Other quick merchandising tips include:
- Always keep the pool and spa shop’s brand and target market in mind. From colours to signage, consistency is key to success.
- Be sure the first 1.5 to 3 m (5 to 10 ft) of the store floor is clutter free. This is considered a “decompression zone” for arriving customers. It should be a stress-free transition into the store and an opportunity to scan the flow of the space and choose direction.
- Be sure to have the proper fixture for the spa accessory the store sells.
- Group related products and sell them at different heights when possible.
- Do not be afraid to place a product in multiple areas for cross-selling opportunity.
- For POS merchandising, keep inexpensive and sale items at easy reach while customers wait.
- Place products strategically—best-selling go to the front and those that are least popular go to the back corner. Another option is to consider separating essential items on opposite sides of the store to entice customers to make impulse purchases throughout the store. Different strategies work for different stores.
- Change product displays regularly, especially when sales begin to slow or when new items arrive.
- Use holidays (e.g. Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Christmas, etc.) as a sales advantage. All of them can have themes and gift options readily available.
- Use planograms to direct staff, change the floor plan, purchase inventory, maximize space, and—if the business has more than one retail location—create consistency for the brand experience.
Make use of planograms
The purpose of a planogram is to increase sales by ensuring the most popular and profitable products are given the right number of facings and allocations. Planograms (also known as layouts, price on goods (POG), space plans or shelf space plans) help make sense of the products on shelf both from a retailer’s perspective and, most importantly, the shopper’s perspective as they assist with theme planning, holiday purchasing, seasonal accessory displays, POS features for sale items, and more. They help keep the entire staff on the same page, allow for team meetings and input from staff (which, in turn, makes salespeople feel a part of the bigger picture) and are data driven. Reviewing and comparing the planogram to the success of accessory sales will also help tweak new configurations moving forward—it is not a static document by any means.
To create an easy planogram, owners/managers should measure the store’s square footage, place the unmovable areas (such as cash registers and chemical test areas), know the measurements of each additional fixture, and place them accordingly. For smaller retail stores, perhaps the fixtures stay the same, but the product placement can be changed. There are programs available owners/managers can purchase to help design their layout—cut out shapes over paper will work, too. It does not need to be fancy. By using these tools and methods, owners/managers will have enough layout data to drive product placement quickly and easily as it will be based on customer habits.
