1. Distinguish immediate deadlines that must be met to ensure a functioning retail space. This includes getting electricity, internet, cable, gas and so forth all set up as well as tracking when product shipments are schedule to arrive (assuming orders have been placed). If you can, set up online paying so that fixed bills are paid on time and without hassle so that can spend your time focusing on more important retail issues.
2. Define a designated inventory area. Whether this is behind the scenes in a backroom or within storage space of floor displays, make sure you have an organized inventory plan so that you can put things away as you go. Think about how your customers may shop when doing this so that if you need to pull extra sizes or extra inventory you can easily do this while still monitoring your retail space.
3. Decide on where the largest fixtures and displays will be. Your cash wrap is a focal point, so this may be the first thing you should decide on. Consider where you will be when customers aren’t in the store, such as at your computer, and make sure you can see the front door if possible at all times. This is both safe and allows for you to greet your customers with a friendly, prompt hello.
4. Determine what your merchandising strategy will be. Make sure to focus on product and price points when planning this, allowing for featured items to be easily seen by customers while also considering what products will be first viewed by potential consumers. Depending on your store, price points will matter (particularly in this economy) so balancing the front of your store with a variety of price points may attract more customers.
5. Decorate as you go with both style and purpose. Need a dressing room? Make it roomy yet cozy while adding some extra touches to help bring style to this necessary space. Want to offer a lounge area for guests of customers to relax? Great idea, just make sure it’s not out of place with your overall store layout. Need some mirrors? Must retail stores do, so think about where they will make sense for your customers to use them.

This is an exciting time and what you do now will help shape the overall foundation of your retail success. Remember to be flexible with your plans and accept changes as you go. Your customers will help make your store what it will become, so embrace this! And of course, enjoy!

Written by Nicole Leinbach Reyhle, this article was first published on www.Nolcha.com.

Pop Up What?

Plain and simple, a pop-up shop is a temporary store. Typically, a pop-up shop is located in vacant, landlord owned storefronts that are rented on a short term basis, though a pop-up shop can open practically anywhere. Many pop-up shops open for long, 3 day weekends while some open as long as six months. But on average, a pop-up shop opens and closes within just a couple weeks. While this may seem like a short amount of time for a lot of effort, the pop-up shop expectations are not equal to a typical store. Merchandising, fixtures and other expected store features are set up on a temporary basis, therefore less is necessary as well as less is expected from customers. Don’t let this fool you, though. Pop-ups can still look great, particularly with good budget planning.

Are They For You?

There are a variety of reasons pop-up shops have been successful. Some top reasons why pop-ups work well are listed below.

1. To gain attention for your business. Between the media interest and the interest of everyday consumers passing by your pop-up, you are almost certain to gain new customers.This combined with proper PR planning and marketing offer a great avenue for new exposure.

2. To get rid of excess inventory. Online companies often want to clean house without dealing with a massive online sale. A pop-up can be a great alternative for them. Likewise, companies looking to simply get rid of inventory – whether new or old – can use pop-ups to effectively reach a consumer audience in an exciting outlet. Some smaller companies have even shared a pop-up shop to offer more to customers while reducing overall overhead for them.

3. To test new markets. Often businesses are successful in one area and naturally, want to expand to another. Pop-ups allow for business owners to determine if an area is right for them before investing deeply in real estate contracts, overhead and much more.

4. To try a new business idea. Some pop-ups are used simply to test the waters. Whether offering a product or a service, a pop-up can allow you to gain customer feedback and really determine if your idea will be successful year round.

5. To make money and to save money. Money is always an issue. While it will cost money to open a pop-up, it could save you money long term. Traditional expenses include insurance, rent, merchandising fixtures, inventory, and staffing.

Retail is an ever evolving, ever changing industry. A pop-up shop is a perfect, modern example of this. Is it right for you? Want to learn more? The links and companies below can help you in identifying if a pop-up shop should be part of your business plan.

Pop Up Insider – www.popupinsider.com – Temporary Real Estate Source

Go Vacant – www.govacant.com – Pop-Up Shop Strategy

Business Insider – http://www.businessinsider.com/17-most-creative-pop-up-stores – Examples of Creative Pop Up Stores

To combat this issue, a new set of experts are popping up around the country to assist in filling the vacancies by courting small business owners, explaining why their downtown is a good fit and setting them up with an ideal retail location. Business alliances that represent the interests of property owners and retailers are hiring retail recruiters to act as “matchmakers” for local commercial property owners, brokers and potential retail tenants. Downtown districts are recognizing that by hiring retail recruiters, they’re actually jumpstarting the local economy through proactive recruiting methods.

