In today’s environment of internet shopping and national brands, it has never been more important for independent merchants to invest in the appearance and customer experience of their stores. Here at TIMco, we have a dedicated team of merchandisers who are always on hand to help and support independent businesses. The team have even devised five core merchandising strategies to provide a key point of difference. It’s all part of the TIMco Hug – which is our commitment to providing industry-leading support for our merchants.
Inspire the Customer
Ensure that product innovations and packaging improvements hit the shelves regularly to keep the customer engaged in the product offering. Variety is key and by identifying new products and ranges regularly which are complimentary to the existing offer will generate interest with every customer visit. Showcasing products that are ‘New’ or ‘Award-Winning’ are also two very effective marketing messages to help educate and inspire prospective customers.
Educate the Customer
The TIMco merchandisers always work closely with our merchants to ensure that members of staff are on hand to educate customers and provide expert training. Engaging with the customers and creating an ‘experiential’ experience alongside staff, providing expert knowledge and recommendations in a professional manner, will encourage customers to return. Providing supporting literature and implementation videos are also a good way to reinforce the products features and benefits. Including demonstrations, try before you buy options and offering free samples, such as TIMco’s C2 sample packs, will also encourage trial purchases.
First impressions Count
You never get a second chance to make a first impression. Customers are more likely to buy items when the product looks appealing in its surroundings. Clear signage with simple educational or navigational messaging should be in place and, where space allows, give the option for customers to look, touch and feel the products. This also avoids packaging being opened unnecessarily. When customers enter the store, this is your opportunity as the merchant to highlight new products, promotional offers, impulse purchases and key hero lines. Just remember to refresh these throughout the year.
Clear Navigation
Providing packaging that is shelf-ready, includes product information and clear colour coding to evidently differentiate between ranges, improves both the ease and navigation of the shopping experience. Ranges should be displayed in a logical order and clear blocking of product ranges can be supported by navigational solutions such as headers and hanging signage. This makes it easy for consumers to find, and ultimately buy what they need and more. Using well-established brands as navigation to highlight key departments can also be used to draw the customers’ eye to the relevant ranges. Remember to merchandise complementary products in appropriate solutions such as free-standing display units to increase your incremental sales.For example, a consumer who has specifically visited a store to buy paint is more likely to pick up paint brushes if the items are placed next to each other with supporting ‘Don’t forget your paint brushes’ POS.
Clear Pricing Structures
As customers buy products in bulk, it is important to show a clear pricing strategy. Ensure that the labelling is distinctive and easy to calculate by keeping things simple and the message clear. A good marketing strategy is to include regular promotions or special offers on different products in order to retain customer interest – whilst keeping the offers simple, clearly showing how much money the customer will save. However, avoid having too many special offers at once as this could bamboozle the customers and dent the integrity of the brand. Remember to dual site those key promotional offers; both at the front of store and within the relevant fixture.
Merchandising is a way of attracting, converting and retaining ideal customers. Keeping on top of the store’s overall appearance and layout regularly will make shops look more appealing, whilst also enabling staff to handle more complex enquiries – a proven key reason consumers visit independents.