What's Your Biggest Retail Challenge Today?

Here's a question I received this morning in my email:

"I was looking for some additional information on some tips on driving traffic into your store. I do run a textile retail store and am at the cross roads of whether to palm it off or continue..."

I've already responded, but I'd like to hear from you...

• is this the same question that is top of mind for you as a retailer?
• how has your business been affected by the current economy?
• what is happening in your community?
• what is the biggest challenge facing you right now, today?
• what are you doing that is working for you?

Post your thoughts below.

What's New at Inspire...

It's been a bit quiet here for a while, as I work on some new directions for Inspire. Here's what's happening:

Teaching Fashion Retailing for John Casablancas Institute is one of the things I've been enjoying the most over the past few months. It's great to see talented and creative young people who are planning careers as part of the retail industry - whether it is styling, buying, merchandising or owning a store. Now that I've finished the big job of revising the curriculum layout, I will focus on blogging here, and staying in touch with retailers on my Facebook Page, and Twitter. Come on over and say hello!

Focus is the topic of my next retail article that I'll be posting soon. I've working with a fabulous coach, Kathy, over the past year to help me focus the direction of my business. As a result, a new face, Marie-Claude Coté, has joined mine. She will be working on merchandising with local retailers in the Vancouver area. You can find out more about her here. (Scroll down the page to read her bio.) Marie-Claude is fabulous to work with. She is starting to work with retail cart and kiosk owners in response to requests from mall leasing managers, and will also work with independent stores.

I was invited this week to participate in the start of an exciting new project with Retail BC. I met these great people - Darren at Lemonade Tactical Marketing, Joseph with NEBS and Gary at Business Advisory Team. We will be creating marketing resources that retailers can use to get more customers now. Help us help you by sharing what you need most right now:

• In today's economy, what do you need most in your business?
  
• What marketing issue keeps you up at night?

Make your voice heard! Post your thoughts below.

Is Your Merchandise Plan Working Backwards?

Do you ever feel overwhelmed when new stock arrives? Where do you put it all?

Maybe you're working backwards, and don't know it.

Does this sound a little bit familiar?

It's time to buy product for the next season. You know how much you want to spend. You know what type of merchandise you need to replenish. You may have a budget to spend for each department.

You go through the catalogues and websites. You compare the suppliers minimum orders with what you think you can sell. You see some new products that you like and think your customers will buy. You make your orders.

Sometime later, boxes begin arriving. You start putting product out on the shelves. More stock is arriving. You realize you'll have to do some major merchandise moves to fit it all in.

Not to mention, how are you going to create a display of some of this merchandise? There are some really great new products, but there aren't enough of them to create a strong impact.


It takes a considerable amount of time to get new merchandise arranged.

You move it here. But you don't like it.

You move it there. It looks better, but now you have a hole over here to fill.

And then there is this stack of merchandise that you still need to find a place for. Well, we'll put it in this corner for now.

There is another way.

What if we turned the process around?

Imagine how much easier it would be if you knew exactly where your stock would go before it arrived.

What if you had a written plan or sketch that showed where to place each item?

What if you didn't have to place the stock at all, but could hand it over to a staff member?

Unrealistic, you say?

It isn't. It just takes some time up front.

Time to plan.

Time to visualize.

In the end you'll save time. And headaches.

Use these 5 steps to reduce your headaches and stress:


1. Make a floor plan.

Draw in all the elements of the store that don't change–doors, walls, pillars, windows, steps, platforms, built in fixtures, electrical outlets. Make copies.

Using one of your floor plan copies, draw in all the movable fixtures, in their current location. Make copies.


2. Determine optimum merchandise levels.

Working with a copy of your fixture plan, go through one department at a time. Decide what types of products can be merchandised on each fixture. Calculate the quantity of merchandise each fixture can hold.

Identify display areas in each department. How much merchandise will be in each display?

Label your plan with all of the types and quantities of merchandise.


3. Order merchandise.

As you choose merchandise, consider the department and fixture that will hold the products. Select quantities, colours and themes based on how the merchandise will coordinate in the store. Think ahead to how the merchandise will look in displays.

Remember - your goal is to create a strong visual impact with each department. Coordinating and complimentary merchandise encourages multiple sales.


4. Create a merchandise plan.

Make labeled sketches of where all the new merchandise will go in the store, and in what quantities. Believe me - when the merchandise arrives, you won't remember exactly what you planned when you ordered. Put your plan on paper.

Don't forget to include your current merchandise in your plan. Where will you move it to make room for the new?

There is no need to be a perfectionist. Don't try to draw the products. A row of bottles is a vertical rectangle. A folded sweater is a horizontal rectangle.

The key to this step is knowing the amount of space each product will require.

Create a clear plan that another person could follow if you weren't there to explain it.


5. Create a display plan.

Determine upcoming events. Decide how often displays will be changed. Identify the key merchandise that will be in each display. Create rough sketches for each display.

When the merchandise arrives, implement your plan.

Better yet, if you have staff, give the plans to them to install. You can go have a cup of coffee and start on plans for next season.


