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THE SILENT SALESPERSON Essential merchandising tactics to increase retail sales
I
t's not enough to have the products your patients want. To get the most out of your inventory, you have to display it in a way that
persuades shoppers to buy more.
The art of arranging your inventory is known as merchandising.
Merchandising creates opportunities to turn more inventory, and unlike discount promotions, it doesn't cut into your profit margins. ″The reality is that all that merchandise sitting on your floor is your money sitting there," Phibbs said. "You only make money if the
Whether patients are looking through the store window or
merchandise turns over. Otherwise, you're just filling up your store
browsing the aisles, you can make sure patients know how to find
and your merchandise isn't giving you a return on investment."
the staple pharmacy products they expect and introduce them to statement products they may not have considered.
″The main goal is to connect the customer to the products
and services you sell, and it has many touch points,″ said Nicole Leinbach Reyhle, founder of the retail publication Retail Minded and author of the book Retail 101: The Guide to Managing and Marketing Your Retail Business. "You want your inventory to be as strategically understood within your store environment by customers as it can be, and merchandising allows you to do that."
Bob Phibbs, retail expert and founder of the Retail Doctor, sees
merchandising as a ″silent salesperson″ in the pharmacy. ″It's how you scratch the itch of a casual customer,″ he said. ″If a customer is waiting for a prescription, merchandising can help them discover
STAPLES VS. STATEMENTS Nicole Leinbach Reyhle, founder of the retail publication Retail Minded, encourages retailers to think of their products in terms of staples and statements. Staples are your standards. "Milk is a staple item," said Reyhle. "But a statement item would be something more like oat milk or almond milk."
something they didn't even know they wanted.″ If someone comes in to buy conditioner but stops and looks at your carefully curated display, they might leave with more items in their basket than they came in for.
Merchandising comprises a wide range of strategies. You
Pair a staple with a statement to introduce your patients to products they may not have considered. If patients frequently come in for bandages, display them alongside a specialty wound care product.
might put impulse buys next to your cash register or place the most sought-after products in the back of the store to encourage customers to see the other items on the shelves. "Merchandising efforts don't fall directly under a specific sales category,″ Reyhle said. ″The goal is to optimize your sales through inventory.″
It’s super important to understand how the average consumer views your store versus how you see your store.
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