Visual merchandising strategies are an effective means of showcasing items, but an element of creativity is necessary to engage shoppers and retain consumers. It's the story your retail space tells and the type of experience the customers have that will ultimately sway their in-store decisions. Find out how you can incorporate successful strategies from retail locations around the globe into your store:
1. The Coca-Cola "eKoCool" cooler in Uttar Pradesh, India
The Coca-Cola "eKoCool" solar-powered coolers offer a method for stores to provide cold beverages on hot days, even in locales prone to the frequent power outages like Uttar Pradesh. Distributed to retailers in rural areas, the "eKoCool" not only chills drinks, it also charges cell phones and lanterns. This innovative cooler allows businesses to survive the obstacles resulting from extreme weather. Additionally, according to the Coca-Cola Company, while customers wait for their phones to charge, they end up buying more items in the store.
While keeping beverages cool in a U.S. retail store doesn't present as much of a challenge, there's still something to be said for this creative breakthrough. The cooler offers more than an advantage to store owners, it also benefits the tech-savvy consumers. Consider incorporating charging stations or free Wi-Fi in your retail store. This way, consumers can use their smartphones to view their shopping lists, look up coupons and share photos of your products. Though this won't directly contribute to your bottom line, it will enhance the customer experience, which can ultimately build customer loyalty and thus bolster sales.
Make smartphone use easy in your retail space to heighten the customer experience.2. Temperature-detecting lemonade stand in Spain
According to Forbes, a lemonade vending machine created by Momentum Madrid and Coca-Cola can detect temperature and change the product price accordingly. When the temperature goes up, prices go down, so consumers are provided with discounted lemonade on hot summer days.
The strategy of adjusting prices to season and climate is no secret in the retail industry, but Coca-Cola and Momentum Madrid have found a way to make this transition in real time. Small businesses can also make this same quick adjustment by looking out their windows. With some pricing gun handy work, you can discount umbrellas when it's rainy or lower the price of sunglasses on sunny day. By implementing this strategy, you benefit from increased sales on two levels: necessity and price.
"Allowing consumers to try before they buy will help increase sales."
3. Sleep in store at Coco-Mat in Denmark and New York
Greece-based bedding and mattress company Coco-Mat has taken the customer experience to another level. In both its Denmark and New York locations, consumers can actually take a several-hour-long nap on in-store mattresses to test them out before buying. According to CNN, the trial run comes with slippers, a robe, access to private rooms with showers and, of course, a big, luxurious bed.
While Coco-Mat has found this to be a beneficial process for allowing prospective buyers to try out their products, this level of testing may not be practical for every business. Fortunately, there are other, less intensive ways of implementing this idea into your retail store. If you sell lawn chairs, for example, make them easily accessible, and display them around open floor space. This way, shoppers can open them up and lay on them to determine if they will suit their lounging needs. Allowing consumers to try before they buy will help increase sales.
Incorporate some of these strategies into your retail store to optimize sales and enhance the customer experience.
