The importance of cross-merchandising
Retailers always need to be looking for innovative ways to get feet in store, keep them coming back and purchasing! Cross-merchandising is a way that helps retailers get the most out of customer traffic in store. Consumers also benefit from the suggestion of additional, complementary items. Positive shopping experiences are sure to help attract customers, create customer loyalty, and increase sales.
What is cross-merchandising?
Cross merchandising is a straightforward process. It is when you place complementary items together to encourage customers to purchase all of them. Usually, you place more obscure add-on items near a popular item that customers purchase frequently. It is important not to overdo cross merchandising or your store will become cluttered and difficult to navigate. Instead, focus on small displays of cross-merchandising in areas that increase impact - like end caps or high-traffic parts of your store.
Draw in customers and increase customer loyalty
Most people are busy and will appreciate any effort to help cut down on their shopping time. If a customer is planning on picking up a bottle of wine and a bottle opener - which is typically on opposite sides of a store - and they see a display strip of bottle openers right in the wine aisle, they’re going to be happy. They will feel that you are going the extra mile to add convenience to their shopping experience.
Increase impulse purchases
Using the example of the wine and opener, we can see how cross-merchandising can increase sales - if a customer is just going to the store to buy wine and see the openers on a display strip, they might realise that their opener is quite old and not have a dual purpose for opening the wine as well as a non-turn off bottle cap. This customer may not have purchased the opener had they not seen it hanging there.
You are providing a solution to a problem the customer may not have even realised they had.
Improve your marketing strategy
Branding and marketing are extremely important for any business and of course the goals of these programs are to increase sales and customer satisfaction. Simply taking a little bit of time to figure out what items in your store are purchased together and creating a display will help you in reaching both of those goals with minimal investment.
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Article Credit: Pyrotech