How much does visual merchandising really impact sales?\nTurns out, a lot. Even with the rise in online shopping and curbside delivery,\nin-store shopping at physical retail locations isn\u2019t going away anytime soon\nand brands would be well-served to make sure their brick-and-mortar\nmerchandising strategies and plans are solid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let\u2019s dive into why it\u2019s so important to pay extra attention\nto in-store shoppers and look at their behavior and what brands can do to\ncapture their precious dollars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How many decisions are made at the store?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite the increase in online shopping, brick-and-mortar retail isn\u2019t going anywhere anytime soon. In fact, while 27% of consumers make an online purchase every week, 40% of consumers physically go shopping<\/a> on a weekly basis. Furthermore, 70% of consumers<\/a> count the ability to purchase in a store as impacting their choice of brand and retailer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So, do in-store shoppers use the internet at all? Yes. 74%\ngo online<\/a> to do research, see if an item is in-stock, or check store hours,\nmaking it imperative that retail suppliers have a strategy to make sure their items\nare in-stock and up to date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And for those worried that the \u201ckids these days\u201d will drive a decrease in foot traffic, that\u2019s turning out not to be the case. Gen Z, the most digital generation yet, actually prefers to shop in-store. 81% report that they prefer brick-and-mortar<\/a> because it helps them discover new products and more than half indicate that it\u2019s precisely because it helps them disconnect from their phones<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The numbers are in folks and they\u2019re looking good for retail\nsuppliers. Even a global pandemic couldn\u2019t wipe out people\u2019s passion for retail\ntherapy. Indeed, it may have fueled appreciation for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But what does this all mean for in-store retail strategies?\nIf the foot traffic is there, how can brands capture purchases?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Brands need to have a two-pronged strategy to maximize their\nin-store sales. <\/p>\n\n\n\n First, they need to prepare to meet customer expectations. For instance, if that customer has gone online and checked to see if a product is in stock and shows up at the store to purchase it, that item had better be in stock. The consequence of it not being in stock? A bad brand experience, an unhappy customer, and a competitor captures those dollars and perhaps all their future business. In other words, risking a domino effect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Second, brands need to capitalize on impulse decisions and\nretail therapy shoppers. In fact, 84% of shoppers have\nmade impulse decisions<\/a> when buying in-store. This is a huge opportunity\nthat brands need to embrace and capitalize on with visual merchandising. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Visual merchandising at its core is making sure your\ninventory stands out from the crowd via packaging, in-store marketing, and in-store\npromotions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But what happens when you have a visual marketing strategy\nbut the retail execution levels don\u2019t go according to your plan?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most retail suppliers choose one of two options to meet\ntheir retail execution needs: relying on the retailer or partnering with a\nthird-party retail merchandiser.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What do execution rates look like when using just the\nretailer\u2019s resources?<\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s no one number to point to as it varies retailer to retailer, store to store, and brand by brand. It will even vary from week to week. And the retail labor shortage<\/a> isn\u2019t helping anything. But what we\u2019ve seen as have other merchandisers is execution rates hovering around 40%<\/a> when it\u2019s up to just the retailers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What\u2019s more telling is how brands struggle to have an\naccurate view of what\u2019s going on with their inventory when it\u2019s in the store\nand how much (25%)\nof sales are lost due to poor retail execution<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To understand your brand\u2019s retail execution rate, you need\nto look at a few factors:<\/p>\n\n\n\n You\u2019ll want to track trends over time to get a feel for\nseasonal changes, consistent gaps, and most importantly \u2013 to understand how\nmany sales are missed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s a glaring problem with this though, how can you\nmeasure retail execution rates without having a good grasp of store-level\nactivities?<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s where third-party retail merchandising partners come\ninto play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Third-party retail merchandisers like RMS<\/a>\nhelp retail suppliers by conducting store-level audits<\/a>\nand inventory maintenance to make sure your sales are maximized. This helps\nbrands trust their retail data and make better decisions based on real numbers,\nnot estimates.<\/p>\n\n\n\nTwo Foci for Retail Suppliers: Planned and Impulse<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Retail Execution Levels<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How Third-Party Partners Improve Execution Rates<\/h2>\n\n\n\n