Retailer’s guide to increasing sales.10 proven tactics to increase sales in your

retail store.

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Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 3

01 Know your sales numbers inside and out. ........................................................................ 4

02 Know your products and customers inside and out. ...................................................... 7

03 Optimize your store design for sales. .............................................................................. 10

04 Differentiate yourself. ........................................................................................................... 13

05 Implement value-added selling. ........................................................................................ 15

06 Incorporate games or competitions. ................................................................................ 19

07 Encourage impulse buys. .................................................................................................... 21

08 Optimize your prices. ........................................................................................................... 23

09 Leverage the power of scarcity. ........................................................................................ 26

10 Use retail technology. .......................................................................................................... 29

About Vend ........................................................................................................................................ 34

Table of contents.

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Selling in retail has gotten a lot more challenging over the past few years. Between

the fierce competition and the emergence of gadgets and services that are making

it easier for consumers to find lower prices or product alternatives, many merchants

are now finding it more difficult to win over shoppers and get them to choose their

products over the many options in the market.

Simply stated, modern retail is a whole new playing field. And with consumers being

savvier and more well-informed than ever before, retailers need to arm themselves

with the knowledge, skills, and tools to get customers’ attention – and their

business.

To help you accomplish this, Vend has put together a thorough guide for ramping

up your sales efforts. Below you’ll find 10 effective, non-sleazy techniques for

connecting with, and converting today’s savvy shoppers so you can close more

sales and increase your bottom line.

Introduction.

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The first step to increasing your sales is to know your numbers. What’s your conversion rate? Who are your best salespeople?

Simply being aware of these things can be quite powerful. Why? Because they’ll

show your sales strengths as well as the areas that need improvement, so you can

take action accordingly.

Know your sales numbers inside and out.

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Collect the data you need to make better decisions. For example, if you know who your top sales associates are, then you can come up

with ways to reward or motivate them. Or, if an associate isn’t doing so well, you’ll

be able to provide them with additional coaching to meet their performance needs.

Were your sales numbers particularly high last month? Figure out the reason behind

it and see if you can replicate the results.

Start collecting the data you need to evaluate your store’s sales. We recommend

generating reports for certain time periods (i.e. monthly, weekly, hourly) so you can

figure when customers are buying from you. From there, you can drill down on what

they’re purchasing, and then stock up accordingly.

That’s what Adrienne Wiley, Owner & Operator of chic fashion boutique Covet,

did in her business. Adrienne looked at her store analytics using Vend, and derived

insights on which products to carry in her locations, as well as how and when to

sell them.

“I actually determined what I should be stocking more of in my new location based

on sales by category and then fine tuned the hours by looking at the sales by hour,”

she said. Doing this helped her improve how she ran her stores, and she’s advising

other retailers to do the same.

“Start taking advantage of the data right away, because it can really

help grow your business.”

Adrienne Wiley, Owner and Operator, Covet

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Turn information into insight.Another thing you can do is track sales according to each associate. Getting this

information should be fairly easy, especially if you’re using a modern POS system.

In Vend, for example, you can create different logins for your staff so you can easily

monitor their sales numbers and performance.

Once you have the info you need, analyze your numbers and glean actionable

insights from them. Does your staff need additional training? Should you implement

new offers and promotions? Use the information you’ve gathered to answer such

questions, then take the necessary steps to improve.

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That’s what respondents from some of the retail industry’s most respected brands

believe according to TimeTrade’s Retail Executive Survey.

Clearly, having associates who know what they’re talking about can have a direct

impact on sales, so see to it that you and your staff have a complete understanding

of your merchandise and customers.

Know your products and customers inside and out.

Sales increase 25%-50% when customers are assisted by knowledgeable employees.

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Be a product and industry expert.To ensure that everyone in your team is a product expert, develop an employee

training program that teaches your staff everything they need to know about your

merchandise. Tell them all about product specs, features, and benefits, and make

sure they’re aware of what your best sellers are, which items go well together, and

what products to recommend to certain types of customers.

Also teach your staff how to sell your products through stories. As you’ll learn below,

telling a story with your products, rather than listing features or benefits, is far more

powerful and engaging. Equipping them with this knowledge will help them sell your

merchandise more effectively.

Note that your training program doesn’t have to be a rigid experience or chore.

