In today’s retail environment where more retailers are relying on online sales than ever before they need to entice the consumer to visit their brick and mortar locations with sales. This has created an drop in overall sales as consumers are now programmed to wait to make a purchase as they know that the item will go on sale soon. There was a time in retail when a sale was special today it seems that sales are happening each day which drives business however when items are off sale they don’t move as the consumer has gotten so used to getting the sale price that the first words out of their mouth when they encounter a sales associate is can you do better on this price. I encounter this daily in my job as a retail sales associate as people will come to the register and ask can I get more off or I have more coupons can I use them? I say to them everything is programmed in the computer and if you are allowed to use other coupons it will show up then. The reason retail is going down is partly due to the over proliferation of sales and the reduction of profit margins.
In all my positions with retail stores over the years I have striven to deliver exceptional customer service as I have come to realize that all it takes is one bad encounter to ruin the 1000’s of good encounters. I have been a customer in places where I waited for what seemed forever for someone to come over and acknowledge me. I have also been an employee and witnessed other employees not engage with customers until they were approached. As an employee I will greet the customer make sure they are being helped and finding everything okay and if they aren’t being helped I will do my best to help the customer. I recently had a co-worker tell me don’t interact with customers outside our area as we don’t make any money on those sales. This co-worker has been with the company for awhile and I thought wow aren’t we taught to engage every customer. I generally greet the customer see if they are being helped if they aren’t I tell them I am from another department but I will do my best to help them and If I can not help them I will find someone that can. Unfortunately on some days it seems that the store is understaffed and as a result the customer service is lacking thus many customers may be leaving the store without making a purchase thus creating another reason for in-store retail sales going down.
In many cases the reason sales are down in-store is due to decisions that executives have made not realizing that what may work at one store may not work at another store in a different market. This biggest mistake some corporate executives make is trying to have a national program not realizing that many consumers in different areas fall into different buying patterns and various socioeconomic groups. In Florida for example what sells in Boca Raton may not sell or be appealing to the market in Plantation. Sometimes an executive makes a decision without thinking everything through and when the sales are down as a result they do their best to justify their decision. Recently a local large retailer who had an extensive selection of mattresses decided to take out many of the mattresses and put in furniture. As a result the sales in the department are down despite selling some furniture but not enough to justify taking away the large array of mattresses that they once had. Sometimes it is important for executives to listen to the sales associates who are dealing with the customers on a daily basis as what looks good on paper is not good when implemented and as a result your overall sales diminish. If you are going to be a leader in the retail market space you must have a pulse on what is happening on the local level. This can be hard if you are a large retailer with 450 stores to oversee however you must be aware that what works in Manhattan, Kansas may not work in Manhattan, New York. Many times it is important to empower and inspire those on the front lines who are in the local market place.
Another reason why your retail operation may be down is due to having too much of your capital tied up in inventory. I have observed many large retailers with excess inventory yet the buyers keep buying the products and sending the products to the stores where they sit in a store room for months. This is why inventory controls are so important. I recently had a co-worker tell me the computer may say there are 6 available but that may not be the case as the availability only updates once a week. I thought wow a big company that doesn’t do a perpetual inventory or a just in time system so that you can free up money to drive traffic and strengthen the brand. I then played this scenario, a customer calls and you check availability you say you have the item and when you check the physical inventory it isn’t there and the customer shows up anticipating that they are going to be able to pick up the product but can not because you don’t have it and they leave. Do you think they will talk positively or negatively about their experience with the store? Make sure you have the inventory for the customer but at the same time don’t have too much stock that your money is tied up in inventory. Have a tracking system and stock your stores accordingly.
Don’t let the sun go down on your retail business because you were not able to satisfy the consumer, control your inventory, deliver excellent customer service, take advice from those on the front lines daily, able to adapt to the local market place. The reason your sales are down can be attributed to many factors so take a deep look and what you are offering and create a reason for the consumer to do business with you.