Thinking of going into retail? Firstly, you have to understand that a retail business is customer-driven. You have to give shoppers what they want if you want them to NOT ONLY BROWSE BUT BUY. Segment and Target Your Market. When you take the time to gain an understanding of your customers, you will make more money while spending less on advertising, promotions and products. Do an analysis of the people who live in the community where your retail business is located and segment them, or the people in your cirle whom you target as your clients. For instance, you might divide them into young professionals aged 20 to 30, senior citizens over 65, or middle-class families with more than two children. Choose the segment (or segments) that will be most interested in your retail products and focus on those folks when it comes to your decisions on products, advertising, and pricing strategies. You MUST categorize all your product offerings so it would NOT look like a sari-sari store. Think of your items as having your brand or your site. Then visualize how your site/brand should look like so that it will take in a personality where your clients can connect, take interest & most importantly purchase your products. Stay Informed about Retail Buying Trends. Buying trends for retail products tend to change with the season or year (because needs change with the season), and even more frequently than that for certain types of items (like very fashionable clothing). Place older items on clearance when new items arrive, and take note of the items that did not sell well so you can avoid buying them again. It is also important to take a look at how you manage the back operations of your retail business. Create a listing of your sales such as those that really sell & those that did not, how many pieces you’ve sold with what color or sizes. Because you will see a pattern from these data and from there you’ll be able to make more rational judgement in buying your products. (DO NOT BE LAZY in documenting, even if your business is still really small). :)
Posted on: Sat, 22 Mar 2014 23:44:55 +0000