Your store is not just a place where you keep your items. You can also use this as your marketing canvas, which means you can utilise promotions to persuade consumers to buy.
The very first thing that you may do is to put up product posters or advertising materials. These are sound strategies, but you can do something more effective than these. And that would be the way you organise your products, which actually falls under the principles of visual merchandising.
Believe it or not, the way you display your products in your retail store actually influences buying decisions. This is why you need to invest some time and effort in this aspect. So look into your store’s layout and ask yourself if you are actually making the most of it. If you think that you do not gain anything from it, you may decide to revamp your strategy and come up with something more intuitive and customer-friendly.
Below are some of the things you need to keep in mind.
Put some primary items at the back
For many business owners, this might sound counter-intuitive. But it can actually do wonders. The shopping destination should not be too straightforward, as your customers lose the opportunity to go around the store.
So what you should do is to put some of the necessary and “basic needs” items at the back or middle of the store. That way, your customers can pass by more shelves and items, which will pique their interest and hopefully convince them to buy. Get supermarket rack systems to make product organisation much easier.
Seasonal and new products go to the front
On the other hand, what goes to your front store should be the items that your customers will not always buy. You should frontload them to capture the attention of shoppers.
These are the seasonal items, which should be bought and consumed immediately so that they will not take up space in the inventory. Other than seasonal products, the front rows and the window displays may also feature products you put on sale so that you can get rid of them from your inventory.
Use proper lighting
Lighting should always be a great factor in marketing your products. And you need to use the right ones so that you can highlight the best features of your items. Proper lighting also ensures that your customers can read the product description, price and disclaimers, which are all integral in forming their buying decision.
Play with your customers’ impulse
To get more sales, you can play around with your customers’ impulse. A lot of customers do not have a solid purchase plan, and simply seeing a product may trigger a buyer’s desire. You can do this by placing small items near the checkout counter. These items may or may not include the following: sodas, chocolates, toiletries and magazines.
Boost your retail strategy by improving your store’s layout and shelving plans. To make the most of your plan, work only with reliable professionals that specialise in retail and visual merchandising.
