In the past, the surest way to boost sales was to try and encourage more customers to come into your stores. Yet that is all changing…
Now, you can go beyond improving the physical layout of your store and use tactics to heighten their in-store experience, as well as make it easier for them to purchase your products online. Do that and you can potentially increase the number of purchases each individual customer makes.
Take the following scenario.
A customer comes into your store to buy some nails so he can finish a DIY job. By strategically placing other useful DIY tools within the same area; you may be able to entice them into buying more than what they originally wanted i.e. he might grab a new screwdriver or hammer to help him complete the job, etc.
Yet, when formulating your store design it is important that you remain mindful of the current climate. COVID is affecting businesses on a global scale, and will continue to influence them for many more months. Add into the equation the range of social distancing measures currently in place e.g. 2 people in a store/2 metre distances between shoppers – and minimising footfalls is imperative.
This means you need to find the right balance between increasing your sales while keeping your customers protected.
So, how can you make it happen? How can you get the best of both worlds?
Customers crave simplicity, so it makes sense to make their visit as quick and as efficient as possible. A good tactic is to have clearly labelled displays that are not only neat and organised, but that purposefully showcase your best sellers. This will give you the advantage of being able to promote your best products/deals while allowing customers to consider their options.
You can even go as far as to use intelligent and efficient communication tactics – such as indicating which products are your best sellers – as this will influence their purchasing decision.
This should not be their only option though. They should be able to browse through your whole range, as their needs may differ from your average customer.
Alongside making these displays easy to locate and identify – by giving your store a logical layout – it is important that you regularly refresh and keep these displays relevant so you can better connect with your customer’s needs. This can range from basing your displays on the weather, to focusing on what is happening locally, to observing trends, seasonal events or cultural experiences.
For instance, if you owned a garden centre, you would rotate your plants to suit the seasons, as well as would push certain tools/materials depending on when they are most useful, etc. This will ensure that any customer who comes in with a specific goal can find everything they need in one location.Other tips:
A word of warning though – don’t make your signs too obvious as the current generation of shopper is intelligent and not so driven by marketing. Instead, they are more interested in purchasing products with a purpose. For this reason, you need to move past simple promotions, and focus on offering them a display that is meaningful, enriching and that will offer them more than a juicy deal, but a better shopping experience.
Give customers the option to ‘try before they buy’ and they will take you up on this offer, as it will enable them to experience EXACTLY what they’ll be getting should they decide to buy.
The easiest way to help them fulfil this wish is to offer interactive experiences where one of your staff – or an influencer – either does a demo with the product or invites a select number of customers to get involved. In either case, you can use these demos/interactive experiences to help prove to customers the quality and value of your products, so they’ll be more inclined to buy.
Another benefit to this particular strategy, is that it will help to engage your customers and ensure that they remember the product. For instance, instead of feeling lost under the weight of numerous products – that all look and sound the same – your activation will help to differentiate this product from the others, as well as will spark their memory. In doing so, they’ll more likely turn into a conversion as they know it works.What else can you do to improve in-store experiences for your customers?
There is no denying that the right strategies can help your physical store to increase sales without prompting additional footfalls. However, it is not your only option.
Developing your online store can help you to quickly and efficiently engage with your customers without them having to pay you a visit. This is particularly helpful if they cannot get into your store during your regular opening hours – due to work – as they can simply jump online and purchase the products they need at any time of the day.
And this is great news for you, as it will eliminate customer restrictions, while giving them the flexibility to shop when, where and how they want.It also gives you (the retailer) the added bonus of being able to reflect on your estate, and utilise smaller footprint stores that are designed for browsing / viewing shop only. Here, you can benefit from lower rent rates or the possibility of opening stores in more convenient locations (as smaller stores are more readily available and are a more feasible option).
Another bonus to focusing on your website, is that you’ll be able to reach a wider audience and go beyond supporting just those who live in your area. Instead, you can broaden your reach and even tailor landing pages to attract customers in specific locations.
Tips for boosting online sales:
As you can see, by carefully designing your displays, rethinking your store layout and adopting an online strategy, it is possible to increase your sales without having to get more people through your door.
For more assistance with designing displays/layouts and improving customer in-store experiences, contact our team of professionals at Resolution Interiors today.