mobile app. After completing the layout according to the planograms, they generate a photo report in the app and send it to the central office for verification. The office then checks the execution of the planograms and, in case of errors, sends them back to the store for re-execution. In addition, with the help of the PlanoHero software, the central office can analyze the effectiveness of planograms, plans, and store products. This allows you to control how well the formed layouts work and what needs to be changed.

With the right planogram, every inch of your convenience store works to boost sales, improve organization, and make shopping easier for customers. Whether you’re a small business owner or managing multiple locations, this tool ensures you’re making data-backed decisions that translate into measurable results.

How to Create a Convenience Store Planogram (Step-by-Step)

Creating a planogram for your convenience store may seem overwhelming, but with the right tools and process, it becomes a simple and highly effective way to optimize shelf space, improve product visibility, and increase sales. Follow this step-by-step guide to build an efficient planogram that works for your store.

Step 1: Set up your store plan and fixtures

Before placing products on the planogram, you need to create the equipment on which they will be displayed. This includes shelves, racks, refrigerators, cabinets, boxes, pallets, display cases, etc.

• Build a store plan in the PlanoHero Builder or download a ready-made one from AutoCAD.
• Accurately measure the fixtures to match the store plan.
• Use pre-made equipment templates or create your own with the Fixture Builder in PlanoHero planogram software.
• Consider different types of displays - hanging hooks, boxes, shelves, and refrigerators - according to the products you sell.
• Place the created fixtures on the store plan.

Expert tip: If using a planogram software, make sure it allows for easy customization of fixture dimensions to match your store’s real plan.

Step 2: Product List

To start displaying your store's products, you first need to create a product database in your planogram software. Import the product data by uploading Excel files with product information (available in the free demo version and Starter PlanoHero plan).
In the free demo version, you can also use a test assortment of products with up to 1000 SKUs.

Don't worry if your products are missing images or dimensions. PlanoHero has a built-in electronic product catalog, Listex. If your products are in a food group, upload barcodes and the system will automatically add dimensions and images from the Listex catalog database.

Step 3: Strategic placement of products on the planogram

After you have prepared a list of products, it's time to strategically place them on your digital planogram.

• High-margin products should be placed at eye level for maximum visibility.
• Best-selling products should get more shelf space to prevent shortages.
• Fast moving items such as gum, candy, and soft drinks should be placed near the checkout.
• Use cross merchandising by placing complementary products together (for example, chips next to soda).

Tip: If you are using PlanoHero or similar software, use sales data to automatically adjust product placement based on turnover and profitability.

Step 4: Use PlanoHero software for faster, smarter layout planning

Gone are the days of drawing displays manually or in Excel - planogram software automates and optimizes the layout in your store.
A basic tool: a free 14-day PlanoHero demo or Starter subscription can help you create simple planograms.
Advanced functionality of PlanoHero Pro and PlanoHero Enterprise plans: allows you to create a layout on a planogram using your own Layout Rules, control the planogram execution in stores and analyze the effectiveness of active planograms.
Using the automatic placement function based on artificial intelligence, PlanoHero allows you to automatically fill shelves based on historical sales data and your own display parameters.

Pro tip: Choose a planogram tool that allows you to consolidate the entire planogramming process in one system. 

Optimize Your Planogram with Auto-Layout Features

Some planogram tools, like PlanoHero, offer auto-layout options that streamline shelf organization. These include:
1️⃣ General Auto-Layout: Evenly distributes all products across available shelves.
2️⃣ Sales-Based Auto-Layout: Arranges products based on historical sales performance, prioritizing top-selling items.
3️⃣ Brand or Category-Based Auto-Layout: Organizes items according to brand or category share, ensuring a fair distribution.
Golden Shelf Tip: High-turnover products should always be placed on the “golden shelf” (1.2m–1.7m height) to maximize sales potential.

Step 5: Test, Adjust, and Track Performance

Once your planogram is set up, it's time to test and fine-tune it to maximize effectiveness.

• Monitor sales data to see which products are performing well in their assigned spots.
• Make adjustments based on inventory levels, customer feedback, and seasonal trends.
• Track planogram compliance with photo reports in the PlanoHero app, ensuring that staff are following the real store layout.

Using the PlanoHero mobile app, the store manager can view the planogram in augmented reality to visualize the shelf layout from different angles before implementing the planogram in the store.

One last tip: Save time by using the copy planogram function and the functionality of the Display Rules to duplicate successful displays in different stores and applications.

This might be helpful: Examples of planograms with configuration

Next step: Put Your Planogram into Action!

With the right planogram strategy and tools, you can optimize shelf space, improve customer experience, and boost sales effortlessly. The key is to continuously test, measure, and improve your store layout.

Get started with a free demo of PlanoHero!