--


Want some help easing your merchandising headaches?

I can help you create floor plans. Email me to find out more.

OR

I can coach you through the merchandise planning process. I am starting a trial coaching program that is only $150 per month for independent retailers.

Want to find out more? Email me for details. No strings, no pressure.

Turn Customer Confusion into Traffic That Flows

Have you ever entered a store, looked around and walked out because it was messy or claustrophobic?

Or been in a store, searching for a product feeling confused or frustrated because you can't find it?

Maybe you returned to a store, in search of your favorite product, only to find the merchandise completely re-arranged.


Customer confusion is a continuum.

If the customer is conscious of feelings of frustration or confusion, the store layout and merchandising are clearly ineffective. At the other end of the continuum, the shopping experience is a joy to the senses. Most shopping experiences are somewhere in between.

Customers won't complain if they are confused. They'll just turn around and walk back out.

Customers will tolerate a mild level of confusion. Maybe even buy an item or two.

But they won't become raving fans. They may not return. They may express their frustration to their friends.

So, what can you do to reduce customer confusion?

Make it easy

An effective store layout is easy for the customer to understand. It has a natural flow and visual cues to help shoppers find their way through the store.
Store departments, or product groupings are clearly separated to guide shoppers to the merchandise they need.

When the shopper enters, there is enough open space for the shopper to slow down her pace, look around and transition into the store. As she slows down she scans the layout for clues to help her find what she needs.

The front area on the right is one of the prime locations in your store. It is a key area for sales, and for establishing the identity of the store. The fixtures and merchandise in this space need to grab people and draw them in.

This section right in front of the door, should entice shoppers with its dynamic display. It should announce that the store is brimming with new and exciting offerings.

Balance new products and basics.

A general rule to use when organizing the store, is to keep major departments and staple items on walls, and in lower traffic areas.

Shoppers want to know that the basics will not move around. They want to find these things easily each time they return. Seasonal and high margin merchandise should be in high traffic areas.

Take a walk in the shoppers' shoes.

It is important to consider what the shopper sees, the 'vistas' from different points in the store. To examine how the layout can be improved, take a look at a large section of the store at a time. One of the best ways to do this is through photos.

For example, what does the customer see at the back of the store, when she comes in the store? Treat that view like a display or a piece of art that you are creating. Is there a strong, appealing focal point? Is there balance and symmetry? Is there anything obstructing the view?

A rule of thumb is to use shorter fixtures towards the front of the store, or department, with taller ones further to the back. The customer is able to take in an overall view of the store, without obstructions. It also keeps the front of the store from feeling closed in. The shorter fixtures lead shoppers into each area.

The back wall also needs a strong focal point. It is another high impact area, or prime location. It needs to be one of the strongest points of the store.

Shoppers want to look around the store and understand the layout in a glance. Creating clear focal points and moving obstructions is one step towards reducing customer confusion.

Plan first.

Before you get all excited and start moving things around, make a plan. On paper. Not in your head. A helpful tool is a planogram.

A planogram is a floor plan of the entire store with fixtures and merchandise placement, including quantities of merchandise. It enables you to work out a layout on paper, making merchandise or fixture moves quicker and easier.

Even if only a small section of the store is moved, it is helpful to plan the move on paper first. A clear plan is easy to delegate to team members. The move becomes more efficient and effective.

A well-planned and organized store will convert your customer confusion to customer enjoyment.

Are You Making Your Customers Work Too Hard?

Joanne has just finished grabbing a quick turkey wrap for lunch. She might have just enough time to run an errand before heading back to work.

Her goal - a new blouse for Friday's presentation. She checks her watch. 32 minutes. It's now or never. She'll be working late on a deadline for the next few days.

Joanne walks briskly past a couple of the mall stores, giving them a quick glance. Not her style.

She walks into a familiar store. She's scored a few good finds here in the past.

It's still early - before the main lunchtime rush. A sales associate has a couple of boxes on the floor, and is hanging new stock. Joanne focuses on skirting around her and the boxes, heading further into the store.

Joanne thinks maybe she'll be lucky and find a good deal on some recent markdowns. At the back of the store, she comes across a sale rounder. Draped over it is an unreconized garment, without a hanger, that a customer must have left behind.

The shelves behind the rack may have once held neat piles of sweaters and knit tops. Now they are a disheveled mess. Who know what's there? Too much trouble to go through it.

Joanne turns and heads back the other way. On her way out of the store, she sees an attractive display of new merchandise on the wall.

A blouse catches her eye. She looks below the display to find one in her size. There are about a 1/2 dozen on the bar. They are not in any recognizable order. Joanne has to examine each tag to discover that none of them are the right size.

Joanne sighs. Once again she turns to leave.

On her way out, she glances at a 4-way rack. Another blouse. Wait a minute - it's the same as the one on the wall. A whole bar full of them. She finds a tag that shows her size. She pulls out the hanger.

Oops! This hanger is not the one with the tag attached to it. The hangers are tangled up. Joanne struggles to get one hanger back onto the crowded rack, and pull out the one she wants.