You can make it more interesting by holding it off-site or by creating an event out it.

Why not invite your suppliers to give talks or hold lessons over food and drinks?

And in order to be truly effective, your employee training program must be a

continuous effort. Don’t just hold one session and send them on their way; help

associates stay on top of things by having regular catch-ups, weekly team member

product summaries, or even customer meetups.

It also helps to know what’s going on in your industry. For example, if you’re selling

mobile devices, then you and your associates need to be aware of the latest tech

and gadget news and have some idea of what’s coming out in the near future.

Knowing these things will allow you to provide richer product descriptions

and recommendations to customers. You’ll also come off as being more credible.

Shoppers tend to trust (and buy from) people who know what they’re talking

about, so being a product or field expert (or having them in your staff) can help

you increase sales.

Share your industry knowledge and experience. Just check out Whole Foods, which has in-house experts within the company (as

well as in some of its locations) who provide product and, in some cases, nutritional

information to customers.

These individuals not only help people make better purchase decisions, but they

also cement Whole Foods’ image of being a leader in the natural foods space.

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Get to know your customers.Knowing your customers isn’t just about taking note of their demographic info, you

also need to gather deeper and more meaningful insights about them. Go beyond

basic stuff like age, gender, income, and location, and instead figure out what really

makes them tick. What brought them to your store? What are their pain points?

Also see if you can mine data on your existing customers. Who are your most loyal

patrons? How often do they return to your store? What products have they bought

from you in the past? Knowing these things will enable you to tailor how you pitch

and approach each shopper.

For example, if you’re aware of what someone purchased in the past, you’ll be able

to make more relevant product recommendations and offer better advice.

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Now, since each store is different, there aren’t any all-encompassing rules that’ll

work for every retailer. There are however, some general guidelines you may want

to keep in mind.

Optimize your store design for sales.

You can make your store more enticing (and boost sales in the process) by optimizing the look and feel of your shop.

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Update your window displays regularly and invite people to find you online.Change up your window displays regularly (ideally twice a month), to keep your

storefront fresh and give customers new reasons to come in.

And in order to maximize all potential sales, make sure your window displays

communicate how people can explore your store while you’re closed. Display links

to your social media accounts and website, and invite customers to engage with

your brand online. Doing so ensures that you’re open for sales 24/7.

Be thoughtful about your use of colors. Colors can influence the perceptions and actions of consumers, so learn what

different colors mean, and pick your palette wisely. Red, for example, gives people

a sense of urgency, making it ideal when you’re running time-sensitive promotions.

Blue, on the other hand, evokes trust, encourages calmness, and can be used to

soothe customers.

To learn more about how you can use colors to sell more, check out our post on

how to use colors and shapes to convert more shoppers.

Declutter your decompression zone. The decompression zone is the first few feet of your shop. It’s your store’s entry area

that customers use to “decompress” or adjust to the new environment. Shoppers

who are in this part of your shop are prone to distractions and tend to miss products

in this area, which is why most experts agree that retailers should keep the

decompression zone simple and uncluttered.

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Determine where to “lead” shoppers. You’ll want your customers to see your best and freshest merchandise first, so

it’s important to understand their in-store movements and steer them in the right

direction. Some studies suggest that the way people move about a store is affected

by the driving patterns on the road (i.e. those who drive on the right side of the

road tend to move to the right when in-store, while those who drive on the left go

in the other direction). Keep this insight in mind, but also be sure to experiment with

different merchandising strategies and see what works best for your shop.

Make data-backed design decisions. Test the changes in your store by tracking foot traffic and sales. Consider using

people counters to measure the impact of your window displays, and install in-store

analytics tools to track how customers move about your shop, so you can see which

colors and layouts work best.

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Develop a distinct image and voice that your target audience can identify with. In

doing so, you’ll not only increase sales, you’ll also gain your customers’ loyalty and

create evangelists out of them.

Differentiate yourself.

How can you set up a differentiating quality that will make it hard for any competitor to replicate? Don’t be a “me too” company.

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Create a unique shopping experience.Consider Trader Joe’s. The grocery chain sets itself apart by creating a unique – and

fun – grocery shopping experience. Unlike other supermarkets, which have generic

store designs and predictable products, Trader Joe’s keeps its atmosphere and

products fresh and exciting, through quirky store designs, friendly associates, and

unique products.

