Jon Ellis, of Town Common News, in St Catherines Parade, Christchurch, says the recently expanded range of Swizzels Squashies are a fast seller.

“The new lines of £1 price marked Swizzels Squashies are selling really well. They are a good range for summer aswell as you don’t have to worry about melting issues.”

Like many retailers, Jon has been enjoying plenty of footfall thanks to the recent sunshine. He has boosted this hot opportunity by selling a selection of garden and beach toys.

“Soft drinks are flying. As soon as the sun comes out those start to do really well. We’ve also got a one metre bay of products that people might pick up as an impulse buy on their way to the beach or a garden gathering. We sell loads of things from buckets and spades, to plastic cricket bats and tennis rackets.

“There’s a lot of people that come in to get a soft drink and they might just pick up one of those on the way so it’s a good little basket spend booster.”

Jon has also tapped into the trend for Fidget Spinners.

“Fidget Spinners have been another big trend. I started selling those about two weeks ago and it’s already starting to die out. These crazes in school never last much longer than a few weeks. I’ve been selling them for about £2.99 but I saw a store in town selling them at £8 or £9 which is quite crazy.

What’s hot: “Soft drinks are definitely the best selling products.”

What’s not: “Cigarettes have been a difficult category with all the legislation changes”