What is Retail Merchandising and How to Boost Sales

Learn how retailers can use effective strategies for boosting their sales through retail merchandising. Understand how store design and accessories play an important role in increasing sales.

What is Retail Merchandising and How to Boost Sales

Retail merchandising is the combination of strategies and activities that a company adopts to encourage customers to purchase items at a retail store. This can include all promotion and marketing activities, from the initial planning stage to the execution stage. Large stores often hire retailers to create these plans, while smaller stores may have the store manager or owner take on or share these tasks. Retail merchandising also involves organizing merchandise in stores. Store design and accessories, such as shelves, racks, and tables, are all components of retail merchandising.

This process is used to make retail sales, with retailers paying close attention to the types of products offered for sale, how best to present them to consumers, and what is a reasonable retail price for each unit sold. The Internet has allowed these same principles to be applied in a virtual environment. Visual merchandising is a core element of retail merchandising, and cross-marketing in retail helps build customer loyalty and increase sales. Whether you're a store owner, retailer, or manager, learning more about retail merchandising could help you improve your store's sales. Outsourcing retail merchandising to a marketing professional or company may prevent you from having to deal with this fundamental element of a retail business. Retail purchase involves determining what products will be sold at the retail establishment, negotiating the unit price the manufacturer will charge, and organizing the delivery of those goods.

Retailers in all industries need to think about how to boost retail sales when shoppers are in stores, applying best practices around retail merchandising. Depending on the retailer, merchandise budgets can be rigid or flexible and are determined by the retail category, business history and sales forecasts. If you're looking to truly master the retail merchandising program, there are several degree programs you can go to to deepen your knowledge, critical thinking, and skills. Depending on the number of units the retailer can purchase at any given time, it can be relatively easy to obtain a discounted unit price, making it easier for the retailer to be competitive in the local market. The first important step in retail merchandising is to establish working relationships with manufacturers who will provide the goods or services that the retailer ultimately sells. The seasonal card sections are changed for each holiday and this is the most difficult aspect of the retailer's job due to the removal of old stock and the publication of new ones with new signs, etc. Retailers must think about omnichannel, providing customers with first-rate digital experiences and communication through tools such as enterprise VoIP systems, in addition to focusing on improving the customer experience in retail stores.

To implement a solid retail merchandising plan, you must have someone who understands the science of what colors are trending, what trends they can be related to, the cause and effect of fast-moving or dead products, as well as someone who has the creativity necessary to create an emotional experience when shopping at your physical store. Merchandising is the presentation and promotion of products that are available for purchase for both wholesale and retail sale. It is this difference between the wholesale price and the retail price that allows the retailer to make a profit and stay in business.

Emmett Heyduck
Emmett Heyduck

Evil food scholar. Certified food trailblazer. Infuriatingly humble zombie guru. Passionate music fan. Wannabe web aficionado.

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