Top retail tips for the summer season

We are now into what is traditionally the busiest time of the year for golf and, if the good old British weather is on form, we could be on for weeks of sunshine, long days and people heading to the golf course.

Here are some top tips to help you make the most of the busy summer season:

Keep it fresh

Give people a reason to keep coming into your shop by keeping it fresh and regularly changing your displays and layout. Limited period offers, special promotions and events also give people a reason to come back and buy. (This does not mean discounting!) Above all, deliver outstanding customer service, engage with your customers and make your shop that fun place that people want to come into. Keep trying different ideas and find out what works for you!

Create an experience

Doug Stephens, author of The Retail Revival shares this great tip that you can apply. “In a little over 25 years, we've gone from an economy based on scarcity of goods and services to one that offers unimaginable abundance. There's very little you can sell that can't be gotten elsewhere. Focus instead on how you sell what you sell. Completely differentiate your customer experience and make sure it's remarkable. Products come and go but there will always be a market for truly remarkable experiences.” What will be your remarkable experience?

Out with the old

Don’t hang on to unpopular items. Instead of waiting and trying selling them en masse through an end of year sale, look to get rid of them quickly through regular flash sales and limited period offers that leverage the power of scarcity. Sell any remaining items online using platforms such as eBay. Remember the longer you hang on the more power passes to the customer and the bigger the discount you are likely to have to give at the expense of your margins.

Don’t forget the weekly meetings!

Out of sight out of mind. It’s easy to take your eye off the ball only to come back and find that problems have built up. Don’t let this happen to you! We recommend to all our customers that they do weekly team meetings and as a minimum review the key Sales Analysis, Stock Turn and Unpopular Product reports available from their XPOS system. (Go to the reporting screen and look for the Recommended Reports button at the bottom.) The Supplier Report is also a fantastic report that enables you to compare your actual margins to what you had hoped to achieve at the time of purchase. Perfect ammunition for dealing with product reps!