It’s no exaggeration to say that in recent years, the physical retail sector, i.e., bricks-and-mortar stores, has experienced a somewhat tumultuous time. However, with core retail sales showing steady growth, the retail sector is not just stable but also showing potential for significant growth. For those retail outlets that are still profitable and pushing for growth, it’s worth looking for ways to build on their foundations and take advantage of changes and customer demands.
It’s worth noting that despite the prevalence of e-commerce and its boom and popularity, many retailers now realize that customers still value a physical store. The allure of buying something online from the comfort of their own homes isn’t as appealing as it once was for many people.
This is a reassuring sign for physical retailers, as it indicates that the demand for their presence is still strong, and they can take advantage of shifts and market trends.
This post will look at some more obvious mistakes that many retailers make, which limit their growth and impact sales.
Not diversifying payment options.
One serious mistake that many retailers make is relying on cash payments only. More and more customers, especially younger generations, are switching to digital payments, and younger generations especially have less cash on them than previous generations once did.
This means retailers need to jump on board the trend towards more digital transactions and ensure that they have the correct point of sale setup to accept credit card payments as well as cash payments.
Because if a customer doesn’t have any cash on them, it’s doubtful that they will leave your store to withdraw some money from an ATM and come back and complete the transaction, so retailers need to allow them to pay digitally and secure the sale.
Ignoring data and trends
You might think that there isn’t much in the way of data you can obtain from customers in your shop, but that is far from the truth.
Tools like this POS system for retailers can help you track payment trends. It can collaborate with both online and in-person payments and behaviors, i.e., abandoned carts. It can unlock the average transaction values of your most commonly sold products, pinpoint your busier and quieter times, and track how many people take advantage of the office and discounts that you might have running. Being able to understand how behaviors impact sales and how what you do impacts customers’ behaviors, you can tweak things and make small changes for a massively beneficial result.
Poor customer service
No one likes poor customer service or inappropriate retailer behavior, and a retailer can fail its customers in many different ways.
Poor customer service looks like ineffective inventory, ie, not having the correct stock levels for the right products at the right time. It looks like long wait times, unhelpful staff, and a lack of personalized attention to everyone coming through your door. You need to focus on improving the customer service to meet the people coming through your doors, which can help you make people feel better and more comfortable in-store, encourage them to make a purchase, and keep them coming back time and time again.