Retail merchandising is often referred to as the glamorous side of retail as you pick and choose what goes in/outside of the store and the layout of it. Having an arranged store makes things easier for customers and employees to browse around.
Retail merchandising is crucial as the stock is so expensive and getting it right can make or break a business.
Over at Process Street, we have created this Retail Merchandising checklist to make sure you always have the store organized.
First things first; record the store's details you are doing merchandising for. This way you can keep a record of what you did. Complete the boxes below:
Ensure outside signs are presentable. For customers to know anything about the store, they are going to have to be able to see the store's signage correctly. Having signage that is partially destroyed or rundown doesn't look too good from a customer's perspective. Using the sub-checklist below to make sure signs are up to standard:
If the stores signs are not up to standard then it will have a negative impact on sales and footfall.
It is important for a store to have presentable and well-marked parking areas. Customers who drive do not want to park miles away from the store. They want to be able to park as close as possible to it. Also, ensure that parking bays are well-marked as it will stop any confusion and accidents.
Having a presentable exterior has a positive impact on customers as no one wants to go into a store which has litter outside of the store or which has cracked windows. Ensure that the exterior of the store has presentable window displays, signs, and no rubbish is lying around.
Make sure aisles are clear. There should be no mess in aisles for customers to walk down. There should be no litter, tags lying around or general mess as this will put customers off walking down that aisle or they may even just leave the store as at the end of the day, no one wants to walk down a shoe aisle only to find chip packets everywhere.
Having correct and good condition product/category signage can ensure customers are satisfied when shopping around. Customers do not want to see the wrong tags or signs at products.
For example, no one wants to walk down the shoe aisle to find shirts and ties or to buy a jacket for $50 but it has a $100 tag on it. Make sure tags and signs are correctly formatted to the products within the store.
Maintaining the shop's fixtures keeps the store looking fresh and in good shape. Over a period of time, the store's fixtures will deteriorate or end up breaking. Make sure that all the fixtures are well maintained. They can involve the following:
Ensure that they're all presentable for customers.
Organize the stores shelves so they are presentable. Customers do not like seeing cluttered shelves or racks. It puts customers off looking for anything as they fear that they product they're looking at may have the wrong tag on it. Use the sub-checklist below to organize shelves correctly:
Make sure in-store promotions are organized and correctly labeled. They should be up-to-date with current products and kept in 'as new' condition.
Bulk floor displays should be positioned correctly and safely. Stand-alone displays should be maintained daily to keep them fresh, whilst special bins and displays should be clearly signed and positioned in hot-spot zones.
An important part of retail merchandising is arranging store window displays. The customer is never going to be enticed by a store when there is nothing to be seen in the shop window.
You can promote store products in the store window display, in an effort to help raise sales. Be sure to make the display presentable and not just a mess.
Staff should be trained correctly. When staff members know what they're talking about it is a big help for customers as they will feel reassured that they are getting the best advice possible from trained staff. Staff should be product trained so they have knowledge about the product in the event of a customer asking for help.
Staff should also have had customer service training to provide customers with the best experience available.
If you are unsure on how to onboard an employee correctly, use our Retail Employee Onboarding Checklist.
Staff should be adequately dressed for work and according to the dress code. It creates a great first impression for customers, it also makes customers aware of who works there and who isn't just another person shopping.
Customers are also aware of the tone of store depending on the way the staff look. Having staff dress formally creates a more professional tone whilst staff who are casually dressed make for a more relaxed atmosphere.