One such program is located in Downtown Highland Park, Illinois, a northern suburb of Chicago. The Downtown Highland Park Alliance hired Angela Shaffer as their retail recruiter in June 2010 to proactively address vacancy rates and bring in new retailers that add to the interesting, attractive mix of tenants. Her job is to seek out potential new merchants and act as a “cheerleader” for the community. In addition to showing business owners the vacant locations that would be a good fit for their businesses, she showcases several reasons why they should locate in Downtown Highland Park above other communities.

Within one year, Angela has made in-store visits to approximately 400 businesses in 25 communities in Illinois. She has assisted in placing four businesses with leases in Downtown Highland Park, and has one in negotiations at the moment. There are 15 active prospects considering specific locations in the downtown area, some who have already been in touch with the respective property owner. To date, she has made over 200 specific property referrals. Two businesses Angela has helped place in Downtown Highland Park are opening in the spring: Sweet Bites, a cupcakery, and ArrivaDolce Gelato and Coffee Bar.

In general, though the economy is tough for retailers, Downtown Highland Park is still seeing a flurry of activity. In March alone, Angela conducted four tours, one resulting in a lease negotiation. There is great momentum happening in town. The east side is booming, the west side has new businesses preparing to open, and she expects to see some great activity in the months to come. It’s exciting!

“I have an entrepreneurial background, so I understand the needs that business owners have when searching for a retail location,” says Shaffer. “Our retail recruiting program is an advantage to Downtown Highland Park—we’re finding that we’re able to reach more prospective merchants and introduce them to our community. Plus, we’re offering a benefit to these business owners, because we are an unbiased source in terms of property location—we show potential tenants all of the vacant spaces that meet their criteria in our downtown district and help them understand the market. We want them to succeed in the long run in our downtown, so we’re going to work our hardest on their behalf.”

One of the best advantages to business owners is that retail recruiters are generally staffed through their downtown business alliance, so this is a service they receive free of charge.

Retail recruiting programs such as the one in Downtown Highland Park are becoming a nationwide trend to proactively offset the negative effect the economic downturn had on downtown districts. Retail recruiters are certainly a growing trend nationally. One consultancy noted that they have created 17 retail recruiter programs across the country in large and mid-size cities, including new programs in Detroit and Seattle. This is good news for business owners seeking a new location as well as any stakeholders concerned about vacancy rates—retail recruiters are creating a win-win situation for everyone!

Angela’s advice to business owners seeking a retail location in a downtown district is to contact their business alliance and find out if a retail recruiter is available to assist them. They will conduct plenty of research on behalf of business owners, filling them in on the benefits of setting up shop in the community and helping them determine a location that is the best fit for their business needs. Best of all, they’re providing a resource at no cost.

By addressing vacancy rates, empowering small business owners and encouraging shopping locally, Angela and the Downtown Highland Park Alliance believe retail recruiters are a necessity to help today’s downtown districts thrive.

Contributed by Bridget Kagan, who is the Marketing Coordinator for the Downtown Highland Park Central Business District Alliance in Illinois. For more information on the Downtown Highland Park Alliance, visit www.downtownhp.com.

1. Make use of both vertical and horizontal space. Do not ignore the opportunities to display items below or above eye level. If your customers can see it, it’s still worth utilizing in displays. Just make sure you can reach the items you are displaying easily – even with some aide – if you have products displayed that are out of reach for the consumer to grab themselves.

2. Layer your displays with texture, add on accessories and other contrasts to create more interest. By offering more in your display, you will draw more attention to that particular area. Don’t mistake this merchandising method for cluttering up a space, though. You still want your display to look visually appealing.

3. Utilize effective lighting to highlight your small space. Too many retailers ignore this crucial element. Don’t overlook this step and instead, maximize it. The right lighting can highlight your small space and displayed items, drawing attention to this possibly overlooked area otherwise.

4. Use color and excitement. Whatever excitement may mean to your store, challenge yourself to use it in small spaces. Enhance this with color. Combined, this will draw interest to your small space and customers will be visually drawn to it, as well.

