Social media and digital stores have made selling easier simply by allowing people to do their shopping from the comfort of their own homes. But there is only so much home that a person can take. The past few years have made it very important to people to come outside and look for experiences that resonate with them and add value to their time.
Many experts link this concept of adding value in retail to high-margin sales and improved customer satisfaction. But how does a retail space distinguish itself from competitors? How does it provide an experience that makes it stand out from its digital store? In fact, how do you get customers to come in-store to experience your value-added retail space?
It’s All About the Customer
Surprisingly the answers are simple. You invest in solutions that prioritize the customer over the sale. This means working with suppliers who can provide you with products that work for every aspect of customers’ needs. Wholesale retailers like Banner Solutions have diversified within and beyond their dedicated product areas. So that when you make a purchase, you can also receive every accessory you could need for that purchase from the same source.
This allows you to sell cohesive items that can be arranged in your retail space to enable customers to follow the area’s flow to find the accessories they need. Simply because customers are used to the ease of drop-down menus and search bars online, they will feel more comfort in a retail space that follows an intuitive flow of movement.
Let’s explore other simple ways to adjust your approach to your retail space to add value for your in-store clients.
Lean On Your Unique Selling Point
Identify your store’s unique selling point (USP) and your products and make this the base on which you build your retail experience. Identifying your USP can allow you to find ways to give customers a chance to interact with your products in unique ways. You could also capitalize on your store location or design by making the space very aesthetic.
People are looking to buy for a lifestyle now, not just to purchase items. By projecting an attractive lifestyle aesthetic within the store, you can increase sales. In addition, you will attract more people through the customers’ use of photos taken within your retail space that they will tag you in and share to their family and friends.
Invest in Training
In-store retail is very people-driven. Customers look to the staff to feel connected to the brand. This connection means that you must invest heavily in training sales associates in customer service, sales techniques, interacting with different personality types, and optimizing digital retail solutions to add a further service layer to each sale.
Some businesses even teach people who have a naturally winning personality to be better at making sales.
Added Service
The attraction of online sales is that customers choose what they want and wait for it to arrive. But when people make social media posts about products they ordered online, the tendency is to highlight the stores beyond the call of duty. They added service levels to the simple process of packing a box and sending it. Whether this is a thoughtful card or a sample pack of an item that could work with the purchase or simply a voucher giving a discount or coupon side for the next sale, they found a way to make the customer feel special.
This is where in-store retail experiences can always surpass online stores. Customers want to feel like more than a source of cash; they want to think that they and their needs matter to you. Think about how you can add service levels to your retail experience to make your customers feel appreciated.
It can take any form, from something simple like free tailoring for members to in-depth in-store consultations.
The digital world offers a level of speed that in-store cannot easily match. Time is passing slowly happens less frequently in online shopping, and this can feel like a difficult barrier to overcome.
But if you can create an efficient and seamless experience from product selection to checkout, customers will not feel as though they are spending too much time at the store.
Clear signage, interesting items and reading material in the check out areas, and training staff to be polite but move efficiently through the check out process can significantly help reduce the feeling of waiting. It is very much about finding a suitable space for your store within the culture of immediacy and the need for community. Cracking this code is your secret to success.
