Author: ericw@specialtystoreservices.com

There is No Such Thing as Being Too Prepared: Tips on how your business can survive the impending holiday season

Posted onAuthorericw@specialtystoreservices.com

 

It’s not uncommon to spot Halloween and fall                                                  black-friday-crowd                                         merchandise on the sales floor by September 1st. For most store owners, managers and employees, this incites a sense of pressure and anxiety for the upcoming holiday season. There are simple steps and action plans you and your team can take to ensure you are prepared for the chaos that’s to come.

Here are four important tips to help you plan a stress-free and successful holiday season:

 1.     Train Staff. Your employees are the backbone of the operation, so take the time to make sure your team is knowledgeable and trained for holiday traffic.

  •  Is your staff trained for potential shoplifters? The month of December can be a costly month for a lot of retailers. Prepare your staff in advance on what to expect and how to handle a shoplifting situation.
  •  Schedule regular meetings to stay connected to what’s going on in all areas of the store. What needs improvement or more support? Communication can prevent inventory disasters, unhappy customers and store fixtures that need fixing.
  • “Happy wife, happy life”- the saying goes for store associates as well.  You can’t achieve results without your staff being at its best. Develop staff incentives to encourage motivation. Friends and family are heading out of town for the holidays, taking the spirit out of the holidays for many of your employees. Give your staff an extra reason to work their hardest to offer customers the best possible experience.
  • Plan for employee time off before the holiday season. This is smart for two reasons: 1) making sure you’re staffed appropriately for the entire season with enough team members to cover expected high traffic weeks 2) ensuring there won’t be any surprises for you or your employees. You’re able to plan ahead and they can plan ahead for time off with family and friends.

2.     Review history. The best way to improve is to learn from past mistakes. Look at past sales records, staff schedules and promotional calendars. What worked last year? What didn’t? Plan ahead and safeguard against past complications. Although the holiday season is hectic, try to note happenings as they come or after the holidays for you or other associates to reference the following year.

 3.     Inventory. You can’t run a store without merchandise. Was there enough last year? Was there inventory on the floor at all times? Have the right inventory available by developing a replenishing function as part of the staff routine, which holds a specific individual accountable to ensure the sales floor is stocked at all times.

 4.    Maintenance. Even in a busy environment, it’s critical your team maintains the clean look of the store. An article from DMS Retail has a great checklist for keeping your store clean: Be sure all light fixtures are working, exit signs are lit, fitting rooms are tidy, fire extinguishers have been checked, your flooring and carpets have no turned up edges that can trip people, your POS and printers are working properly, your doors or door grills are in good repair, ceiling ducts are clean and dust free, fitting rooms are clean and welcoming, shelves are firmly in place to avoid accidents, no chipped glass anywhere, no rough edges on sign holders, the back room is well organized, the plumbing (if any) and any illuminated store signage is working properly. Be prepared so store upkeep is not taking away from sales.

These tips are designed to help streamline your holiday selling season to make it as successful as possible. Plan ahead in all aspects of your business to reduce anxiety before the holidays come; they’ll be here before you can say, “Deck the halls with boughs of holly.”

Not prepared or don’t know where to start? The retail experts at Specialty Store Services can help. Call us today at 800.999.0771 or click here to visit our website for more information.

Top Retail News for This Month

Posted onAuthorericw@specialtystoreservices.com

 

imagesAs you prepare your stores for the holiday season, don’t forget to stay up-to-date on retail news and trends. The weeks will get busier and busier, so you want to make sure you’re well-informed and discovering new ways to display and sell your merchandise. To make your life a little bit easier and help spark some creative ideas, here’s some top retail news from this month:

Visual Merchandising

Retail Trends

I’ll leave you with a great quote to end the week:

“If eyes are the windows to the soul, then shop windows are just as revealing. They reveal the soul of the shop.” –Debra Templar, retail business coach

Need a little more inspiration? Our team of talented and creative project managers and customer service representatives can help with anything from store planning to fixture design. Call today at 800-999-0771 or visit our website: www.specialtystoreservices.com.