Its stores are decked with cedar planks and the staff members wear Hawaiian shirts

to re-affirm the brand’s unique flavor. Speaking of staff, Trader Joe’s employees

are all likeable, warm and approachable. The cashiers always make conversation,

and the associates on the floor are happy to point people in the right direction. In

terms of merchandise, TJ’s introduces new products weekly, allowing shoppers to

constantly discover new items.

All these things helped Trader Joe’s build a loyal following composed of people who

are interested in finding unique products and are more conscious about purchasing

fresh or natural items. The company also generates higher sales per square foot than

its competitors, despite not having membership cards, coupons, or loyalty programs.

You too can create a brand that’ll make you memorable and one-of-a-kind. Start by

figuring out what makes you unique by recognizing your quirks and core values.

Determine the things that only you can offer, as well as the feelings that only you

can evoke. A good exercise for this is to list all your competitors and then identifying

things that set you apart.

Once you’ve identified the key factors or even the little quirks that make your

business unique, use them to position yourself in the market – then own that

position. Whether you’re crafting an ad campaign or designing a new product,

always go back to your differentiating factors and make sure they shine through.

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Depending on your products and customers, there are a number of ways to

approach this strategy.

Implement value-added selling.

Add real and/or perceived value to what you’re selling to make your products more attractive than other similar or lower-priced goods.

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Tell stories behind products.Does an item have an interesting backstory? Make sure your customers know

about it. Stories tend to stick with people, and having one for your products will

differentiate them from your competitors.

As mentioned earlier, it’s best to instill the value of storytelling in your associates.

Give them “storytelling lessons” during their training and encourage them to use

stories when interacting with customers.

Etsy.com – the online marketplace that focuses on crafters, artists, and

collectors – recognizes the power of narratives when it comes to selling products.

Etsy encourages its sellers to incorporate stories into their product descriptions,

because it knows that doing so adds character, uniqueness, and value to each item.

Position items as premium merchandise.You can give your products “premium status” by maintaining higher prices and

highlighting their superior qualities. In addition to that, you also have to make sure

that the buying experience is premium as well.

Think about how luxury retailers sell their products. Aside from selling high-priced

and fine-quality goods, these merchants also create premium shopping experiences.

Their store designs are sleek, their staff members exude class, and in some cases,

shoppers are offered drinks while waiting or browsing.

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Be aspirational.Figure out your customers’ aspirations. What are their desires and ambitions? What

do they want to become? Answer these questions and see if you can help them

reach those aspirations through your store or products.

Melissa Gonzalez, author of The Pop Up Paradigm: How Brands Build Human

Connections in a Digital Age, calls this making the “aspirational connection.” In her

book, she writes about how Nordstrom did just that through its Sarah Jessica Parker

Pop-Up store, where shoppers got a chance to meet the actress herself.

“Customers get excited about situations that, in most cases, aren’t

attainable. You don’t normally get to shop with Sarah Jessica Parker, and

so that’s a dream come true for lots of people. How often does somebody

that you watch on TV help you try on your shoe? That’s a pretty big hook,

and it inspires you to want to tell everybody you know.”

Melissa Gonzalez, Author, The Pop Up Paradigm

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Consider what Build-a-Bear is doing. Their locations aren’t just stores, they’re

workshops. People can come in, and go through the shop’s interactive bear-making

stations where they can create their own customized stuffed animals.

Personalize products.Customization can make a product go from being a commodity to something

one-of-a-kind, so if you can personalize any aspect of your products or shopping

experience, then by all means, do so. Add a personal touch to each item you sell,

or if you can, why not let customers create or design their merchandise?

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You can, for instance, enter shoppers into a raffle whenever they make a purchase.

Or, if you have a loyalty program, motivate customers to buy more often with tiered

memberships or bonus rewards.

Incorporate games or competitions.

Tap into the competitive nature of people by running contests or introducing game mechanics to the shopping experience.

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Reward your regular customers.That’s what Starbucks is doing in its rewards program. The coffee company

frequently gives members opportunities to earn bonus stars (i.e. points) when they

purchase select products or complete certain actions.

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Studies have shown that about a third of consumers make a sizable impulse buy per

week, with a median purchase of $30.

So, how can you encourage more unplanned purchases in your store?

Here are a few tips.

