We love TV makeover shows, especially the ones about retail
makeovers. Each show is loaded with
plenty of angst and drama – the shops are in various stages of
disarray, the employees are snarky and the owners are generally clueless about
the state of their business. But through the magic of television (and deep
pockets), the stores are brought back from the brink of disaster in 60 minutes
or less.
We know that reality shows are edited to make things look
worse then they actually are, but we are always just a little surprised at how
the business owners react to the makeover team. There are a lot of “Yes, buts”
flying around, meaning the owners really have no idea how they got into the
predicament they are currently in, let alone how to remedy their situation.
We also know how they got there; they suffer from “Retail Tunnel
Vision”, a state of mind that kicks in when we become so focused on our daily
“to do” lists that we lose sight of the big picture. These retailers didn’t
open their doors that first day of business thinking they would wind up on a
television show, having their retail challenges on display for the entire world
to see. And critique. We’re sure they believed that their bright
and shiny new stores would attract all kinds of customers and business would
thrive. Sometimes, even with the best
intentions, that just doesn’t happen.
We do many retail makeovers throughout the year. We’re not as blunt as the TV hosts, we don’t
work with big TV budgets, and we don’t transform shabby businesses into
showplaces in less than an hour, but we do impact them for the better. Retail perfection takes time. When we do a one-day Mini-Store Makeover, we change as much
of the sales floor as humanly possible.
It helps when the store owner is aggressive and really wants to see
positive change.
Not too long ago we did one-day mini-makeovers on four
independently owned and operated stores.
Two of the stores needed more than a one-day makeover, so in addition to
immediate merchandising changes, we created a step-by-step plan to overhaul the
stores. The third store needed just a visual merchandising tweak (it’s amazing
what just a few changes can do to a sales floor!), and the fourth was, well,
just a whole lot of fun.
Store # 4 was opened for business over 25 years ago by a
sharp female entrepreneur; today it’s run by that same woman and her two
daughters. Gifts, pottery, fine jewelry, crystal, apparel and gourmet foods are
displayed in the many rooms of a historic home.
It’s a fun store with ambiance to spare, but parts of it had remained
the same since the day it opened – it was definitely time for change.
One of the first things we did was move the heavily shopped
food items from the right front Power Wall to the back of the store. There is a reason grocer’s place necessary
items such as milk and bread at the rear of the store: they want shoppers to
walk through aisles of impulse items before they reach their destination
product. This store needed to do this as
well, so we relocated the food to the back of the shop, creating a wonderful
nook for food and related items. The
right front Power Wall was re-merchandised to feature beautiful hand-made
pottery.
We completely tossed the room that housed the shop’s
library. Before the mini-makeover, book
racks had been placed to partly conceal two of the shop’s large front
windows. We re-set the room to create a
warm place to peruse the books, plus window displays that were appealing from
both inside and outside of the store.
The fine jewelry cases were reset, adding jewelry forms to
create depth, add romance and to highlight product groupings. One of our suggestions was to get rid of the
old and out-of-date gold jewelry – it sold for almost $10,000!
The shop’s owners really go into it – together we changed
display after display after display. We re-merchandised the sales floor and
packed old product to be sold at festivals, auctioned on e-Bay, or donated to
charity. By the time we left, that shop
had a whole new look. But the best part
was how the shop’s owners rose to the occasion – they are still they making
positive changes! Customers like the
changes and business is brisk.
Perhaps it’s time to do a mini-makeover in your own
store? When was the last time you
objectively viewed your store through your customers’ eyes? Last month? Last year? Never? If you think it’s
time for a change, begin with this exercise.
You’ll need a pen, paper, a digital camera, and lots of objectivity.
q First up: the V & Vista exercise:
Stand inside your front door just beyond the Decompression Zone (about 5’
inside the store) and spread your arms out at shoulder height with your index
fingers extended. What’s inside the V your arms make is called is the Vista – the
area that builds a shopper’s first impression of your store. The space inside the Vista
needs to be clean, uncluttered and full of not-to-be-missed product. You need a Speed Bump display to stop shoppers inside the Vista .
Choose a small fixture or better yet stacking tables that can hold an
assortment of cross-merchandised product, and are low enough for customers to
see through the store. Change your Speed Bump display(s) weekly.
