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When The Going Gets Tough - The Tough Starts Selling

In the popular media we are reading almost daily of warnings of a downturn in the retail sector.  A downturn pushed by the home mortgage crisis as well as the soaring price of fuel, food, and just about everything else.  If this pessimissim has translated into slower sales at your store there are a few practical things that you can do to turn the tide and get your sales plan on track.   Author Charlotte- Dennis Jones of the British trade jounal Retail Week wrote recently that; " The only way to keep ahead of the pack is to help your store staff persuade cutomers to part with their cash. Focusing on customer service has never been more important.".  Many retailers, especially the larger chain stores staff operate on a payroll formula that empties  the sales floor of sales clerks  when business slows a bit.  This leaves the remaining clerks harried  and short tempered  as well as the customers frustrated having to wait for assistance .    Try to keep staffing levels flexible to meet the demand at your peak traffic times of the day.

Is your store as clean and stocked as it could be?  Nothing is more of a customer turn-off than a dirty store with empty shelves.  Remember to keep your endcaps fresh and well stock. Take advantage of vendor promotions and point of purchase selling programs when offered.  It also might be the perfect  time to cut lines of merchandise that are not selling and replace them with new in lines that will sell.

 

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