Encourage impulse buys.

If you play your cards right, you can use the impulsive tendencies of your customers (and trust us, they’re there) to increase sales.

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Pick the right merchandise.The best impulse buy items are ones that are easy to grasp – both physically and

mentally. They should be small, inexpensive, and shouldn’t require product explanations.

As business consultant Lynn Switanowski told ABC News, “Such products don’t need a

lot of explaining. It sells itself (because) you understand what it does.”

Increase product visibility.Make sure customers can actually see the products. Position them in places where

shoppers are sure to encounter them, such as the checkout area, the entrance of

your store, or near your bestsellers.

Include offers.Sweeten up the impulse purchase with a good deal. Consider promoting items with

BOGO offers or limited time promotions.

Check out this great example from Bath & Body Works. In order to entice customers

to buy their body wash, the retailer threw in a “Today Only” promo to make the offer

more compelling.

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Do the math to determine the cost of goods, and then do research on your

customers’ price sensitivity as well as competitor pricing to get further insights.

You may also want to implement creative or psychological tactics, such as the

ones below.

Optimize your prices.

Pricing can either help or hurt sales, so you’ll want to be very strategic with how you price your merchandise.

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Use the number 9.A classic example of psychological pricing is ending prices with the number 9. Many

retailers – particularly those who are catering to bargain hunters – have found that

the practice does increase sales.

Do note, however, that “the rule of 9” may not apply to retailers who are targeting

high-end consumers. Research has shown that “there is a perceived relationship

between prices ending in 0 and overall quality, and prices ending in 9 and overall

value.”

It appears that people associate whole number prices with higher quality, so if

you’re selling to those who care more about quality over price, you may want to

steer clear of prices that end with the number 9.

$4

9 $2

9

$79

$9

9

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Lower prices… with care.Discounting items could help them sell faster, but be very careful with how you carry

out your markdowns, as they could devalue your brand and shopping experience.

If you must lower your prices, avoid displaying large discount signs in-store, as this

can damage your brand and encourage price hunting. Instead, use discounts as a

tool to arm your retail assistants. It’s a much nicer experience when a retail assistant

communicates a discount personally.

Have price tiers.You can also incorporate tiered pricing into your strategy. Consider what shoe

retailer Footzyfolds did. In order to combat cheaper knock-offs of its merchandise

(they were selling them for $25, while Target had them for $10) the store decided to

revamp its prices – but not in the way you might think.

Instead of lowering prices across the board, Footzyfolds introduced a high-end

category for their products. With the new pricing format, they lowered the price of

their everyday products to $20 a pair, but introduced a new “Lux” category for $30

a pair.

Owner Sarah Caplan told the New York Times that this move helped them increase

revenues dramatically. “We actually have had the most interest in our higher-priced

shoes,” she said to the publication, and reported that after launching the high-end

line in the summer of 2010, they saw revenues increase by 100%.

“After launching the high-end line in the summer of 2010 revenues

increase dramatically. We actually have had the most interest in our

higher-priced shoes.”

Sarah Caplan, Owner, Footzyfolds

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It’s one of the most effective ways to get a customer (or anyone, for that matter) to

take action is to make them believe that they’ll miss out on something good if they

don’t do anything soon. Here are some of the ways to leverage it in your store.

Leverage the power of scarcity.

People are highly motivated by the thought that they might lose out on something: FOMO (Fear of missing out).

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Run limited time promotions.If you’re running a sale or promotion, set a deadline and make sure your customers

know about it. Put signs around your store (such as the “Today Only!” example by

Bath & Body Works above), broadcast the deadline via social media, and send your

customers email reminders like the one by Kate Spade below:

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Provide “almost out of stock” reminders.Stock running low for a particular item? Let your customers know. Instruct store

associates to give shoppers a heads up when a popular product is about to sell

out, and if you have an ecommerce store, display “almost out of stock” alerts for

products that are nearly sold out.

Sell seasonal items.Consider carrying seasonal products in your store. Doing so could help you

generate additional revenue and attract new customers who happen to be shopping

for in-season products. And since items are seasonal, customers are likely to buy

them sooner rather than later.

Almost out of stock

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Increasing sales is also about having the right tools that make shopping faster,

easier, and more fun for consumers. Consider the following.

Use retail technology.

