No matter the size of the business of the industry that it’s working in, the goal of all businesses is the same: to become more profitable. This is true for restaurants, retail stores, jewelry shops, tech giants, and any other business model you might think of. Finding effective ways to steer sales and to increase them is important to the bottom line. Improving store presentations and displays can have a positive impact and spark customer interest in what you sell.
Vend HQ took a look at thousands of retail stores globally in 2019 and found that the average gross profit margin hovered around slightly above 53%. This shows the need for store owners and managers to find creative ways to increase these margins, including cracking the secret to perfect product presentations. There are specific strategies that work well in certain areas and others that are better for different goals.
Finding out what works best for your location and using it to appropriately display your merchandise is critical to earning profits. By applying new approaches, you may discover that markdowns of excess inventory are not necessary. Taking steps to improve and increase the visibility of these products may be the solution that you are looking for.
Lighting and signage are two examples of tools that can be used to point customers in the right direction. These are useful not only to highlight point-of-sale locations but the displays where new and existing products are found. With the right information, small, medium, and large companies can bring in more profits.
Customers Notice the Atmosphere
The atmosphere that your business or company presents can be either positive or negative as it relates to sales. Customers are very discriminating when it comes to the shopping environment, which is why creating a setting that is conducive to making sales is paramount.
The Balance Small Business points out that there are many reasons to think about the atmosphere when selling products and services. The surroundings, décor, and presentation all have an impact on branding. It’s up to business owners to take pride in their surroundings and to make them attractive to current and new customers.
Use Displays to Convert Sales
Yes, it is possible to design product displays in a way that sales are converted consistently. Have you ever been into an eyeglasses store and noticed the backlit displays? It presents the merchandise in as favorable a manner as possible, and also provides excellent lighting should a customer decide to try on a pair of glasses. Merchandise presentation is crucial, especially on purchases on items that require a bit of buy-in from the customer like a new pair of eyeglasses.
Its marketing, signs, arrangements, and appearance need to work the same way an actual salesperson would, highlighting the strengths of a product and helping people to progress through the buying process. In some instances, it is necessary to transform store layouts regularly to direct customers to merchandise.
Apply Approaches to Attract Customers
Most business owners know who their audience is as it relates to customers. In some cases, these are the individuals familiar with your products and brands. There are others that regularly shop for specific items. Applying your marketing and presentation approaches to target this audience is extremely important.
Gathering this information often requires becoming familiar with the demographics of shoppers through data and analytics. Point-of-sale systems today are designed to provide merchants with this type of information.
Include Sensory Marketing Strategies
Small business owners can benefit from these processes by doing things that consistently increase their profits. Even locations with limited space can be utilized to better showcase products and sales items. Storefront windows, specialty areas, and various other portions of stores can be used to attract customers.
Strategic uses of colors, graphics, signage, and branding materials offer the desired effect. Studies show that appealing to the shoppers’ senses is a beneficial approach when promoting products.
Provide Real-Life Examples
One sales approach that clothing retailers use is to have staff dressed in the apparel being sold. This is a real-life example of marketing techniques that work. It is possible to promote individual brands or specific products this way. Displays for cosmetics or fragrances are successful when there are samples for customers to use.
It is important to think-outside-the-box for certain items that are in your product inventory. Allowing your shoppers to touch, feel, and experience these products could lead to sales.
