Retail Basics

How would you like to excite, inspire, educate and stimulate your customers that will result in increased sales? We will give you some points to focus on to help you achieve retail sales success.

Visual Merchandising is the art of displaying merchandise in a manner that is appealing to the eyes of the customer. It is everything you see and experience when you walk up to, into and through a retail environment.

It involves:

Window displays,
Store design: colour schemes, floor coverings, fixtures,
In store displays,
Entrance,
Special sales and promotions,
Signage/logo/ticketing,
Atmosphere: smells, sounds, mood of staff, props,
Lighting,
In store merchandising of stock, and
Store upkeep and cleanliness.

Why merchandise?

The primary purpose of merchandising is the presentation of products in a way that causes them to be sold quickly, and at the highest possible retail margin. Secondly, the visual seduction that charms your customer results in add-on sales. The third role of merchandising is the creation of the merchant’s individual retail image – which relates directly to the lifestyle of the community and the customer. The targeted result is ongoing sales and customer loyalty.

We sell by:

Showing and promoting merchandise,
By introducing and explaining new and current merchandise,
By answering the questions on the use and accessorising of a product.
By encouraging the shopper to enter the store and,
By establishing, promoting, and enhancing the store’s visual image.

The Store Entrance

The entrance to your store is extremely important, as it is the access to your store and merchandise. This is the customer’s first impression and will determine if the person will enter or not.

Points to focus on:

Always keep the pavement area in front of your store clean and uncluttered.
Ensure the entrance is not blocked by selling racks or tables outside the store.
Decorative tile work or inlaid signage adds character.
Adding greenery can help ‘frame’ the entrance.
Ensure there is a shop sign so customers can recognise your store, it should be clear, bold and reflect the point of difference of your store e.g. Florist store could be in the shape of two large, colourful 3D daisies.

Window Displays

The main goal of window displays is to showcase the products within the overall display area. They are a three-dimensional advertising space for the store. A good display will encourage customers into your store. Customers give three to five seconds of their attention to a window display. The retailer’s visual message should be conveyed to the customer in that short period of time.

If eyes are the windows to the soul, then shop windows are just as revealing. They reveal the soul of the shop…

Points to focus on:

Props should not consume more space than merchandise.
Colour sells; a right choice of colours in the display items can turn walkers into stoppers and significantly convert them into customers.
Textures are a great way to add life and interest to an ordinary display.
Always have a theme.
Balance is the key.
Keep it simple, not too much or too busy.

Floor layout/ Traffic flow

Every square metre of space in a retail store costs money – all areas should pay their way.
A well-planned floor layout will effectively maximise this. The careful arrangement of fixtures and display racks form and influence the traffic flow. The traffic flow is the ‘intended’ path of navigation for customers to access all areas of the store – paying closer attention to promotional, in-season or slow-moving stock.

Points to focus on:

Ensure easy access for prams, wheel chairs etc.
Always have visible aisle ways as stock left in aisles and pathways can damage your traffic flow.
Be aware of where the “Dead Spots” and “Prime Positions” are.
Remember that most customers avoid badly lit, neglected or cluttered areas.
Negative signs on display about terms of sale deter customers from returning.
Ensure there is enough space for people to move around your store without bumping into products, fixtures etc
People do not like brushing up against your products.
Ensure there is a pattern or layout to follow so that customers can easily navigate through your store seeing all your products as they go.
Have a different point of entry to the point of sales/exit
Friendly staff with smiling faces is important

In Store Merchandising

The type of merchandise you stock, how you categorise it and where you display it play a very important role in selling your products. Traffic flow is driven by the type of stock in the store. In most businesses, stock can be divided into these five categories: Seasonal Merchandise, Best Sellers, Basic Stock, High Profit Lines and Impulse Merchandise.

Points to focus on:

Understanding your own stock selection can assist in the placement of merchandise to maximise sales.
Eye/shoulder level and slightly below are the most viewed positions so put the stock you want to be seen most here.
The least viewed position is the top shelf if well above eye level and the gondola base on either end is the next lease favoured.
An effective way of presenting merchandise is to potion the size of what you want to sell most of at eye/shoulder level.
The colour order, stock is positioned in is important; use colour block vertically plus colour blend from light to dark – left to right usually within the colour families. In winter the reverse colour order is used.
Display products face out to show the style and for ease of viewing and selection.

Customer Service

In today’s society consumers are sick of dodgy, pushy salesmen. Instead of trying to sell them something, try the philosophy of asking them what they want and helping them to find it. In this way customers are made to feel welcome and genuinely cared for. Customer service is essential to achieving customer loyalty and repeat customers, additionally an added bonus of word of mouth advertising can also occur helping you to accomplish retail sales success.

Points to focus on:

Create a great first impression through employee presentation i.e. ensure their clothes are pressed and neat, they have tidy hair and they are smiling.
Greet the customer correctly by acknowledging them as they walk in, giving them a minute to get accustomed to their surroundings and asking them open ended questions. Never open with “Can I help you?” Ask questions such as have you been here before? Or “Have you found what you are looking for?”.
To respond effectively to “Just looking”, start by replying positively with excitement “"That's terrific! We're delighted to have you here today! “. Continue with a non threatening question such as “Have you shopped here before?” and end with offering assistance to help get them started.
Give personal attention to each customer by finding out what they want through observation and questions and then making a recommendation.
Try to use the technique of Cross-selling where you ask the customer if they would like to buy a complimentary product to their current purchase.
Implement the technique of Up-Selling. i.e. Asking the customer to buy more of their current purchase.
Take the approach that you are not selling, you are giving expert advice.
Use suggestive selling by finding out about the situation, asking about preferences, providing two recommendations and talking about each choice.
Ensure your employees are promoting your best products; the ones that are both crowd-pleasing and profitable rather than leaving it up to the customer to guess.
Remember that is about recognising that the customer is interested and encouraging them to make a decision.

Shop Maintenance

This is a basic, very important area of merchandising that is often overlooked. Housekeeping requires ongoing maintenance and can be done quite quickly beginning, during and at the end of each day, week, month or year.

Points to focus on:

Keep the pavement/area outside your shop clean and well maintained.
Water any plants/greenery outside of your store.
Keep windows and displays clean.
Straighten and tidy up window displays.
Dust and wipe clean shelves, fixtures, counters and cabinets.
Straighten fixtures.
Determine if merchandise rearrangement is necessary.
Restock merchandise.
Remove any empty boxes and rubbish in aisles.
Mop/vacuum floor space.
Keep in store displays tidy and update when needed.
Update any promotional posters, banners etc.
Check external signage and clean if necessary and repair damages.
Check/replace globes in all lighting.
Consider a fresh coat of paint every 3-5 years.

If you follow these points to focus on you will be well on your way to improving your sales and achieving retail sales success.