Retailers all throughout the world are thinking about ways to increase sales in retail.
The majority of merchants want to increase foot traffic and keep consumers coming back to their stores, but this objective is hampered by another issue: how much good are additional people if you aren’t maximizing in-store sales?
Any store looking to expand must sell more during peak hours, whether through upselling and cross-selling, promotions, or simply plain old exceptional customer service.
Let’s concentrate on 5 retail sales suggestions in this piece that can help you do just that:
- Find out when your store is busiest.
- Make an appointment with your best sales representatives.
- Build your local brand.
- Offer free shipping… to your shop
- Speed up the purchasing process
Increasing retail sales: understanding what customers desire
The good news is that attracting clients to your shop won’t be an uphill battle. With more than half of US consumers choosing it, in-store buying significantly outranks both online and smartphone purchasing.
To persuade clients to spend more money when they enter the store, though, will take some effort. Simply opening your doors and waiting for people to come to you is insufficient. Your rivals are now acting in such manner. A retail marketing plan that caters to the needs of your present client base is essential if you want to increase sales at peak seasons.
Our most current analysis of the worldwide retail sector indicates that consumers are most motivated to make purchases by four factors:
Purchasing Locally
Globally, 63% of consumers believe that purchasing locally is important, and 37% want to do so more frequently. The news for independent merchants is excellent.
Free Delivery and Shipping.
The most popular offer among purchase drivers is free delivery, which is a tried and true favorite. Physical retail can benefit from it by offering free shipping to the shop, even though it is mainly thought of in the context of ecommerce.
Fidelity
Consumers want to be rewarded for choosing to purchase from companies they trust and are familiar with. Since returning customers are worth more than acquiring new ones, merchants may boost retail sales by investing more in their loyalty initiatives.
Individualization
Consumers like to feel familiar with their preferred retailers. A great place to start looking for ways to boost retail sales is by observing your sales representatives and the tools they use to provide individualized client care.
Innovative strategies to boost store sales
1.Determine when your store is busiest.
Knowing when your peak hours are is the first step towards increasing sales during these times.
The 50/20 rule states that your busiest 20 hours of the week account for half of your entire sales. 2020 witnessed a modest rise in sales during peak selling hours due to buyers becoming more deliberate in their travels and the change in peak times from weekends and nights to afternoons and weekdays. Although several of those peaks have since returned to their pre-2020 levels, there’s no guarantee that your customers will adhere to either trend.
Even if you knew exactly when your busiest times were before 2020, you should still research when customers are purchasing right now. The habits of life have been sufficiently disrupted even with employees going back to the workplace that you will want to confirm what your clients are doing.
Assessing the number of customers in your business and their propensity to make a purchase should be your first step. The sales and employee data from your point of sale system may be used to determine that. For a clear picture of the percentage of total sales that each hour of the day accounts for, we recommend obtaining the Sales by Hour of Day report from Biyo POS.
However, bear in mind that your best selling hours could not coincide with the peak in-store traffic. Sales records from your point of sale system are unable to record clients who are only perusing.
2. Schedule your top sales associates
You can now plan your A-Team of sales staff to maximize that traffic by knowing what your peak hours are. Every business has top performers that truly stand out, even if your sales crew is hopefully excellent overall.
Examine your staff statistics and identify the sales representatives who, in proportion to the number of hours they worked, had the greatest overall sales and products per transaction. If at all feasible, we advise examining their client testimonials via an NPS survey conducted after the sale.
Since they may produce the greatest money, you want to find the sales associates who are most successful at completing deals and book them during peak hours.
These sales representatives frequently have the greatest experience and are quite knowledgeable about your company, its offerings, and its goods. They will be able to assist the clients efficiently and cheerfully provide pertinent advice.
When you anticipate a lot of traffic, we advise booking at least one of your top performers in advance.
Your peak periods need to be very consistent from week to week, giving your top achievers a fairly set schedule for when they can anticipate to work. Keep the lines of communication open with all of your employees and make sure they understand why you are scheduling them for peak times. You should also let them know that you value their hard work.
3. Build your Local Brand
Lean into your identity as an independent business since most consumers think it’s vital to purchase locally, so they know they’re making a decision that fits with their beliefs.
What consumers consider to be local purchasing will depend on where your company is located.
According to Biyo POS, Canadian consumers place similar value on shopping from national merchants as they do on being located in their own country, and they rank being based in their general geographic region as highly as being headquartered in their city. This implies that by stating clearly that you are a Canadian-owned business, you may draw customers in and encourage them to make more purchases when they are there. Additionally, you might potentially create just as much goodwill by being involved in your city and province.
By contrast, we discovered that American consumers preferred doing business with local companies over those located throughout their larger region. Take advantage of ultra-local flavor to grab their interest and contribute to the shop local movement. This might entail sponsoring and taking part in local events, collaborating with charitable organizations, and/or allocating a greater percentage of your marketing budget to customers who live nearby.
4.Offer free shipping… to your shop
Free delivery is a huge hit with customers. That is a consideration for every retail sales strategy that seeks to boost spending.
Free delivery, meanwhile, may put an excessive financial strain on stores, particularly given that consumers prefer quick and free service. Your profit margins are reduced by paying for those services.
You might look for ways to lessen the financial load of providing free delivery to clients who live outside of your city. As a workaround, though, you may provide free curbside pickup or in-store pickup for clients who are closer to you. In this manner, customers may enjoy the ease of online shopping without having to pay for delivery or wait for their product to be delivered.
There are several possibilities for customers to purchase more than they otherwise would have between saving money on shipping and visiting the store.
5.Speed up the purchasing process
Prior to the epidemic, consumers were queuing up halfway around the store, and sales workers were standing in line to check out their customers during peak sales hours. Customers would frequently enter, determine it was too hectic, and leave, even though they probably would have made a purchase otherwise.
Even while traffic is now gradually growing once again, consumers have grown accustomed to the convenience of online purchasing (which, except from delivery, has no wait times).
To address the root cause of in-store delays, retail establishments ought to use a mobile point-of-sale system. With a tablet of their own, each member of your sales team can process sales and finish transactions more rapidly. They are not need to be at the cash register to accomplish this; they can do it anywhere in the store. This simplifies and enhances the experience for your staff and clients alike. Additionally, it means that customers may be served and checked out by sales personnel anywhere in the store, promoting safe distances and reducing wait times.
