A lot of start-up companies are now avoiding getting a retail store. Instead of starting their business with a retail store, they are simply putting themselves in a position to be visible online.
Although the opportunities are plentiful online that is not to say that the offline market is dead. If you already have a retail store and you want to create extra sales, you should start by looking at your retail display.
A lot of shop owners have the right products, at the right prices, but their store is organized in the wrong way. Like a website up-sells products as customers click through, a retail store should be doing the same to everyone that walks through the front door.
Branding And Product Organization
Branding sections of the store is a good idea. Even if the rest of the store is organized into categories, this can make certain products stand out. If there are two brands that sell products that could be connected, make sure that they are close by. For instance, if one brand sells oil filters, then the brand of oil that you sell should be next to that brand.
This will ensure that the consumer has everything that they need all in one place. If you have branded products of your own, the profit margin is likely to be extremely high. For this reason, you want to make a separate space for your brand to boost sales to their maximum.
Space
The problem with a lot of retail stores is that they are overcrowded with products. Store owners figure that the more choice a customer has the more the chance that they are going to make a purchase. This is actually not true.
A consumer wants to see an open plan store that is easy to navigate. If the spaces are cramped then it is not likely they are going to be able to see everything that you are offering anyway. It is likely that they will actually end up spending much less, rather than much more. Keep it simple!
Out With The Old, In With The New
If you have been left with lots of products from last season, it is likely that you are going to want to get rid of them. This is why you see a lot of stores full of sale racks.
The problem is this creates a discounted image for a store. Instead of consumers heading for the latest branded items, suddenly, they are focusing on your sale items every time that they come through the door.
Limit the amount of sale items that you have on the shop floor which will help put emphasis on the brand new items. Try and negotiate with wholesalers or other stores to take these products off your hands at a low price to get rid of them.
Product Packaging
For those store owners that have their own branded products, packaging is going to be essential. You need packaging that portrays a good brand image of the store and of the products.
Make sure this is the feature display. It is likely you will be making 50%+ gross profit on these items compared to around 25% on other items, so even selling half the amount will net you the same amount of cash. Custom packaging makes a huge amount of difference.