Growing sales isn’t just about having the right people or products. Technology is an ever increasing source of competitive advantage for smart retailers.

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Omnichannel.More than just a buzzword, becoming omnichannel means enabling customers to

buy from you across multiple channels or devices (in-store, online, and mobile).

Consumers are increasingly using multiple channels to research, browse, and buy,

so implementing omnichannel and having both online and offline storefronts can

certainly help your bottom line.

Just ask Christina Ruiz, of TopShelf Style in San Francisco. TopShelf

launched her ecommere store with the help of Vend, and doing this

enabled her to improve inventory visibility across both channels, and

improve sales in the process. According to Christina, with the move

to Vend Ecommerce, they’re planning to increase sales by 20%.

Christina Ruiz, Owner, TopShelf Style

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Mobile POS systems.Arming your store associates with iPads or mobile POS systems can make it easier

for them to provide assistance, ring up sales, and delight customers. They remove

the POS from the shopping experience and allow associates to focus more on the

customer.

Mobile POS systems also pave the way for a more engaging experience because

they enable associates to meet shoppers on the floor, instead of keeping them

behind the counter. (Plus mPOS solutions look better and work faster!)

Medisave, a global Internet-based supplier of medical supplies, found this to be true

when they used Vend at one of the trade shows they attended. The Medisave team

had a small booth at the event and they wanted to dedicate as much of the space

to marketing and stock. To address this, they decided to give their staff iPad-based

POS systems so they could move out of their booth,and bring the checkout process

to the customers by ringing up sales on the spot.

According to Graham Wright, Managing Partner at the company, this enabled the

Medisave team to “walk the line during busy times and go to the customer rather

than them pushing through the crowd to get to the counter.” As a result, they were

able to cut their checkout time in half and process thousands of sales during the

event.

“Bring the checkout process to the customers during busy times rather

than them pushing through the crowd to get to the counter.”

Graham Wright, Managing Partner, Medisave

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Retail analytics.Retail intelligence and reporting tools can give you the insights you need to make

smarter decisions when it comes to what products to sell and how to sell them.

For example, looking at sales, inventory, and customer reports can give you the

lowdown on what items are selling and who’s buying them, so you can purchase the

right products and be more targeted with your sales and marketing.

Meanwhile, in-store analytics tools can help you see how shoppers move about in

your store, what they’re looking at and what they end up buying, thus enabling you

to make better merchandising and layout decisions.

Personalization technology.A survey by Infosys found that a large majority of consumers are influenced by

personalization, and that most of those respondents favor tailored coupons, offers,

and recommendations based on previous purchases. Clearly, consumers these days

crave for personalization and they’re flocking towards retailers that can deliver on

those relevant and customized experiences.

Fortunately, there are many tools that’ll allow you to accomplish that. For one, you

can implement a modern loyalty program that tracks member activity and rewards

customers based on their previous purchases.

You could also make use of beacons, which can send tailored notifications based

on where a customer is in your store. Beacon technology is expected to directly

influence over $4 billion worth of US retail sales in 2015, making it one of the most

promising innovations to hit the industry. You may want to consider trialling it in your

store to see how it impacts sales.

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What’s next?Selling in a modern retail environment may have gotten tougher, but know that

there is an abundance of techniques and tools out there that will enable you to meet

your sales objectives. This whitepaper has already shed light on some of them.

Our hope is that the pointers and examples above gave you some insights and

ideas for your store that you and your sales team can effectively put into to action.

If you’re looking for a solution that can help you increase sales, sign up for a free

30-day trial of Vend and see how it can help grow your retail business.

About Vend.Vend is a cloud-based retail software platform that enables retailers to accept

payments, manage their inventories, reward customer loyalty and garner insights

into their business in real time. Vend is simple to set up, works with a wide range

of point-of-sale devices and operates on any web-capable device with a browser.

Whether it’s simplifying the inventory process, cutting 30 minutes from their

end-of-day bookkeeping or making it simpler for them to sell their products on

multiple channels, Vend’s mission is to make retailers’ lives easier.

With Vend, retailers are able to focus less on transaction and inventory concerns

and more on creating that relationship with their customers. Vend aims to empower

merchants by putting the right data and tools into retailers’ hands and enabling

them to do things themselves – and succeed.

Run the worlds best retail

www.vendhq.com