5. Focus on a theme, collection or focal point. Concentrating on one dedicated product or general assortment of products can make your small space appear cohesive and meant to be. Try and use the space in a dedicated fashion towards one purpose to give your customers a better understanding of this space.

Finally, make sure to re-merchandise your small space often in an effort to bring new interest to it while also giving the items there new life in another space in your store. Remember that the key to all merchandising is to do it routinely for it to impact sales effectively, so don’t just get your small spaces done and settle in for too long. Repeat your actions with new products and new displays often for the best results.

The best time to add on additional skus to the purchase is when both you and your customer are physically at the point of check out. Your cash wrap station is an ideal spot to merchandise products that customers can easily add on to the products they have already decided they want. The key to making this happen is simply making your products affordable, small and appealing to a broad audience.

Point 1 – Make Your Check Out Items Affordable

Depending on your store, “affordable” will mean a few different things based on your overall assortment. From a general perspective, though, items merchandised at the point of check out should be obtainable to the majority of your customers. Keeping items less than $10 is best, and when possible, just a couple dollars or less is ideal. Again, depending on your business, the details will matter here. But items as simple as a cute set of magnets, a paif of cheap earrings, stationary, travel size shampoo and more are all ideas on what types of products should be included in your check out assortment. Even a pack of gum adds up in sales if every customer of every day buys one, so don’t dismiss what even a dollar can add to your overall sales.

Point 2 – Make Your Items Small In Size

Size shouldn’t matter, but it does when it comes to add on sales. Customers want to believe they aren’t “really” spending much more by throwing an extra something into their assortment of products to buy. But if that extra something is larger in size, it will stand out among the rest. If it blends in or disappears, it doesn’t phase them as much. These items can range from candy to hair accessories to note-cards or hand sanitizer. Whatever the extra something is, make it  easy to grab for your customers so they can just toss it onto their pile of goods to buy. It’s amazing how easy it will blend in, all while you end up getting a few extra dollars in your cash register.

Point 3 – Make Your Items Appeal To A Broad Audience

Whether you have guys or gals shopping in your store, you want to make sure all of your consumers can respond to the product assortment displayed at your point of check out. It’s important that there is something for everyone offered, even if it means brainstorming just a little longer on what that something may be. If you do have a broad audience of a consumers versus a more narrowed target market, allow space to accommodate everyone instead of missing add on sale opportunities.

Making sure that you display these products in a clean, concise yet appealing fashion at your point of check out is also essential. In addition, you want to encourage your sales team and those ringing up transactions to verbally recognize your point of sale products so that customers are reminded of them once again – not just visually on their own. Finally, set goals for your store and each team member to help drive  add on sales through your point of sale check out procedures. This extra push can help increase the momentum and value of this opportunity.

One dollar on each sale made can add up, so don’t overlook this important chance to make more money for your retail business!

Low Budget, High Function

A great way to shop for store fixtures is to consider buying used fixtures. Often you can find this from local retailers who are re-merchandising or closing their store and selling old fixtures, as well as by attending flea markets, salvation army stores, antique stores and other outlets that provide a variety of furniture pieces that may be suitable for your retail decor needs. Be creative and try and look beyond how the fixtures or furniture are currently being used so that you can see how they may be used for your specific needs. If you aren’t afraid of a little dirty work, sometimes it just takes some cleaning and a paint job to make things look new again – perfect for saving money while still bringing style to your retail dreams.

If doing some creative shopping isn’t your thing, there are companies that specialize in selling used or “like new” fixtures that may suit your needs. They include the following:

http://www.storefixturesupercenter.com/usedProducts.asp

http://www.storefixtureliquidator.com/

http://www.americanhanger.com/

Trusting  An Expert

While it’s great to reuse, recycle and bring new life to old fixtures and furniture, it’s very likely you will need a few – if not a lot – of new fixtures or furniture for your retail store. Retail Minded recommends Store Supply Warehouse for your retail decor needs, specific to clothing racks, display fixtures, grid systems, shelves and much more!

