When you own and operate a retail store, your primary goal may be to sell the newest, most expensive stock first; however, you don’t want to just dump old stock and take a loss.
By discounting older items you can at least recoup some cost, but items that didn’t sell when they were new are going to be harder to sell now, even at a discount. You have to arrange your sale section and racks appropriately to entice shoppers. Here are a few basics to get you started.
Signage
Some shoppers enter your store in search of attractive items from the window display. Others make a beeline straight for the sale section to see what deals they can find.
Although you naturally prefer customers that pay full price, you should welcome both types of shoppers and ensure that they find what they want with ease. For this reason, it’s best to make sure your sale items are clearly marked with appropriate signage.
You don’t necessarily have to hang an overhead sign: most people know that the sales racks are at the back of the store. Don’t make it difficult, though, to figure out which items are for sale.
Signs on aisles, racks, or shelving can quickly direct shoppers to different levels of discounts, streamline the shopping experience, and encourage browsing and sales.
Consumer Information
In addition to signage pertaining to the sale section of your store, you need to make it easy for customers to figure out how much-discounted items actually cost. Some retail stores simply place a new price sticker over the old price.
Others use a system of color-coded stickers on tags or packaging to denote different discount levels, and then provide signs for reference that break down which discounts align with certain colors (i.e., red stickers denote 50% off, green stickers are 30% off, etc.). This makes it easy for shoppers to spot the best deals in a sea of items.
It is essential to provide customers with adequate information about discounts and pricing for your sale section. If it’s too difficult to figure out how much something costs or they can’t clearly see the savings, they might not be as inclined to make purchases.
Organization/Display
Sale sections in retail stores are notoriously cluttered and haphazard, which can make for an overwhelming and frustrating customer experience. To some degree, this may require frequent tidying by staff, but starting with an organized plan and attractive displays can help.
The goal is to display items in a way that makes it easy for shoppers to find the particular item they want, such as a specific color or size. Because items go on sale when they are out of season and stores are trying to blow out remaining stock, selection can be limited.
It is essential to avoid taking a willy-nilly approach to sale displays. The more organized goods are in terms of type, size, and so on, the easier it will be for shoppers to find what they’re seeking. Organization helps to create a more positive, effective, and successful consumer experience.
Getting the most out of sale racks requires proper signage, a discount system that’s easy to understand, and proper organization. This improves the customer experience and encourages sales.
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