Got it! Now to try it on.

She scans the room for a sales person. The one at the front is blissfully unaware of her. Still hanging stock. A cashier is on the phone.

Joanne heads to the fitting room, blouse in hand. She tries the first door. Locked.

She glances around. Finally a sales associate emerges from one of the fitting rooms with an armload of hangers.

After a room is unlocked for her, Joanne tries on the blouse and purchases it.

So what's the problem?

The store still made the sale. If you're still selling, you're doing OK. Right?

Mmmm - maybe not.

This story is typical of the stories my retailing students are telling me about their mystery shop projects. In fact, this story would be one of the positive ones. My students are often saying, "The store I visited was a mess. No one helped me. But that was what I expected of that store. So I would go back."

The problem is that these are fashion retailing students. They understand retailing more than many customers. They like shopping. They're willing to work harder to find what they are looking for.

Some customers are like them.

Some customers do not want to work that hard. They want shopping to be enjoyable. Relaxing. They have stress & pressure at work & home. Shopping needs to be easier. It needs to fit into a deadline, or be a way to unwind.

Don't wait until your sales start dropping.

A store that excels will reduce the little complications, or barriers for the customer. Make it easy to shop.

Stores that don't make it easy, are opening the door to the competition. If someone opens a store down the street - an enjoyable, relaxing place to shop; where are your customers going to go?

If your customer learns a similar product can be ordered online, arriving directly to their door, what do you think they will do?

In an economic downturn, which stores are going to keep customers?

No one's perfect.

Your store will sometimes be a wee bit untidy. Sometimes you'll be out of stock.

The secret equation is to have more positive interactions than negative. Customers will forgive a few difficulties if most connections with you are enjoyable, engaging and rewarding.

What's the equation in your store?

A Tale of Two Products - Do You Know What Makes Your Products Sell?

'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.'

Sally's store sells widgets and woggles. She thought they would both be hot sellers.

Widgets sold like hotcakes. Woggles languished on the shelves. Store sales have not met projections.

What should Sally do? Slash prices on the woggles? Get more widgets?

The lower price will devalue the woggles in the customers' eyes, attracting just the discount shoppers. And slashing prices will cut into margins, making a rough time even rougher.

It could be a necessary tough call, but how can she tell?

The truth is, Sally doesn't know. She doesn't have enough information.

To look ahead, first look back.

Sally needs to look back and find out why the woggles didn't sell. Just as important, she needs to find out why the widgets sold so well.

Again, Sally could go with the easy answers.

Customers liked the widgets. They didn't like the woggles. Sales were down because of low customer confidence. Shoppers were tightening their belts. They only bought one item instead of two.

Sounds good. Sally doesn't have to think too much. There's only one problem.

Those answers are false. Or, could be false, but Sally isn't sure.

Uncovering the truth.

Sally decided to sit down and make a list of all the possible reasons the widgets outsold the woggles. Here's what she came up with:

1. Customer needs or preferences

2. Product problem - quality, design

3. Merchandising effectiveness

4. Pricing problem

5. Sales team effectiveness

6. Product knowledge & communication

7. External issues - economy, competitors

Sally has some work to do. She goes out on her sales floor.

Sally starts talking. Talking to the sales staff. 'What have customers been saying about the widgets and woggles? What do they like?'

She talks to the customers. 'What do you think of these products? How much would you be willing to pay for a product like this?'

Sally takes the products home. She tries them out. She gets her family to try them out. She tells her staff how much she liked them. She encourages them to try them out and tell her what they think.

Sally posts a sign by the cash register. 'Staff pick: Woggles' She watches for changes in sales.

Next week, she changes the sign. Now it reads, 'Woggles: Favorite of Jack, age 5.' She keeps track of which sign performs better.

Sally reviews her merchandising. Where were the woggles positioned? Where were widgets positioned? Sally reverses them.

A new display is created at the front of the store. Sally adds a sign: 'Woggles: a must-have accessory for your widget.'

Sally calls a staff meeting. She trains the sales team about the benefits of the woggles. She adds product information to the woggle shelf tags.

Woggle sales begin to go up. Slow at first, but gradually climbing.

Sally takes a break.

On her break, she reads the paper. She learns that the retail sales are slow this season.

Sally stretches, gets up and takes a walk. She browses through stores in her area. She notices that a competitor has a product similar to the woggle for sale.

She smiles, and goes back to her store. Sally starts planning how she will keep improving her sales of widgets and woggles.

More than widgets and woggles.

Of course, your store is much more complicated. More products. More issues.

It all boils down to the same three steps:

1. Look back

Honestly review past performance. Read department sales reports. Product reports. Most businesses generate a lot of information. Look at the trends.

2. Ask questions

Ask yourself what influenced, or may have influenced, past performance. Talk to your team. Talk to customers. Test your assumptions.

3. Look ahead

Set new goals. Make a plan of action. A multi-faceted plan. Address all the opportunities you have to influence sales, not just the most obvious. Think of merchandising, signage, product information, pricing, training.

Many small changes can make a big difference!