Five top tips to increase store sales

POSTED: 17 December 2018

It’s a tough retail environment to operate in at the moment, there is no doubt about it. But there are lots of things retailers can do, even in the current climate, to boost their sales. Here are five top tips you can implement to increase your in-store sales:

Waiting in line is an opportunity

No one likes waiting in line, yet it is inevitable that at some points during the day some of your customers will have to wait to be served. However, you can turn this to your advantage.

Provide baskets and point of purchase (POP) displays to present small additional items for shoppers to look at and pick up while they wait in line. This works to distract customers from their wait time, and increases your sales from impulse products.

It is important to consider which merchandise would work best at the checkout. Generally smaller, low cost items work well. Things that people can easily pick up and that isn’t going to add a significant cost to the total bill. What these items are specifically will depend on your store, Sephora, for example, displays travel-sized cosmetics and brush sets.

You will sell more as long as the product are relevant. Just watch these lines in action.

The key is to anticipate what your customers need and what they may not have noticed within the store.  Think about what items your customers most ask your staff about. Are there particular items your staff are often asked to help customers find? Which items do your customers often forget to buy?  Placing these items at the checkout will help jog the memory of your shoppers and ensure they leave the store with all they need.

Think about how you will display these items. On-counter POP can be really effective, yet a cluttered checkout desk will put people off.  Another option is to display items along the wait-line area in display bins, but beware of creating obstacles. Consider what you want to display and how you can do this without creating clutter for your customers when paying for purchases; with careful placement, POP displays around the checkout line can create interest, distraction from the line waiting time and increase sales from impulse purchases.

Beware of shopper blindness

Shoppers to your store will appreciate knowing where to find the items they need. But at the same time, unchanging store layout eventually leads shoppers to become blind to your products. Their brain is so used to seeing goods in the same place that they effectively stop noticing most of them at all.

Don't lose your footfall. Give them something new

Making changes to your store layout, using POP displays, changing signage, and re-dressing your displays will all work to retain the interest of your customers.

Using robust, well-designed sign holders like Reflex, is a must in this situation. Reflex enables you to change your signage quickly and easily, without risk of breakages to the sign holders. And the signs will stay in place on their rails when you reconfigure your shop floor layout. If you are making changes in-store this sort of detail will make it much easier for your team to manage.

Maximize your square footage

Unused spaces in your store represent a lost opportunity that could have been used to generate sales. Aside from this, unproductive space within your store is unattractive. However, with a little creativity and just the right amount of expertise and technical know-how, these unattractive spaces can be converted into interesting spots that will lend an ambience to your store and help to pull in more sales.

One of the best ways of doing this is by deploying captivating POP display solutions. Deploying POP units within your store is an ideal way of turning a liability (i.e. previously unproductive in-store space) into a revenue-generating asset.

Floor space isn't always where you need to look. Are your shelves doing all that they could be?

Strategic placement of POP display solutions can mean the difference between declining sales and soaring profits. In-store POP display solutions can provide your consumers with a richer shopping experience while influencing them to make impulsive and unplanned purchases. Display units are highly effective for brand awareness and promotional campaigns, and can be used to draw the attention of shoppers to discounts and special offers.

Make your products stand out

When a customer walks in to any mall or any store their brains are hit by hundreds, if not thousands of products and brands that continuously fight for their attention - and their dollars. It isn’t always easy to make a specific product stand out. To help, you can undertake a range of in-store awareness and promotion campaigns to ensure that your brand stays in in the limelight.

Simple also works well. Your store says:  this is our new stuff. The Reflex Sign Holder allows shoppers to save time and avoid the need to "hunt down" new store items.

To ensure the success of such campaigns, it is important to present your promotional message in a clear but interesting way that instantly captures the attention of your target customers. The strategic placement and creative presentation of the message will entrench your brand into the hearts and minds of the target audience ensuring that they don’t leave the store without purchasing your product, and this is where a POP display can help. Research by Nielsen found that 72% of public awareness for new products is driven by store activities such as the effective utilization and deployment of POP units.

The persuasive power of POP display solutions has been proven time and again and if executed properly, the unique combination of interactive visuals, graphics, and descriptive text will capture the attention of your target audience.

Optimize the power of signage

In-store display solutions, such as our Reflex sign holders, play a significant role in influencing unplanned purchases and generating more sales. However, the ability of these displays to stand out, persuade shoppers to make a purchase, and drive sales at the store level is not a matter of chance; it’s completely in the hands of shop managers and owners. By optimising the selling power of sign holders, retailers and brands can outperform their own expectations.

How not to miss an offer. Simple and clear. If they don't buy from you, they will buy elsewhere. Signs can help convert footfall into sales. Here we see a large format Reflex Sign Holder.

Use your sign holders to reinforce brand identity. According to research, 64% of consumers believe that a strong sense of shared values is what enables them to develop and maintain a strong relationship with a specific brand.  One way a retailer can demonstrate that it has similar opinions or a common philosophy with its customers is to use attractive graphics that reflect the concepts which set its brand apart.

Target specific groups of customers through your displays. Humans are visual creatures, in fact, Kissmetrics reports that 93% of our buying decisions are influenced by our visual sense.  Thus, the best way to give customers a better idea of where they can find the products they need is to use display solutions that indicate specific groups of products. For example, a mother-and-child display used in conjunction with the sign holder that promotes a baby sleep sack makes the shopping journey clearly apparent to the customers looking for these types of items.

Use your displays to tell a story. Co-siting products can make shopping easier for your customers and also increases sales of items that weren’t necessarily on their list. Sunglasses next to a bathing suit for example, or gloves displayed alongside jackets. Sign holder displays can be used to cluster together complementary products to facilitate multiple purchases.

Key takeaway

Using key marketing techniques within your store can help boost your sales. From clear signage, to creative displays and product placement, even in the toughest of climates, there is much you can do to encourage your shoppers to buy. Good quality sign holders, like Reflex, are an essential to help you make the changes you need within your store to stay competitive, today and in the future.

Next Steps?

Order a samples box to see how Reflex Sign Holders could help you. Why don't you try them out?