With holiday decorations no longer brightening your store, it can feel like there is less sparkle.
With spring not yet here, and the Michigan cloudy skies lingering, how can you spruce up your space to drive sales?
Change up your layout.
With winter decor disappearing from your shelves or floor display, the opportunity to change up your shelving or layout is here. Even small changes can help a customer find a new product, re-organizing small sections each week can make the process easier. Consider painting some furniture, or adding color in areas to attract attention to key products. Freshening up store fixtures, lighting and general arrangement can make your store feel totally new.
Tip: Use an online room planner to determine your layout before you start moving furniture. Smartdraw.com offers ideas for boutique, book, hardware, and grocery stores.
Spring cleaning and painting.
When was the last time you cleaned behind or under your shelving units? How long has it been since you saw the bottom of your desk? Do you have a spot on your wall that customers bump over and over leaving a scratched spot? Does your front door open into a wall that has taken a beating? Then it’s time to do a little touch-up.
Tip: Thoroughly clean the area you plan to paint before hitting it with fresh paint. Dirt or oil on the surface will leave you with a blotchy paint job.
Update your website.
Your web presence is a key part of your business. Whether it is a traditional .com or social media profiles, take a few minutes to clean up the visuals, make sure the stock list is accurate, and make sure you have your hours up-to-date.
Tip: Suggest other items that match a product a customer is looking at to increase sales.
Consider your product lines.
What does data say sold the best over the last year? How can you increase the volume of this product on your shelves and pair it with less-popular items to help those move?
Tip: Creating an “experience” for customers is a proven technique to increase sales. Setting up your display to connect a group of products together will help your customers envision everything as a match-set in their home, office, or other location.
Are you making the most out of your MRA membership?
By aggregating the purchasing power of our members and their businesses, MRA is able to negotiate better prices and rates on a wide range of business services – everything from “no hidden fees” expert credit card processing to Retailers Insurance Company workers’ compensation and dental insurances, to discounts on inbound and outbound shipping. Have a law or business-related question? Email askusfirst@retailers.com.
Tip: Not sure if you are taking full advantage? Talk to us: mra@retailers.com.
