Do you want to increase your sales? Then know your audience. Psychology has been studying the buyer’s brain to understand what makes it tick. What scientists have discovered is that although people behave highly irrationally, their brains follow specific rules.
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Do you want to increase your sales? Then know your audience. Psychology has been studying the buyer’s brain to understand what makes it tick. What scientists have discovered is that although people behave highly irrationally, their brains follow specific rules.
Retailers can use this knowledge to design more effective strategies, to increase sales and customer satisfaction.
Here are 10 ways you can use the inner workings of the customer's brain to your advantage.
1. Don’t offer too many alternatives
Customers think they like choice – but too many options can be paralyzing. This is what scientists call the paradox of choice. We advise retailers to limit the flavors, color and brand options in the store. If you offer too many alternatives, you may end up selling less (and will be left with a lot of stock to turn).
2. Distract and confuse shoppers
When people get interrupted during shopping they lose focus and become less price-sensitive, studies show. To increase sales, distract shoppers in-store with vocal pop-up ads, digital signage, images, and by asking them “Can I help you?”. When people return to look at products after a distraction, they are more likely to buy and spend more. For the same reason, supermarkets and malls often have counter-intuitive store plans – they are specifically designed to confuse shoppers, as that supports sales.
3. Elicit emotions – best of all, nostalgia
Emotional messages are easier to remember and more effective than rational messages. However, not all emotions are created equal. Research shows that when people are feeling nostalgic, they value moneyless, and are therefore willing to pay more for products. Leverage on this by using pictures and music in-store that get to people’s guts: families, holidays, and retro music is oft-used ploys that always do the trick.
4. Personalize.
When a product is relevant to people, they pay more attention to it. This happens primarily when we hear our name (a magic word which activates various sections of our brain), but also when we hear something we are interested in – be it a sport we are interested in, our favorite band or the name of a country we have recently visited.
professional salesmen can use their observation talent to gain ideas about customers actions. And they don’t forget to use people’s names!
5. Copying your customer body language
When talking to customers, try copying their body language and words: you will increase the chances they will buy from you. That’s because we tend to feel a stronger affinity to people we perceive similar to us. The “mirroring effect” is a very effective sales trick.
6. Let customers touch the merchandise
Customers are willing to pay more for items if they can see and touch them. The sensory experience is so important that the longer people spend looking and holding products, the more they are willing to pay for them. This is great news for stores sales team – as long as they don’t stick to “Do not touch the merchandise” attitude.
7. Create the illusion of scarcity
People value things differently depending on how common or scarce they perceive them to be. The rarer a product, service or opportunity, the more valuable it appears. Research about “why we buy,” found that stores could increase the sales of products simply by adding the sentence “maximum 10 Pieces per customer”. Customers will buy more products even if it was priced the same as the day before. The feeling of scarcity —the FOMO “fear of missing out”— triggers in shoppers a survival instinct that makes them buy more, quickly.
8. Add an expensive item to sell middle-of-the-road ones
People tend to choose products that offer a good bargain. Most customers don’t want to go for the cheapest option, but they still want to feel like they are getting good quality for the money. You can leverage this attitude to increase sales of specific items, by adding an extremely expensive alternative in the same product category. Most buyers will go for the middle-of-the-road product because it will look affordable and a good bargain compared to the higher-priced one.
9. Use the right sounds and scents
Background music in-store can influence not only how much people spend, but also what they buy. Stores playing jazz or classical music are perceived as more sophisticated – and customers stepping in are open to spending more than people entering places playing pop, or rock music. The hearing is not the only sense that affects our spending habits: researchers found that smell led to a 25% increase in sales.
10. Put popular but inexpensive items by the entrance
Drive customers to make small impulse buys, and sell more by triggering what psychologists call the “shopping mindset”. Once people have made a purchase, no matter how small, they are more likely to buy more, psychology says. Leverage on this effect by placing low-price, popular products – like candy or newspapers – by the entrance of your store.
Once you know how your audience thinks, what makes them tick, you can adjust your strategy to become more effective. Make sure that you use the right approach for your industry and target market, and that you always combine these strategies with the most effective weapon of all – amazing customer service.
