It seems obvious on the face of it- you open a store, people come in, and they buy your stock.
Of course, as any manager of a store will tell you, this is not the case, and, in many ways, there is a science to sales.
If you are new to the world of store-front selling, this article will walk you through 5 ways you can increase sales in your store in 2023.
Build On The Stores Atmosphere
Firstly, what is the atmosphere that you want to create in your store?
Is it a hip, trendy store aimed at younger people? Or is the target demographic an older group? Either way, you need to build the store atmosphere to this.
You can do this with visual advertisements, as well as looking into streaming music for business. Music and the visual impact of a store can help to build the atmosphere and increase sales.
Offer Customer Service
Most store owners and managers don’t want a customer to lodge a complaint. Of course, if they do, they need to be able to de-escalate the situation. This will require advanced customer service skills, which will lead to repeat customers. You will also need to invest in staff training to make sure everyone’s customer service skills are to a high standard. This will create a warm and friendly atmosphere, wherein your customers feel friendly with the staff and can rest assured that all of their concerns will be answered.
Improve Merchandising
How you display your merchandise will have a huge impact on sales.
For instance, a shelf full of gaps from missing stock is not going to look appealing. So, you need to fill those spaces with stock and make sure that all of the stock is visible to the customers.
You will also need to use eye-catching displays, signs, and lighting to promote products. Also, aim to get a color scheme for your store. For stores that sell food, green is a popular choice. For music, red is common. This will all help to improve sales and keep customers coming back due to association and the pleasing aesthetic.
Analyse Customer Data
Now, onto the part where you may need to contact a marketing team!
You will need to be analyzing the data from your store every week- when were there the most sales? Which staff members were on the shop floor? Which signs prompted the most purchases?
All of this will feed into creating a more targeted sales environment, wherein you can remove all of the issues (like poor advertisements or promotions) that have been driving customers away.
Leverage The Current Technologies
Lastly, one of the main issues that customers have in supermarkets or stores is the waiting time when they are queuing. You can implement customer self-service checkouts to minimize the time customers spend in the store, thus boosting their opinion of the store. You can also use interactive displays, so customers can see all of the promotions that are on in your store when they enter. It’s also worth looking into the option of creating an online app for your store, as well as offering promotions in-store with the scanning of QR codes.