Learn from the Best: Thoughts from Famous Retailers

Posted onAuthorericw@specialtystoreservices.com

During busy weeks, it’s helpful to take a few minutes to stop, think, and improve. There’s always something to learn, from improving customer service to building a stronger company culture. Here’s some inspiration from some of the top leaders in retail to start your week off well:

“In the end, the customer doesn’t know, or care, if you are small or large as an organization…she or he only focuses on the garment hanging on the rail in the store.” –Giorgio Armani, Founder of Giorgio Armani 
 
“Our mission statement about treating people with respect and dignity is not just words but a creed we live by every day. You can’t expect your employees to exceed the expectations of your customers if you don’t exceed the employees’ expectations of management.”–Howard Schultz. CEO of Starbucks

“If you do build a great experience, customers tell each other about that. Word of mouth is very powerful.” –Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon
 
“If you’re a big-picture guy, you’re not in the picture. Retail is detail.”  –James Sinegal, CEO of Costco
 
“The secret of successful retailing is to give your customers what they want. And really, if you think about it from the point of view of the customer, you want everything: a wide assortment of good quality merchandise; the lowest possible prices; guaranteed satisfaction with what you buy; friendly, knowledgeable service; convenient hours; free parking; a pleasant shopping experience.” –Sam Walton, Founder of Walmart
 
“We believe that customer service shouldn’t be just a department; it should be the entire company.” –Tony Hsieh, CRO of Zappos.com
 
“Your vision is very important. You should know whom you’re selling to, what your marketing and advertising says about you, and whom it’s speaking to. Me personally, I don’t try to please everyone. I understand who I am selling to and I work towards that vision all the time.” –Ralph Lauren, Founder of Ralph Lauren
 
“The friendly smile, the word of greeting, are certainly something fleeting and seemingly insubstantial. You can’t take them with you. But they work for good beyond your power to measure their influence. It is the service we are not obliged to give that people value most.” –James Cash Penney, Founder of JCPenney
 
“What is good for our customers is also, in the long run, good for us. “ –Ingovar Kamprad, CEO of IKEA
 
“Those department stores that have survived the decades did so by keeping pace with customer needs and preferences.” –Terry Lundgren, CEO of Macy’s

 

Visit our website today or call us at 1-800-999-0771 to find out how Specialty Store Services can help with your store fixture and display needs. Maybe in a couple of year we will be quoting you too. 

Smart Retail Choices: 4 Considerations When Building a Store Fixture Budget

Posted onAuthorericw@specialtystoreservices.com


The decision to buy retail store fixtures is a fairly easy one—you’re going to need to buy fixtures at some time or another to keep your store going. The hard part is deciding how much to spend and what to buy. Fixtures are the backbone of your business, and you definitely want to get the highest ROI from them as possible.

As you build your fixture budget for the holiday season and upcoming new year, there are some important factors to consider:
1.      Current Store Sales
What do store sales look like right now? If sales are flat, it’s probably time to look into a store makeover. Adding some more polish and excitement with custom fixtures may be just what your store needs to attract more customers. You definitely don’t want to break the bank buying new retail fixtures, but it’s important to have good-quality fixtures that reflect your store’s branding and accentuate your merchandise.

If you have multiple stores that are suffering from low sales, try testing new fixtures in one of them. Do a complete transformation of your store’s look, and keep a close eye on how sales perform and customers react. After the test period, your findings should help you decide how much to invest in store fixtures for your entire chain of stores.

2.      Design Options
Having a small budget doesn’t mean you can’t invest in high-quality retail store fixtures. It just means you have to be smart about what design you choose. Find or create a versatile fixture design that can be easily adapted to your floor space and work for multiple products. This approach gives you a double-win—you end up with fixtures that create a cohesive look throughout your store, and look great when it comes time to roll out new merchandise.

A large budget is easier to work with, but you still need to be smart. Versatile displays and fixtures are good choices, but also consider developing a custom-made display for a special piece of merchandise. A display or fixture made specifically for one product can really help that product stand out and appeal to customers. 

3.      Type of Material
Different materials come with different price tags. If you like the look of a certain material, like wood, and are working with a small budget, ask your fixture supplier if they have less expensive options that have a similar look as wood. Metal is always a good choice—it adapts well to other fixtures, is durable, and is less expensive than many other materials. With a larger budget, choosing a material like wood may be a special touch that your store needs to stand out. Choose a material that supports your store’s brand and creates a store atmosphere that appeals to your customer base.
4.      Level of Maintenance
How much work do you want to put in to keep your store fixtures looking clean and presentable? Probably not very much since the store employees are already busy helping customers and putting out merchandise. When you start planning out your fixture budget, make sure you’re looking at store fixtures and displays that are easy to maintain. A fixture that requires daily polishing, cleaning, and dusting might not be the best choice for a busy staff—especially during the holidays. Talk to your fixture supplier and get their thoughts on what materials and designs tend to be the easiest to take care of.  

