It has never been harder to make a retail store work. When you’re competing with online stores, which offer the convenience of being able to make a purchase whenever and wherever it’s tough out there. Retail businesses have begun to recognise that it’s more important to focus on customer experience and not just on what they sell. They need to think about what they can offer customers that shopping online can’t provide or doesn’t do as well. If you want to offer more to your customers, you need to find ways to connect with them and make a visit to your store worth it.
Provide Help and Advice
The personal touch offered by staff in your store should be one of the main drawers for customers. There are ways to provide customer support and advice online, but it’s not exactly the same as delivering it in person. When your store employees are experts in your products and can give genuinely helpful advice, it makes your store a much more attractive place to visit. Providing assistance to customers shouldn’t be all about pushing a sale, either. Helpful advice that doesn’t have any obvious strings attached can be better received and result in more sales anyway.
Offer Nice Extras
When the customer experience is what matters, there are lots of things you can do to enhance it in-store. Little things can make a big difference, although there are also more significant extras you can extend to customers. Things like having a coffee machine or somewhere comfortable to sit (especially outside fitting rooms in clothes stores) can improve the customer experience. Adding extra value with in-store events, such as book signings, live music, or product demonstrations, allows your store to offer something an online store doesn’t. Think about what sort of extra perks work for your type of store.
Grow Your Space
Online stores can have huge product ranges. And for those that don’t use their own warehouses, space might not even be an issue. You might not be able to have an endless product range, but you could expand yours by growing your space. A great way to do this is with mezzanine floors. If you have extra space available, installing an additional level allows you to extend your shop floor. As well as using it to display more products, you might consider using it for adding additional value in other ways, such as a small coffee shop installation.
It would also be a good idea to play with the layout of your store to attract more people in so they are intrigued by what you are selling. Dress up your window displays, put your best selling merchandise at the front of the shop, and use merchandising supplies to proudly and effectively promote these items. You can also look at what people are talking about over social media that week, and if your store sells a product like it or at least in the same vein, put it out there so they can be drawn in.
Reward Loyalty
It’s not enough to get customers through your door just once. You need to make sure they keep coming back too. Loyalty rewards can encourage customers to keep coming through your doors and buying from you. There are various ways you might reward your customers. You might use a simple stamp card or, if you want to be more high-tech, you could set up an app that they can use to collect points. Getting to know your customers also rewards them for their loyalty.
Start offering more to your customers to provide a better customer experience in your retail store. You can grow your foot traffic and sales with the right approach.
