How to Improve Retail Sales

While great sales are in large part the result of a good quality product, this is never the whole story. When it comes to retail stores, even your best products may just go unnoticed if not backed by excellent presentation. Fortunately, if your brick-and-mortar store is not yet the success you dreamed of, there are things you can do today that are proved to help improve retail sales. Every detail counts in attracting customers and convincing them to buy, so we rounded up a few ideas you might want to consider. 

Store layout

The layout of your store greatly influences shopping patterns. Of course, it’s all about creating a pleasant shopping experience, put your products in the best light, and create the vibe you are after. But how exactly do you do it and what details might you have missed?

First, make sure that you don’t overwhelm your customers with your product displays right from the entrance. Allow them to get accustomed to your store, then keep it uncrowded and easy to navigate. Make sure you allow for generous personal space, since having to repeatedly brush against other clients may turn off your customers. People prefer to move through stores in a counterclockwise direction (that has something to do with the driving patterns in the U.S.), so keep this in mind when displaying your best products.

Every now and then, create visual breaks, so that the eye doesn’t get tired of perusing products displays. Whether this means using signage or simply offering more information about a certain product, make use of these tools. For the same reason, avoid creating more than one visual focal point. Of course, this depends on the size of the store, but use these central elements as a simple incentive to make customers interested in digging deeper, rather than trying to emphasize too many products at the risk of minimizing their importance and appeal.

Finally, make it all shareable. Today, more than ever before, a good picture may be enough to spread the world and keep new clients entering your store.

Product placement

The placement of your products in the store can make the difference between good and bad sales, so nothing should be left to chance. First, attract passers-by with your most tantalizing products placed by the door. Then make sure that your best-selling products are at the back of the store, so that customers get a chance to browse all other product displays before getting to them. Don’t overlook the checkout area when trying to encourage impulse buying.

Display your best-selling products at eye level, and, most importantly, group complementary items together for both convenience and to help customers visualize what they may not even know they need.

Subliminal messages

There is nothing like seasonal sales for retailers to play the subliminal game. We are all tempted to linger on, for instance, when Christmas store displays immerse us into an irresistible holiday atmosphere, with everything from lighting, music and smells enticing us to peruse the displays. So how can you win at the same game and do it all year long?

It is all about creating the right atmosphere for the right products. Are you selling nostalgia items? Creating a nostalgic atmosphere through product displays, light, colors and music is the way to go. Selling flowers? The romantic musical genre may be your best friend. The best way is to combine multiple elements in order to create a full experience.

But the subliminal messages do not stop here. Allowing people to touch your products is better for sales, and so is encouraging credit card purchases, instead of cash, or creating the sense that customers win at the game by getting something for free.

Colors

Colors are another way to influence customer behavior and improve retail sales, so knowing how to use them is important. Since each color indirectly sends a message, you should employ the appropriate ones to send yours.

Here are some examples. Red is all about urgency and action, and that is why most sales signs are red, as a way of saying “buy it now!” Used sparingly in the store, it catches the attention and encourages immediate action. By contrast, blue is associated with a feeling of calm and security, so it acts indirectly on the customer’s decision to buy. Purple, an aristocratic color, has a luxurious vibe, but is rather tricky: loved by women, it is hated by men. Since people are highly visual and often base their purchases on color, knowing how to use color psychology to improve retail sales is a must for a successful business.

Music

Even though ambient music is a ubiquitous presence in stores, most customers are unaware of how their shopping behavior is influenced by what they listen to, sometimes in unexpected ways. For instance, the music tempo may be responsible for how fast clients move through the store: Fast music encourages fast walking and less impulse buying, while slow tracks encourage customers to linger and buy more.

Here are a few other hints. Classical music tends to stimulate the appetite for buying expensive items. New, unfamiliar tracks create a new experience that makes clients take their time in the store. Finally, women respond better to quieter music than man. Understanding the subtle way music can improve your sales is a worthy undertaking for every business owner that wants to excel.

If you are thinking to open a new business or are in the process of rebranding and remodeling your existing business, contact us to get a free consultation from Mindful Design Consulting. Click HERE to price your project design.

Also, take a look at “Branding By Interior” e-book, the only book written on this subject at this time. It brings insight on how you can turn your business into a market-dominating competitor by using human cognitive responses.