 

Find out how Specialty Store Services can help answer your store fixture budget questions. Call us today at 1-800-999-0771 or visit our website for more information and a FREE store fixture consultation.

3 Ways Custom Retail Fixtures Can Boost Sales

Posted onAuthorericw@specialtystoreservices.com

“We get confused a bit about what retail is. It is really just buying things, putting them on a floor and selling them.” -Gerry Harvey, Australian furniture retailer
These days, as retailers are asked to do more with less, it’s hard to determine what’s important to invest in and what is not. Which products should you sell? How many store fixtures should you purchase? What kind? The questions can become overwhelming. In the quote above, Harvey cuts through the chaos and simplifies a retailer’s job to its simplest function: SELL. All your actions should be supporting your ultimate goal of selling more merchandise.
One of the key ways to achieve that goal is to use the right store fixture to display your products. Generic fixtures can work just fine, but sometimes, the situation calls for more. Sometimes you need a superhero to come in and save the day—a secret weapon like custom store fixtures.
Custom fixtures have more flexibility than generic ones, and can sell your products more effectively. Putting your merchandise on the floor with style can do wonders for your margins. Here are three ways that custom retail fixtures can boost store sales and drive profits:
1.      Make Fixtures More Shoppable
When you customize a fixture to fit with your stores’ unique space and feel, you give your store an extra edge. Rather than sticking your merchandise on a basic, plain fixture, you’re putting it on a fixture that has character and style. A well-made, stylish fixture appeals to customers more, making them more likely to notice your merchandise and buy. Custom fixtures that truly fit the atmosphere of your store showcase your products and provide a customer experience that draws people back.
2.      Increase Branding
Custom fixtures allow stores to increase their brand presence and give customers an exceptional experience. From signage and POP displays to garment racks and gondolas, you can design a look that fits the colors, logo, message, and values of your brand. The possibilities are only as limited as your imagination. For example, one of our athletic apparel customers really wanted a unique, branded look for their store to stand out from their competitors. Custom fixtures gave them the ability to design mesh and metal fixtures that made their products stand out. When customers now enter the store, they are immediately in a branded atmosphere that they’ll remember—and buy from.
3.      Showcase a Unique Product

Another major advantage of custom retail fixtures is their design flexibility. The color, shape, and size can be designed to uniquely fit a special product. Sometime a product needs more than a stock display or shelf. Having a well-made fixture that accentuates your product will add to its appeal and encourage customers to buy. Approach it from the viewpoint of a customer. Which product are you more likely to buy—a watch that’s sitting on a plain, white shelf, or a watch nestled on a velvet square inside a gleaming glass case?

5 Must-Dos to Prepare for New Store Openings

Posted onAuthorericw@specialtystoreservices.com

Opening a new store is an exciting and nerve-racking time, so it is easy to get distracted and turn a successful opening into a flop. A new store is like most things in the sense that it is important to get things off to a good start and a bad opening day event can set the tone for the future. There are five definite must-dos when opening a new store to make sure things get off to a great start and a great future:
 
1) Get customers into your store for your new store opening
Use your network, both online and offline, to let people know about your new store opening. Call or e-mail all your friends and relatives and ask them to let their friends and family know about your opening. If your mom is not excited enough to be at your store opening, neither will others. Tap into local online publications and websites such as patch.com. Most are free and post local business news. Some sites might even do an article on your store. Send an e-mail and ask the editor- you might be surprised at their response. 
2) Make sure the store looks clean and organized
Spend a lot of time before opening day to make sure your store looks its best. Make sure your displays are organized and interesting. Clean the floors, fixtures, counter tops and windows. Also make sure your shelves are stocked. Nothing is more disappointing than empty shelves. You only have one chance to make a first impression so spend a little extra time on this. A clean store projects a lot about your business
3) Have plenty of trained staff on hand 
Nothing is worse than being a customer and not being helped. Make sure on opening day that you are fully staffed with competent and knowledgeable help. It might just be you and a partner, but for opening day at least, have a couple of extra people around to help with the register and check out.   
4) Get customers to come back
Getting the first purchase is one thing, but getting a second purchase gets you a customer. When a customer makes a purchase, give them a coupon for a discount on their next purchase. Collect e-mail addresses and send out sale and event notices. Get a Facebook page for your store and ask people to “like” you. The more opportunities you get for people to interact with your store, the greater the chance that they will come back. 
 
