When you’re operating a consumer electronics retail store, or any other store for that matter, accounting, customer service, purchasing and stocking are just a few of your competing priorities in a typical day. This leaves less time and resources for in-store marketing.
Profitable? Yes.
Easy to manage? No.
The Shopper Engagement Study published by POPAI (The Point of Purchase Advertising International), the retail industry’s global association for marketing, reveals that in-store consumer decision rate has climbed to an all-time peak of 76%.
The underlying principle is that these people come into a retail store with a few products in mind; your goal is to lure them to buy more with well-planned in-store marketing.
Below are 4 effective best practices to drive foot traffic & sales conversions:
#1. Assign more staff to traffic, not transactions
The process sounds simple, but is often neglected by retailers. Staff scheduling can be tricky at peak times, but assigning your human resources to prospects in store will increase your chances of enticing more of them to make purchase decisions.
Pay attention to lunch hour, when store traffic can get a bump, but staff breaks can bring down conversions. Assigning staff to peak traffic timing and volume in your store will help your chances of increasing conversion rates.
#2. Communicate with people
Concentrate on walls, windows, counters and ceilings because these are major areas that promote and sell store products. A large window sign is ideal for catching customer attention and driving traffic in store.
Walls can be used to display new stock, store history and other graphics while counter signs can be used for promotions, discounts and specific prices. A successful in-store marketing strategy utilizes a combination of these spaces to communicate with and convert prospects.
#3. Polish product displays
Product placement in a shop can make a significant difference to its sales. Different products perform at different placement levels. For example, lower shelf placement works well for heavier items like cooking oil and soda, while upper shelf placement is ideal for light weight items such as chocolate and razors.
Cardboard display shelf and metal 3 tier floor display options can help you in targeting different levels of placement depending on products to be stocked. You may also be able to utilize the high end capabilities of display shelf manufacturers to give your products a better chance of grabbing consumer attention.
#4. Update your store content frequently
Your store’s theme and content should be fresh and up-to-date. While there is no particular time for content changes, your displays, walls, signage and windows should also reflect the highlight of your recent inventory as well as the present season (December Holidays = Xmas, New Year’s etc.)
Budget limits may not allow you to update signs for each holiday, so take a good look at your industry and mark seasons most valuables to your business. Invest in updating content for peak seasons and opt for basic signage for the rest of the year. Incorporating new products and inventory will also help to keep content fresh.
Though it is difficult to prioritize certain areas and traffic time as a retail store owner, careful planning can result in better use of your budget and time. Follow these 4 best practices and allow time for testing placement and scheduling, and altering imperfections.
Images: ”HONG KONG – MARCH 19: Times Square interior on March, 19, 2013. Time Square mall is a very popular shopping place in Hong Kong. / Shutterstock.com“
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