The V will help
you find your store’s Power Walls. Follow your nose down your right arm to the
tip of your right index finger – the wall you are looking at is your front
right Power Wall; the most important selling wall in your store. That’s because
90 percent of shoppers will enter your store and look or turn to the
right. Use this wall (and the sales
floor at the front right) to feature new, hot and happening product.
Now, follow your nose down your left arm to the tip of your
left index finger. This left front Power Wall is also important – display it
with as much thought and care as your right front Power Wall. Like your Speed Bump displays, Power Walls
need to be changed frequently. At least
once a month.
q Now, walk through your entire store wearing
your customers’ eyes. Write down
everything that needs to be changed, moved, updated, closed out, tossed or
given away. Make a list of things to
do. Note what needs to be changed ASAP
and what can be fixed over time. By the
way, if you do this exercise and only find two or three things to do, you are
not being objective. Open your eyes and
do it again.
q After completing this exercise take
photos with your digital camera. A
camera has no personal investment in what it sees – it only sees what is in
front of it. That’s why you sometimes
look at photos of your store and think, “It doesn’t look that bad!” Yes, it
does – the camera doesn’t lie. Digital
cameras are great because you can instantly compare your perception with what
is actually there. Keep a reference book
of before and after photos, it will come in handy year after year when you need
display ideas.
Look at big picture things as well:
q Do your walls need a fresh coat of paint? Does your choice of interior decor colors
flatter your product? Do you have large
display props that take away from the ambiance of your store? Perhaps that thatched canopy over the
checkout counter or the mural painted on your front wall looked better on paper
than they actually are – make the merchandise the star, not the fixtures!
q Do your walls need additional attention? We’ve been in many stores that have the walls
lined with slatwall, but that slatwall stops about 5’ from the ceiling, leaving
a lot of empty space above the fixture line.
This area needs attention: empty space above the fixture line causes
shoppers eyes to wander, you need something to refocus them on the product
below. You can add additional slatwall,
paint favorite quotations, or a clean design, around the perimeter of the
store, or add display boards to showcase product.
q Are your fixtures helping to sell product? Fixtures are meant to disappear and let the
merchandise shine. One of the things we
recommended in the store # 4 makeover was the elimination of tall wooden
hutches located at the front of the store.
Although they did a good job of housing product, they formed a barrier
that limited the shopper’s view throughout the store. We recommended these fixtures be replaced
with a glass cube system that would show off the product and the store.
q Your store signing plays a key role in
your store decor. Unless you have
killer handwriting and specific rules as to how your signs should look,
handwritten signs are a big no-no. So
are cutesy signs, like “Unattended
children will be given an espresso and a free puppy.” Even if kids are driving you crazy, don’t do
it. These signs just irritate customers
and make your store look bad.
Signs need to be professionally made and displayed in sign
holders. Insignia Systems offers
easy-to-use signing systems that operate with the ease of a typewriter.
q Set your cash wrap counter to sell. Unless your store’s foot print prohibits it,
the cash wrap counter should never be placed at the front right of your store. This
is prime selling real estate, and besides, you don’t want shoppers thinking
about paying before they’ve even had a chance to shop. The cash wrap works much better on the left
side of your store, or in the center, set back about 15 - 20’.
The area behind the cash wrap is prime selling space, but this
area in three of our four mini-makeovers had become cluttered and unworkable.
In each store, we rewrote policy signing to make it sound
more positive: “We will gladly refund
your money within 30 days. Your receipt guarantees it.” We cleaned up the area so customers could
comfortably pay for their purchases. We
stocked often forgotten items under the cash wrap, and sprinkled impulse items on
the top counter to increase add-on sales.
Then we created irresistible displays behind each cash wrap so that
customers would never stop thinking about merchandise.
In the end, the success of any store makeover relies on the
commitment of the store owner. We’ve
worked with retailers who took our advice to heart and enjoyed big
benefits. We’ve also worked with
retailers who did nothing more after we left the store. Big
mistake.
Your sales floor is your store’s biggest marketing piece –
it’s on stage each and every day. It must be carefully merchandised, signed and
ready to sell. Drop us an e-mail if
you’d like a free telephone consultation!
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