Winter is typically a slow season for many retailers after the holiday rush is over. Not to mention those specialty retailers that have their own slow seasons throughout the year. But, what can they do to increase sales?
There are a lot of methods for advertising your retail business that appeals to consumers. But, they’re not worth anything if you don’t have any customers in the store. That’s why you need to not only get them in the door but also keep them there.
So, how do you do that? Especially when it’s cold (or hot) outside, or any other reason that keeps consumers at home.
Don’t worry, we’re here to teach you a few tricks on how to increase sales in retail. No matter the time of year. Keep reading to learn more.
How to Increase Sales in Retail During Slow Season
The slow season can be boring and yet quite stressful because your store isn’t making sales. The best way to alleviate this stress is to put it to good use. Get creative!
Consider holding special events at your store like pizza parties and other celebrations where you can showcase your product and make your customers happy at the same time. Anything that you can think of that will attract people into your store is worth a shot, within professional standards, of course. That is, get funky and have some clean fun with your staff and your customers.
Besides that, we’re sure these tips will help you knock it out of the park when the slow season arrives. Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty.
Promotions
One of the easiest ways to increase retail sales is simply holding seasonal promotions. Don’t have the same promotions year after year, however. Make it lively and attractive enough that customers can’t help but come in to check it out.
Promotions can include giveaways, discounts, free merchandise, and any other perks you can include to draw the customer in. Once they’re in the store, they’ll be so wowed with the promotions that they’ll feel like they’re saving more money. And, maybe, just maybe, they’ll even spend more.
Online Advertising
Beyond making sales in the store, there is also an online world to think about. You can advertise to regions where your merchandise is in season and attract not only more customers but NOW customers.
It’s not too difficult to create a website if you don’t already have one. And, you should also create a mobile app to broaden your reach. With all the downtime you have, you should have plenty of time to create this platform and start earning sales right away.
Store Design
Offseason is the perfect time to rearrange your store. Including your storefront. You could display window graphics like those found at Image360 and play videos for product education once customers enter the store. You can also provide customer entertainment with videos and visual merchandising techniques.
Don’t forget to update your lighting so that it showcases your most important products. Create attractive displays to draw your customers’ eye.
Don’t make it too busy. But remember, an energetic store is a productive store.
Take it Outside
One of the best ways to increase sales in retail is to do something outside of your store. That is, at your storefront, outside.
Sidewalk sales are a great way to get customers to notice you. Once they’re involved with the merchandise outside, they may be more likely to take a peek indoors.
This is a proven technique across many levels of retail and retailers. Don’t discount it as an ‘old school’ process. It’s an oldie but a goodie.
Customer Service
The number one tip for how to improve sales in retail is constantly Customer Service, Customer Service, Customer Service. Kill them with kindness, in other words.
Offseason is the time of year when you should be contacting current and previous customers to share new details about products and sales that you’re having.
You can also ask them if they are enjoying the products they’ve purchased from you before and ask for their feedback to get them engaged. Ask them if they would like to visit the store again and offer them incentives like swag packs or an easy 10% off.
Check Your Pricing
This is the time of year when you really need to check your pricing and availability of products. Make sure your accounts receivable databases are updated and don’t forget to check for errors twice.
Merchandising is a great way to check your pricing throughout the entire store. You should be able to complete a full price check within a week depending on the size of your store. It’s also a good time to wipe out clearance products which can also help you make a few more sales.
Generate a Buzz
Social media is a necessary platform in today’s retail space. The bottom line is that if you’re not promoting on social media, you’re probably not making many sales.
Make sure you’re posting about events and promotions online. Consider hosting networking events or other meetings which can easily be organized online. Get involved with community events whenever you can which will inadvertently promote your business.
If something noteworthy happens in your store, consider sending out a press release. Free coverage is the best coverage, of course.
Team Building
It may seem like a topic for another article, but team building during the offseason is important for your business.
This is the time when you can engage your employees and get them excited about your products and your company values. The better end of it for sales is that when your employees are happy, your customers will notice and that could result in some extra sales.
Final Thoughts
Your search for tips on how to increase sales in retail is over! Just keep this information on hand when your slow season arrives so you can be prepared. And remember your storefront is all you have, make the most of it.
We hope you found this post helpful. Here’s another invaluable post about building your business credit score. It all goes hand in hand, after all.