5) Say thank you
People like to do business with friendly, likeable people. Smile and talk to the people that come into your store. You might be nervous at first, but keep at it and it will become natural. Ask them if you can be of help. If they make a purchase, always say thank you. The quickest way to go out of business is to not mind the business, and customer service is the most important part of minding the business.  
Download our new whitepaper on how to maximize the profitability of your store fixture and displays. Click here.

 

Impact of Store Layouts

Posted onAuthorericw@specialtystoreservices.com

A store’s layout has a huge impact on its performance. It is important to constantly evaluate how the layout is working and how fixtures work as a whole. The layout of a store should welcome customers in with attractive displays arranged in a cohesive design. I will discuss ways to draw shoppers into you store with attractive displays further below, as well as how to evaluate floor space performance. In addition I will discuss ways to improve the shopping experience, making it easier and more shopper-friendly.

DRAW SHOPPERS IN

Use your fixtures to create eye-catching displays in store windows and at the front of your store. These displays are important to initially grabbing shoppers’ attention. Often the customer experience begins the minute a shopper sees your store—even before he or she walks in. Do not be afraid to use creative and innovative tactics when displaying your merchandise. A great way to find new ideas and spark creativity is by browsing through magazines, photography blogs, or Pinterest. One of the first steps to developing a window or front display is to know your customer base. Are your customer targets young, trendy people in their twenties? Are they middle-aged moms with kids? Or are they retired but still active couples? Tailor your fixtures and displays to your typical shoppers’ interests and experiences. Sean Reed, the CEO of Fashion Media, urges retailers to not underestimate the power of a window display. “Window displays are important in retail stores throughout the world extending from high streets to the mall environment. They are the shop front to consumers and influence the consumer’s decision on whether to enter the store or not,” he says. Another point to keep in mind is never obscuring a shopper’s view. Arrange products and fixtures in a way so they can still see to back of store. This helps entice them to walk through the entire store.

EVALUATE FLOOR SPACE PERFORMANCE 

How does the performance of your fixtures measure up as a whole? Your store has a limited amount of space; that is why maximizing each square foot is so important. An excellent way to measure your floor space’s productivity is by looking at each of the following factors:

  • Store margin contribution
  • Sales per square foot Net profit (store)
  • Average transaction
  • Items per ticket Conversion rate / traffic

Another way to measure the productivity of your floor is to look at sales per square foot. Simply divide your store’s total sales by the square footage of selling area in your store. Keep in mind that store selling area does not include cash register or checkout space, supply or storage rooms, window areas, and dressing rooms (unless it contains a mirror).

EASY SHOPPING 

Using space effectively does not mean crowding your fixtures together. While it may seem tempting to place as many products together as possible, shoppers need to have enough room to move easily throughout the store. For example, in a clothing store, there should be a clear pathway between all the clothing racks and displays on the floors. If your store offers shoppers carts, make sure a cart can fit down each pathway. Making products easy to find and get to is an important part of creating a good customer experience. You will not regret using an extra square inch or two.

Download our new whitepaper on how to maximize the profitability of your store fixture and displays. Click here.