Offering all the products you need to furnish and merchandise your store, Store Supply Warehouse is a a no fuss, online retail supply store site that offers everything from apparel racks to pricing guns to mannequins and  more. With no minimum orders necessary and real people (versus the very annoying automated systems) answering your calls, you can trust that Store Supply Warehouse is there to support you with your unique retail needs. Their website is easy to navigate and while it may not “wow” you in style, their products can add that “wow” to your store that you are looking for. Let their customer service team help you along the way if you need assistance, plus you can trust your order will be placed immediately – all inventory is in stock and ready to ship for your retail needs. Don’t forget about your dressing room needs, cash wrap displays, wall systems and all the other necessities in pulling your store together for a completed retail look. Learn more by visiting www.storesupply.com.

Need To Sell Your Old Goods?

If you are looking to sell fixtures along the way, consider contacting National Retail Equipment Liquidators. They may be interested in purchasing some of your old goods depending on the quantity and quality. Learn more by visiting  http://www.nrel.com/nrel-sell-your-fixtures.html.

Pulling It All Together

Buying used, recycled or brand new, the overall effect of your retail store should compliment your product and store image. Be creative to make sure you stand out not only in function, but in style. Every detail matters here. Shopping for accessories for your store, such as wall hangings, mirrors, throw rugs, lighting and more, don’t have to be done at traditional store outlets but can be completed at any of your favorite shopping destinations. Bringing all these details together is the goal – just make sure you are supporting your customers in the design and function along the way!

1. Keep it simple. You don’t have to be extravagant in your merchandising techniques for your product to stand out. The key is to merchandise your product without cluttering your space, therefore allowing your product to be visible and easy to shop. In addition, your merchandising strategies should stimulate the eye so that customers are enticed by what you are offering.

2. Avoid tight spaces.Whether you have shelves, cabinet space, racks or hang-bars, make sure your product is not so crammed that customers hesitate to touch and ultimately pick up / try on something. Giving them comfortable access to the product allows for them to be more comfortable shopping in your store. If they think a frame will fall over while trying to reach for a different product displayed behind it, they may not reach for it and therefore may not buy it.

3. Encourage touch. Customers respond to many reasons that ultimately make them want to buy something. Touching something and then enjoying that something is among the top reasons impulse buys are made. Selling items that aren’t a need? This is especially important since your customers may not need anything in your store – they have to want it. Make them want it more with signage that encourages to try something on, test a product out or offer a way in which they can experience the item for sale. Making it accessible for them to touch – eye level – also helps. If your clothes or accessories, make sure to have many accessible mirrors, as well.

4. Move it around. Merchandising may not be your thing, but don’t let that keep you from re-merchandising your store often. Weekly, bi-weekly or monthly rotations are common practices for stores to follow. Depending on the product, your store and your customer should determine what your merchandising rotation should be, however in general you should re-merchandise display windows and displays areas weekly or bi-weekly, prime real estate (front of store, great visible and accessible areas, etc.) weekly and everything else every two weeks or so.

5. Staples are okay. Have something that your customers come to you for often and you want to make a permanent home for these items? That’s okay. Use the space around it to introduce new / other items to these customers.

Remember, you are not a big box retailer. The strategies you see in these types of stores may not work for you, such as leaving a main window display the same for one month. You are a smaller store with different responsibilities as a result. Lean on neighborhood chambers, local support and store friends to see what works for them and how their merchandising ideas may help your store. Finally, don’t be afraid to try news ways to merchandise your store that you may not be familiar with or have used in the past. You may find these changes help enhance not only your store, but your sales.

1. Keep the costs minimal.Adding items that are low in price points, such as candy, lip balm, apparel tape or whatever items that may be relavent for your store, offers customers the opportunity to add more to their purchase without feeling like they need to make a big decision about it. The idea is to keep the price points low and the decisions to buy these items simple and easy.

2. Add some fun to your assortment. Introducing unique, fun or unexpected items at your cash wrap is a great way to create conversation with your customers. Are you a pet store? Why not sell humans a treat? Gum, candy, whatever. Sell toys for kids? Why not introduce books on surviving parenthood or something light hearted but witty for parents to relate to.

3. Sell the obvious. In addition to adding some new and unexpected items to your cash wrap assortment, make sure to include the obvious. If you sell things that need batteries, make sure you have batteries clear and accessible for purchase when your customers go to check out. Are you a book store? Sell book marks. You get the idea.

4. Leave room for comfort.Don’t clutter your cash wrap so much that the point of a cash wrap – which is checking out a customer, closing a sale and packaging the purchase - is not considered. You want your customer to have room to comfortably pull out their wallet from their purse or pocket, sort through additional bags they may have on hand and easily sign a sales receipt without their elbows hitting a wall or display. In addition, the products you do choose to sell on the cash wrap should be merchandised consistently with the same style you have throughout your store.

