For retailers, the key to getting ahead of the competition is not only providing good-quality wares at a fair price, but presenting them in an attractive way to draw footfall from the high-street. With the Christmas season now in full swing, there’s never been a better time to up your retail game and pull out all the stops to attract new business.
But, what steps can you take to help boost sales this season and beyond? To help make planning for a successful future just a little easier, we’ve collated a list of nine of our favourite projects to help pull your retail business out of its rut. Ready to get started? Then, let’s begin …
Clean and Clearout!
The first project on our list costs next to nothing and yet can have a huge impact. It just might take a day or two of your time, depending on the size and condition of your store! Once you’ve stocked up on bin bangs, cleaning agents, wipes, sponges and rubber gloves, you’re all set. That’s right, it’s time to treat your store to a thorough clean and clearout.
First, it’s time to get rid of any surplus rubbish and clutter. Be ruthless – anything that cannot be sold, or is no longer of use or value can be consigned to the bin. The next step is to deep clean your store. Scrub, de-grease and de-grime every inch of the property that you can. This can be transformative and leave your store looking near new for very little money.
Repaint Your Stairways
If your customers use a staircase to reach your store or its various floors, think about the impression it creates in its current condition. A corroding, flaking, peeling staircase will not instill consumers with confidence.
Sometimes, all that’s needed to revive a tired staircase is a new coat of paint. However, we would recommend a high-quality oxide primer to help prolong the life of the new coat.
To revive and protect exterior stairways, we would recommend a coat of bitumen paint. One application should be sufficient. Bituminous paint is highly durable, so even if your outdoor stairway attracts a lot of footfall, it should remain in good condition for years. Its lifespan can be extended even further with timely re-applications of bitumen paint.
Be Covid-secure
Bear in mind, that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many of your customers may be cautious about visiting shops during busier times.
To help reassure them, post clear signage, communicating what you are doing to improve in-store hygiene and help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Display clear information about the health and safety measures you have in place outside, on your website and on your social media channels.
Change Up Your Pricing and Offer More Flexibility
The simple act of lowering your prices once in a while can persuade customers who would not otherwise have purchased products to do so. However, there’s more to optimising your prices than simply cutting the prices of individual products.
If your range includes packages with numerous components or add-on services attached, offer customers the option to buy them separately. This may help bring some customers on board, who are not interested in buying everything in a package deal, but would like to purchase one or more of the components individually.
On the other hand, you may wish to bundle products that your customers often buy together at a more attractive price. Alternatively, offering free or low-cost warranties and maintenance contracts with premium products can also help to boost sales.
Try Out a New Look for Your Marketing, Products and Promotional Materials
Of course, if you really want to supercharge your sales, it’s important to get your marketing right. If the current designs for your marketing posters, literature, packaging and any other promotional materials are failing to hook customers in, it may be time to go back to the drawing board.
Consider road-testing several designs to see how your customers respond to them. You can also make use of online platforms such as 99designs, which will allow you to gain feedback on your work from numerous professional designers. Or, you can use the site to run a contest, where designers submit preliminary drafts for your consideration. You can then commission the work with the design you like best!
Step Up Your Window Display Game
A well put together window display is one of the most effective tools in the shopkeeper’s playbook. If you want to turn heads on the high street, you need to go all out with your festive window display. Pull out all the stops with bells, tinsel, sleighs and reindeer!
If you really manage to impress shoppers you may also gain a few social media shares from passers-by, which can net you even more free publicity!
Generate a Social Buzz
Retail business owners can take advantage of many social media platforms to raise their profile. Don’t get behind. You should ideally have active accounts on at least a few social media platforms.
Post engaging content on a regular basis and you should quickly build a following. Once you have a decent following in place, you can alert them to your regular offices and sales and generate extra footfall.
The best social media platform to join, depends on your target audience, although Twitter, Facebook and Instagram should be on your list.
Get Seen Outdoors
If your aim is to generate a little extra interest, bringing your sale outdoors will often do the trick. Advertising your wares on the high street gives your products extra visibility that can translate to more sales.
Placing a stand or salespeople outdoors communicates that something is going on inside the store and invites passers-by to come and check it out.
Thank you for Reading!
We hope you enjoyed our latest article and now have reams of inspiration for how to attract more footfall and keep the cash register ringing well into 2022! No matter what you decide on, we wish you every success with your upcoming sale.