A recent article in the AmericasMart show guide caught my attention. It was titled “Intensive Care” by Lee Patterson who described how s/he was able to boost sales in a hospital gift shop from $500,000 to over $1 million by returning to basic retailing concepts. The same principles apply when selling lawn and garden decor at the retail level.
1. KNOW YOUR CUSTOMERS. Who is walking in your door and doing the majority of the purchasing? Seniors? Young home owners with growing families? Men? Women? Are they asking for products you don’t stock but could? Who is doing your product selection and purchasing for the store? If your demographic is 80% 25 – 40 year old female customers and the person making your buying decisions is a 60 year old male, perhaps there’s a bit of a disconnect.
2. ARE YOU USING TECHNOLOGY TO TRACK TRENDS ? Todays retailers have to respond to trends, and the best way to follow them in your store is to use good reporting and accounting software. Do the high priced items generate the profit your expect or do you move more lower to mid-range priced items? If the economic times are such that customers are trending toward lower priced items, perhaps it’s time to scale back on the high end product. Retailers must be aware of and flexible to changing trends.
3. TRAFFIC FLOW. Maximize the flow of traffic in your store. Eliminate physical barriers and locations where bottlenecks can occur. Examine your checkout area. Can it be improved? How is your parking lot? Is it easy enough to access and leave your location?
4. WHAT IS THE CUSTOMER’S FIRST IMPRESSION? It sometimes amazes me how some otherwise lovely garden centers have stacks of empty pallets and garbage visible upon the approach to their stores. These become invisible to the managers and staff after a while, so it’s important to have fresh eyes approach and comment on first impressions.
5. MERCHANDISING. Is the merchandise displayed in a way that will capture the imagination of your customer? Is it being shown to its best advantage? Can your customer duplicate what you have done in your display? Is the way the product can be used self-explanatory? Is there room for your shopping carts to manoeuver without bumping into merchandise?
Getting back to basic retailing principles can provide positive shopping experiences for your customers and increased profits for your store.
We will be exhibiting some of our products in Cohasset Gifts beautiful showroom in the new West Wing at AmericasMart in Atlanta, GA.
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