POS & MERCHANDISING


DON’T FIGHT THE IMPULSE (BUYS)


Effective on-shelf merchandising and creating linked sales using hot spots around the store, are always important but there are also key strategies retailers could employ to generate extra sales and up basket spend when shoppers reach the counter.


Y


ou’ll notice the grocers always have magazines or packs of batteries and other pick-up lines perfectly positioned to entice customers


waiting at the checkout, while the likes of TK Maxx and other clothing retailers and department stores line the path along which customers have to queue with everything from sweets and packs of socks, to car care products, mini torches and keyring gadgets. DIY


retailers and garden


centres, whatever their size, are well positioned to take a slice of the action with just a few simple techniques, says Henkel category manager Paul Bagnall.


Pick your product Garden centres are clever at utilising checkout areas to generate impulse buys, with eye-catching displays


of houseplants and pots, seasonal goods or gift items. For those retailers with space to


play with, this can be an effective technique to get that extra spend. B&Q positions a host of dump bins and merchandising units containing discounted seasonal or pick-up DIY lines alongside self-checkouts and manned tills to lure shoppers in. If you have space, products like batteries, adhesives, sealants, tapes, torches, packets of seeds, small bottles of plant food or even garden games in the summer can provide great impulse-buy items when positioned on or near the till. However, “something that most independent retailers have in common is a lack of space,” says Mr Bagnall. But he insists these are still principles that can be applied on a smaller scale. “You want is an item at £2.99, £3.99 or £4.99, so you don’t break that £5 pricepoint,” says Mr Bagnall. He


Even smaller retailers can position choice


products on or by the counter – you just need a good hook to get customers interested.


advises that retailers look at their


high-volume lines. “It suggests that a lot of your customers are buying those items but maybe some of them need a prompt.”


Ask the question


The most important part is having a credible hook – the reason the product might appeal to a customer – followed by a simple question – do you want to buy one? And, those selling points can be: a discount such as percentage off or three for two, an added-value promotion with 50% free, the fact that it is a brand new product or range, or it could be that it is currently being advertised on TV.


Retailers with space can line up a number of pick-up products by the till – but this can be an even more effective prompt to buy when reinforced with a question


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“This is all about selling customers additional products that they did not intend to buy,” says Mr Bagnall. As you may remember in our Hand it Over to Henkel project, staff at Kennedys Mica Hardware were told to ask customers if they wanted to add a promotional tube of Loctite superglue to their basket. They did so for two weeks, resulting in an additional 19 sales, which at £3.99 a tube, made for an extra £76 in the till just from asking a question and having a shelf-ready cut case of the product sat on the counter.


However, the biggest challenge for the retailer is having the stamina to ask every customer. “Look at McDonalds, for example,” says My Bagnall. “They always ask you if you want to trade up and supersize your meal; it’s in their training. They know it’s a numbers game – if they ask 10 people one, two three, four or five people will say yes – which makes for a simple trade up sale.”


Coping strategies He continues: “You have to get into the habit of asking every customer week in, week out. The frequency of purchase in a lot of DIY stores might be two to three months so you could go two months without asking a customer the same question and still be getting those 19 sales a week.” But, if you find you and your staff are struggling, Mr Bagnall offers his top tips to help keep the process up.       offer fresh


  weekly if you need to


 “And, in the end it becomes the norm,” he enthuses.


11 AUGUST 2017 DIY WEEK 19


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