Each store is different and each cash wrap the same. Make sure you are utilizing your space to  the best that you can to enhance your consumer experience while also increasing your sales.

1. Helps define overall store image

2. Highlights products and helps make them visible

3. Encourages purchases by visual enhancement

4. Helps lead customers into store

5. Allows for more enjoyable shopping experiences

There is no single store lighting formula that you can follow as a retailer to ensure you are using your lighting correctly, but the points above allow you to think about the lighting decisions you have made or need to make. There are, of course, a few more things to consider.

Accent Lighting

Accent lighting should be used according to your overall store assortment. If your store sells higher-end luxury items, it is ideal for you to use accent lighting to showcase these  items. More basic stores that sell a variety of products with less luxury items should use accent items to showcase sale items, new items or items that you believe need to be called out with special attention. The goal of accent lighting is to call attention to a few products versus everything in the store. Use only as necessary yet enough to make an impact on the products you believe deserve this attention.

High Activity Lighting

Have a store that gets a ton of traffic and sells a ton of different stuff? Using light to bring attention to areas versus one specific product should be considered. Think about a back corner that may not get the right lighting with simple overhead fixtures but deserves just as much attention as the rest of your store. Stage your lighting to focus on these entire areas. Don’t forget about tall shelves, back corners, entire display fixtures and all other areas that matter here.

Ambient Lighting

Ambient lighting refers to your overall store lighting, allowing for customers to get a general store overview through the lighting used in your store. An example of this would be one prominent light fixture hanging in the center of the store, such as a large chandelier. This lighting makes the largest overall impact, so make sure it doesn’t change the color of your product or make the store appear offset in store layout.

Case & Shelve Lighting

Have you ever shopped somewhere and had to struggle to see inside a case to view a product? This is what you want to avoid in your own store. All products should be visible, so consider using shelve and case lighting as necessary. Make sure that you do not have this lighting exposed in a place that customers may lean against it or tough it accidently, as it can get very hot.

Finally, whatever lighting plans you decide on for your store, make sure to change them as your merchandise and floor plan changes. The impact lighting will have on your store is as important as all the other steps it takes to run a successful retail business, so please make sure to review and review again these details as necessary.

Think of your local grocery store as an example here. When you are waiting in line, what do you generally do (beside trying to keep your kids in the cart, unload your groceries  or look for coupons)? For the most part, you look at the magazines, candy, and other little goodies that can be so tempting for an impulse purchase. Now maybe you hate that you grab an US Weekly every now and then (at least I hate that I do this), but the point is that you grabbed it and guess what? US Weekly, the company, is happy! They just made yet another sale. And so can you if you merchandise accordingly near your point of purchase area.

The idea when merchandising near your cash wrap is to encourage customers to buy something they weren’t planning to. This means that the retail value of this product should be low, ideally under a couple dollars and no more than ten dollars for most stores. Of course, there are exceptions here. If your product assortment is of higher retail value, than your point of purchase products can be higher than ten dollars, but they should be among the lowest price points in your entire store. Another thought – make sure that the products are small so that they don’t take up too much space in your cash wrap area. Finally, don’t clutter this space with so much stuff that your customers have no room to put their purse down, sign a receipt, and most importantly, lay their items for purchase down for you to ring up!

In review, consider these three points when merchandising your display area:

1. Merchandise a variety of products that will be tempting for your customers to buy last minute and on impulse. Examples include jewelry, lip balm, greeting cards, accessories and candy. Of course, this all depends on your overall store assortment!

2. Make sure price points of products merchandised on or near your cash wrap display are inexpensive. This will give your customer the quick thought of “yes I’ll get this” versus “too expensive – I don’t need it”. We all like a little extra something, so suggesting these products to your customer as they are standing in front of you about to check out is always a good idea. Just don’t be too pushy! No one likes that.

3. Don’t clutter your space so much that customers aren’t comfortable when they are preparing for check out. It’s no fun to have to sign a receipt with the paper half off the counter because there is no room. Give your customers space.

Finally, be creative. Each store has their own space, their own product, and their own approach towards display. Embrace all of this when deciding on how to merchandise your cash wrap the best way possible for your store.