There are only two ways to make more money in a retail store. You either have to reduce your expenses or increase your sales. Most retail businesses have been in cost cutting mode for the past few years and have already reduced their expenses as much as they can. That leaves one option. Increase your sales.
The following is a list of ways to increase your average ticket.
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Package/Bundle Pricing
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In this discount driven economy your customers are constantly looking for deals. You can package or bundle items to increase your average ticket. Be aware of the amount of margin degradation that you employ with these packages, and realize that the goal is to increase your sales not your margin. Here are some examples of what I mean:
- In hardware stores contractors tend to buy things in larger quantities than your regular customer base so you will likely already have some bulk pricing worked out for those folks. Why not offer that bulk pricing to your day to day customers. Make sure you sign the product so the customers see that they are getting a deal for buying more at one time. This can be anything from BOGOs to case discounts.
- Another way to increase ticket is by bundling items that are logical to purchase together. Package a gallon of paint with a brush, tray and some drop cloths for a single price.
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Optimize Your Pricing
- Make sure you are getting the right price for your products. Sometimes I find that retailers are not getting market value for some of the blind items, or items that customers don’t automatically know what the price should be. Take some time to look at what your competitors are charging for their products. It is important that you understand where your price strategy falls in comparison to your competition. You don’t want to be overpriced, as that will churn off your customer base quickly. You also don’t want to be underpriced, as you will just be leaving monies on the table with every sale.
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Ring Your Own Bell
- Make sure that you have signage to communicate pricing on items where your pricing is better than your competition. You could have labels made that can be attached to your bin labels or sign holders that identify those items with the words “Compare and Save” or “Everyday Low Pricing” or “Shop Here and Save” or “Unbeatable Price”.
- Also, ensure that you are properly organizing and signing your sale and clearance merchandise. Those are great ticket builders.
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Have a Contest
- Having a sales contest is a great way to build your average ticket. There are many ways to do this, the most important thing to keep in mind is that the contest needs to be perceived as fair or your employees will disengage. My favorite way to build a sales contest for average ticket growth is to track the average ticket as a store, highlight some really great add-ons (with great margins!) that your staff can push during the contest. If the store achieves the average ticket growth goal you set you can reward your staff with a nice catered lunch or dinner on a busy weekend. This alleviates the need to track individual progress and also alleviates any inequity that is felt if you reward individuals.
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Impulse
- Make sure you have the right impulse items displayed with good signage. Impulse can be a huge average ticket and margin booster if it is handled correctly. Try not to clutter your cash wrap area with too many items. Candy and snacks are great ticket builders and those items are good margin items as well.
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Train your Sales People
- There is certainly something to be said for a well trained salesperson. Make sure you are training your folks on product knowledge as well as on selling technique. Most of our front line sales people are younger folks who have likely never been taught how to have a great sales interaction. These folks need to learn how to properly position questions to the customer to get at their needs. They will also need to learn how to identify the right add-on items for each individual sale.
This is certainly not an all inclusive list; however it will get you started. As always, I am here to help! Happy Selling!
Engaging Retail 