As a business owner, it’s important to constantly be looking for ways how to increase sales in retail. Whether you’re struggling to keep up with the competition or just want to boost your bottom line, these tips will help you do just that!

Keep your store clean and organized. First impressions matter, so make sure your store is always clean and tidy. This includes everything from the floors being swept and mopped, to dust-free shelves and straightened merchandise. Customers should feel like they can breathe easy when they walk in – not overwhelmed by clutter.

How to increase sales in retail? Train your employees on customer service. Your employees are the face of your business, so they must know how to properly greet customers and provide them with assistance throughout their shopping experience. If they don’t already have strong customer service skills, invest in training them so they can give every shopper the VIP treatment. It will go a long way in boosting sales (and repeat business).

How to Increase Sales in Retail

There are a few ways to increase retail sales. One way is to increase foot traffic by advertising special sales or events.

Another way is to train employees to upsell customers and make suggestive selling a part of the store culture.

Finally, increasing the average transaction size can also lead to an overall increase in sales.

This can be done by offering special discounts for purchasing multiple items or by increasing the price of individual items.

How to Increase Sales in Retail During a Pandemic

Wondering how to increase retail sales during a COVID-19 outbreak? The key is to realize that brick-and-mortar stores have a limited client base.

After all, there are only so many people who will actually walk into your place of business, with or without a mask.

While good marketing and lead generation strategies can help, you can’t just focus on bringing in new sales.

If you’re only looking at the number of people who walk into your shop, then you’re missing out on a lot of potential revenue. Focus on turning those window-shoppers into paying customers. Track your conversion rate to see if your efforts are paying off.

You may not be regularly suggesting other products to your customers that they could use, but aren’t being shown.

More and more salespeople seem to think that customers only care about getting to and from their appointments as quickly and painlessly as possible.

That’s costing your company a lot of money.

Your employees are possibly creating an environment where your salespeople are more focused on selling on price than on value.

After all, with the unemployment rate remaining relatively high and experts predicting a rocky 6 to 12 months ahead, their perspective is easy to understand.

But that doesn’t excuse it.

When a customer only purchases one product from your business, they’re likely going to turn to your competitors for the rest. This means that you’re only receiving a portion of the business you could have gotten.

You’re missing out on a huge opportunity by only focusing on one channel.

In times of crisis, retailers need to focus on the customers that do enter their stores. Even if it’s only 20 or 50 customers, it’s still possible to meet your goals by upselling. This increases your revenue, and it’s a win-win situation for everyone.

Even during slow seasons, you can meet your goals. By selling more items, you increase your overall revenue.

How do you increase ticket average and increase sales?

The best way to increase sales in retail is with sales training that teaches you how to show customers the value of a product.

Your sales team needs to focus on how every single item can be sold based on its value and not necessarily on price. This will result in more up-sells or add-on sales and will reduce the need for markdowns.

8 Tips on How to Increase Sales

1. Build Rapport With Every Customer

Building rapport is one of the most important things you can do when working in retail.

Your customer service team is the face of your company. Make sure they’re properly trained in how to interact with your customers.

It means getting out from behind the desk and talking to customers.

Your employees need to be able to identify why customers are coming to your shop, what their needs are, and to be able to suggest products to meet those needs and satisfy those desires.

When building rapport, salespeople must connect with customers on a more personal level. By developing relationships with your customers, it will make them less likely to browse social media for a better deal while in your store.

When salespeople build relationships with their clients, it’s easier for both parties to look forward to seeing each other again. This makes it easier to suggest add-on products.

When salespeople are viewed as trusted advisors, they are more likely to suggest add-on products. This rapport-building tactic helps retain customers.

2. Treat Your Sales Process Like a Script

Your employees may be leaving your customers waiting on the retail floor for assistance for any number of reasons. Perhaps it’s from a lack of training, or it could be from a bad hire.

Your untrained employees are waiting for the customers to ask questions, or worse, are just waiting to get back to their smartphones.

Having a sales script ensures that everyone on your team is speaking the same language. This improves your odds of making a sale.