Marketing Tasks Should be a Top Priority

Posted onAuthorericw@specialtystoreservices.com

When opening or running a store, we believe that if we build it they will come. As store owners, you cannot only rely on word of mouth; you need to work at it and having good marketing is the difference between a store being successful and a store that is not.
To make a business thrive, here are 5 marketing ideas that can help you be successful:
  1. Clearly Write Out and Develop a Plan
At the beginning of every year, I write out a strategy that revolves around the calendar and I determine how many emails and the topics of the emails that I want to cover each month.  A great starting point is to revolve marketing ideas around holidays; even if it is only four times a year, it is better than not having anything at all.
  1. Promotions and Press Releases
Each month write a Press Release to your local newspaper, and have in-store promotions as well as Facebookpromotions. Consider weekly contests where they have to comment or share with a friend.  The great part about this idea is that it is no cost to you and you can only benefit from more people learning about your store. 
  1. Thank-You Cards
After each order, either send customers a thank-you card, thanking them for their purchase, or insert a card into the bag.  This goes a long way and customers will feel appreciated.  You may want to add an offer to entice the customer to come back and shop. This little token will go along way – remember, it is cheaper to keep and existing customer than it is to get new customers.
  1. Encourage Interaction through Facebook
Add new pictures of products or events to Facebook and encourage customers to “Like” your store while they are shopping and maybe give out a free gift.  The more Likes your store gets, the more exposure your store will get. 
  1. Email Blasts and Texts
Emails and texts must be done on a regular basis and in a timely manner to correlate with the seasons.  Blasts can include pictures of new products, new service, a special item that is on sale for the week. If customers like you they will be happy to hear from you no matter what. 
Marketing should be a top priority; if you don’t have the want or know how, then it is time to hire a person who is skilled at marketing.  As a Store Owner, you want only the best, so step it up and increase your bottom line.

New Modern and Fresh Displays for the Savvy Retailer

Posted onAuthorericw@specialtystoreservices.com

Specialty Store Services helps retail stores make the most out of the limited spaces by offering displays that have many merchandising solutions. The Wood Island Display debuting in the Spring 2013 catalog is perfect for displaying T-shirts, Handbags, Giftware and much more. 
With display space at a premium in most retail spaces, Specialty Store Services has added several new displays options with that in mind.  Many of these new displays have many merchandising solutions and can be found in our Spring 2013 catalog or on our website. All these new display are available for immediate delivery.
The Wood Island Displays are available in 3 sizes as well as 3 colors.  The Wood Island Display is a Melamine cube that creates an elegant and functional area in a store. The Cube Display is available in black, white and maple to compliment any color scheme.   The Cube Island Display is 42 inches high so it makes for the perfect display area.  Each cube is 12 inches by 12 inches to hold almost any items sold. The unit is finished with closed ends so there is never a worry that items will fall off the shelves. 
 
The Wood Island Display is available in three different sizes:

  • Single Sided Wood Island Display is 38 inches wide x 24 inches deep x 42 inches High.
  • Double Sided Wood Island Display is 38 inches wide x 18 inches deep x 42 inches High.
  • Grand Double Sided Wood Island is 51-1/2 inches wide x 24 inches deep x 42 inches High.
 
“These new Island displays can be used together to create an entire new look for the store or separately to add a new category product.  They are perfect for t-shirts, purses, shoes or giftware” adds Julie Mitchell, Marketing Manager for Specialty Store Services.
The top of the wood display can be used as the perfect selling area.  There is enough space to use Jersey Forms to Handbag Displays to display the newest fashions.  Acrylic Shoe displays to showcase product in the cubes. Riser Sets to give the giftware prominent display area.   The Wood Island Display has many different merchandising functions and Specialty Store Services is sure that it does not disappoint. 

Why Specialty Store Services?

Posted onAuthorericw@specialtystoreservices.com

Direct, straightforward pricing

On the pages of our website and catalog, you can expect that the prices you see are the prices that you are charged. At Specialty Store Services we have the lowest price guarantee.  We will meet or beat any competitor’s current (within 30 days) advertised price.  At time of your purchase, simply provide us with the copy of their advertisement. All products must be equivalent in quality and quantity.

Our no hassle return policy

Your complete satisfaction is our number one priority.  If you are not completely satisfied for any reason our customer service department is here to help.  Just as long as it is within the 30 days we will be happy to give you an RA# to return your product for a complete refund or we will help you find the exact merchandise.

Phone calls are always answered by a real person

During business hours, calls are always answered by a friendly voice, not an automated system.  When we answer we answer quickly and give you personalized service.  We have over 100 combined years of experience and you can always be sure we are giving you tips and advice that you can trust.  You are not only a customer to us, you are our partner. 

Quality, value, 100% satisfaction guaranteed

Specialty Store Services is committed to providing you with quality products at competitive prices along with our 100% satisfaction guarantee.

Orders ship within 24 hours

All orders no matter the size will ship within 24 hours from our 100,000+ sq ft warehouse in Des Plaines IL.