A retailer’s success is greatly dependent on selling the right products at the right price at the right time in the right place. Choosing products for your store is one thing, locating and finding the sources for your products is another thing and is among the most important. You should already know what sort of products or product lines you wish to purchase for your store, so your greatest task will be finding the suppliers that carry your specific type of wholesale merchandise.
A good way to get an idea of what type of wholesalers you should be looking for would be to visit a competitor’s store, someone who carries the same or similar type of merchandise that you wish to sell. Walk around and take some mental notes on the brands that you see and like. Look at what’s selling well and what’s not.
Most commonly, retail buyers find their merchandise by looking online, attending trade shows or buyer’s markets, using library sources, and even joining buying groups. One of the best ways to find what you are looking for without doing too much back and forth is to attend a trade show. If you attend trade shows that cater to your industry and market, it is almost guaranteed that you will find exactly what you are looking for.
There are so many trade shows for various industries, and you can find upwards of 500 suppliers or more at a single trade show! You can search online for the best trade shows to attend for your industry. Trade shows are for industry-only professionals, so you need to be able to show proof of identification and that you are a retailer. It will get easier and easier as you become more established and you will most likely develop good relationships with suppliers, and then when it comes to buying, you won’t have to deal with so many suppliers, just the ones that you are used to working with. And in most cases, once you are a well-established retailer, wholesale Merchandisers will be coming to you, instead of you to them.
Types of Suppliers
Distributors are sort of an “in-between” type of supplier, between the manufacturer and the wholesale buyer. Distributors usually purchase a certain type of product category or several types of product categories from the manufacturer and then resells it to retail buyers. The drawback of distributors is that they have to also make a profit, so they tend to be a little more expensive than if you were to buy directly from the manufacturer,
Manufacturers often sell their products directly to the retail buyer at wholesale prices. The problem with buying from manufacturers is that it is quite common that the minimum orders are extremely high. If you are interested in a certain manufacturer’s product line, ask if they sell directly to retailers. If they don’t, ask what distributors they sell to so that you may be in contact with them.
Importers are more common now than they have ever been before. The global market is expanding rapidly and it is so easy to purchase products from an importer, or even directly from the foreign country. But before you commit to an importer for your products, do the appropriate research. You need to understand all of the aspects of importing, including all of the necessary paperwork, the lead time for shipping, and any and all other costs associated with importing.
Auctions are also good places for retailers to find some good bargains. eBay is a very common auction website, and in fact is the world’s largest. You can find tons of merchandise for your store when searching for auction websites (eBay is a better choice).
Liquidators and other wholesalers are another options. These types of places often sell wholesale merchandise by the truckload and often sell several types of merchandise in several different categories. The goods that these types of suppliers sell are even sometimes damaged, and they are just trying to get rid of them. If this is your chosen route, make sure that you understand all of the costs associated with purchasing from them, the conditions, terms of sale and the price.
When Choosing a Vendor…
Make sure to evaluate the vendors and fashion brands that you choose. Evaluate them on a variety of factors; this can help to ensure that the best merchandise will be sold to your customers in your store. You need to buy quality products from reliable vendors that are committed to great customer service. You do not want to deal with a vendor who is rude and nasty over the phone; their products are probably not worth it. Check references and other marketing materials to find out about the vendor, or you can ask the sales rep how the vendor conducts business. Before “leaving paper” ask vendors if they sell to nearby retailers, if so, you have a decision to make, especially if you operate an indie store in a small town. Either buy different styles than the retailer “down the street” or hold off from ordering. Your merchandise mix is your distinction.
Here are some things that you should consider when selecting a vendor:
There is no doubt that it will take time to find the right fashion brands for an exciting merchandise mix in your store. Don’t settle for a vendor because you feel that you cannot find anything else. That is not true. There are so many vendors out there that throughout your entire retailing business career, you will probably never even see half of them. You just have to keep your eyes open and you will, of course, pick up some new things as you go along. The overall goal is to be able to find the best merchandise to sell in your store, brands, and products that will distinguish your business as a must-shop destination.
Janatex blogs is a world of inspiration. We give you weekly updates on fashion, trends, beauty and pop culture. Celebrity interviews, videos, and the latest trend reports.
Janatex blogs is a world of inspiration. We give you weekly updates on fashion, trends, beauty and pop culture. Celebrity interviews, videos, and the latest trend reports.