3 Simple Ways to Generate More Impulse Sales from Your Retail Space

Small business owners know that buying or renting and maintaining space can be one of the most expensive parts of running a retail storefront. Every square meter of merchandising space counts and ensuring that your space is optimized is key to making more sales. Generating more impulse sales is a quick and easy way to maximize your footprint.

There are some general rules to merchandising well but nothing can beat thoroughly understanding your product. Brand-specific visual merchandising also helps customers to remember your store. By merchandising well and creating the right store atmosphere, you can encourage impulse purchases and excite your customers with your products. Good retail experience and clever merchandising can help you make your customers love your store in a way that means they keep coming back.

I have a degree in psychology and experience working in retail and market research. By applying some very simple psychology to retail displays it is easy to help boost displays. There are some simple human instincts that can be capitalized on.

For example, you can change how broad or narrow a person’s focus of attention is by your product placement. If you place a product low down, the customer’s focus of attention narrows. This is part of a human instinct that protects us from falling down holes. It also conveniently helps retailers draw attention to particular products. If you want your customer to browse, place items at eye level or higher. It’s a more comfortable height to browse things at, and it is also where people look to take in inspiration. It’s simple and effective.

Here are three quick and easy merchandising tips to help you increase sales and impulse purchases – and boost your bottom line.

1. Remove Invisible Impulse Purchase Barriers

There are many things that can prevent impulse sales before your customers have even entered your store. And while you can’t control everything, it’s useful to be aware of these negative influences so that you can try to take steps to mitigate them.

Here are some examples of impulse purchase barriers:

Unappealing window displays or storefronts

Uninviting window displays or storefront that’s dark or disorganized could be reducing the number of customers who impulsively enter your store. By ensuring your storefront is clean and your window displays are organized, you’ll inspire more customers to enter and make purchases.

Low Foot Traffic Location

If you are in a location with limited foot traffic, consider adding some signage in a busier part of town to encourage people to visit you. Try to include a lead magnet of some sort, such as an exclusive offer or an invite to an event.

Not Pricing Window Displays

Not having any prices on your window display can also put customers off. They tend to believe that unpriced items are expensive and likely to be out of their price range. It can actually be better to price expensive items so they know what to expect.

If you’re concerned that your prices may be off-putting, try removing the currency symbols from the beginning of your pricing. This tactic is frequently used on menus. By removing the currency symbol, you reduce the psychological link between the price displayed and the customer’s perception that they’re spending money.

Make the Most of Your Focal Points and Anchors

A good store design should comprise of focal points and anchors by using the different selling zones to maximize impulse purchase potential. It’s essential that you take the time to plan your store layout.

Your most important space is by your entranceway because this space encourages customers to enter your store. It should contain a sale line or your most fashionable items. If you aren’t fashion focused, it could be worth it to put some of your most interesting or unusual (but still popular) products here.

Your focal points should contain items that can act as anchors. They should serve to catch your customers’ eyes and to encourage them to visit that part of the store, even if it’s right at the back.

Many retailers find that by using key brands in these focal points, they can encourage customers to browse the whole shop. This maximizes impulse sale potential by leading the customer around all of the store, instead of just one part.

3. Optimize Your Display Equipment

Shop fittings and display equipment can make or break a store. To make the most of your retail space, ensure that your fittings and fixtures complement your store atmosphere and show off your products.

This includes the arrangement of your fittings, as well as their condition. Many retailers fail to realize that their fixtures need updating as they have become worn, damaged or are not in line with the current visual merchandising trends.

Also, impulse sales can be boosted very effectively by positioning an impulse shelving unit by the tills. These units usually contain small extras that customers can easily pick up and add to their purchase. These are usually items such as sweets, hairbands, socks, screws or washers.

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