3. Optimize Your Retail Marketing Strategy

Those who aren’t passionate about marketing or don’t enjoy coming up with creative strategies to market a business often struggle to create effective social media content or come up with ideas for a retail business.

While social media can be a great way to promote your business, it’s not necessarily the best method when it comes to driving traffic to your retail store. Posting too much on social media can clog up your followers’ feeds, which doesn’t encourage them to visit your store.

When you know who your target audience is, you can craft social media posts that speak to their deepest concerns. By addressing their most pressing problems, you can hold their interest and encourage them to engage with you.

4. Value Selling Over Price

It’s tempting to just sell things for cheap, but value-based sales is a much better way to increase profits.

Markdowns or discounts are a common retail practice, but they’re not the best method for increasing profit. The cheapest options are rarely the best for customers.

By understanding the product, sales reps can better communicate its value to potential customers.

Once customers understand the differences in levels of quality, they will be more understanding of the price differences.

By educating your sales staff on the differences between each product, they can more confidently recommend products to hesitant shoppers. The “Feel, Felt, Found” method teaches them how to tell a story about a product’s value.

“I felt the same way about the cost of this product. I thought it was too expensive. That was until I found out that it was better quality, easier to operate, and faster than the other product.”

Once you’ve convinced the customer that your product is worth the price, it’s easier to then talk about other products or services that your company offers.

5. Embrace the Buyer’s Journey

If you want to maximize sales, you need to reach all stages of the buyers’ cycle. By neglecting the first two stages, you’re likely to miss out on a lot of potential business.

If you focus only on getting the sale, you may miss opportunities for discounts or upselling.

When you remember that the buying process consists of three stages, you can tailor your marketing to appeal to each stage, so you can reach a larger audience and increase your sales.

6. Suggestive Selling Can Boost Average Check

In-depth product knowledge is essential to any salesperson. However, it’s equally important to have an understanding of complementary items.

If you’re selling electronic products, then you know that even the most high-end 4K televisions only offer a limited quality of sound. That can segue into a discussion about surround sound or a soundbar.

A camera has many accessories that can turn a simple point-and-shoot into a professional-grade piece of equipment. Similarly, a dress needs the right shoes, jewelry, and makeup to look its best.

The customers are left feeling satisfied, and the salespeople can increase their ticket size by upselling.

Your salespeople need to see the full picture when it comes to their product lines to increase sales in retail effectively. This means understanding, not just the product features, but also how those features fit into the larger context of customer needs and desires. Only then can they truly sell the products you carry in your store.

Even if they don’t know exactly what the add-on does, they can still create extra value for their customers by upselling them on an additional item.

7. Sell The Most Compelling Features

Most consumers aren’t interested in facts, so when you list out a bunch of them, you’ll lose most customers’ attention.

What your shoppers care about is how your products can help them do more, be more, and enjoy life more.

When you focus on the benefits your product provides, you look at how it can help your customers upgrade their life or the life of someone they care about.

8. Share Your Story

My final tip for successful retail selling is to remember your why.

Retailers who lack authenticity are a dime a dozen. Millennial consumers in particular are tired of brands that don’t have any real personality.

A leader who can guide them toward a common goal.

A retailer who takes pride in the products or services they offer, or a store associate who truly believes in the brand they represent.

They want to know how you give back to the community and how your values align with theirs. When you train your staff to talk about their personal stories, it’s easier for customers to connect with you.

Ready to start using these retail sales tips?

In my travels as a retail sales trainer, I often hear that stores have stopped doing something that seems so obvious.

It doesn’t matter why.

When you’re just starting, it’s important to focus on every customer. Every sale is crucial in meeting your financial obligations. By providing excellent customer service, you’ll ensure that your business thrives.

You were always hiring people who were hungry for success and knew how to sell in retail.

People enjoy the thrill of making sales. Salespeople enjoy the challenge and thrill of convincing people to buy things.

You created such a positive atmosphere in your store that anyone who walked in could sense it.

Conclusion

If you’re looking for ways how to increase sales in retail, the tips in this article will help you get your retail career started or reignite your passion for sales. Then, it’s up to you and your employees.