Retail sales are down again. People are pulling back on their purchases. Instead of sales rising .3 percent, they fell by .3 percent. So much for predictions.
The only venues with brisk sales are the Costco’s and the Wal-Marts. Stands to reason since people are bargain hunting and these are the places where you find the bargains. The mid-sized stores and department stores are hurting, and while the smaller venues and boutiques also feel the pain, I would think there is a better prognosis for their sales figures.
Why? Because people are preferring either to shop at the big box stores or to make their selections at the more intimate shops. The intimate shops offer ambiance and selection, attention to detail, while the mid-size and department stores offer you pricing higher than the big box stores with no service. So now, there is the word–service.
Time was most stores gave you service. No, you didn’t expect it from the big box stores, but you did get lower pricing instead. Department stores were supposed to give you service. Nordstroms was revered for its sales training and service. Now it is often only slightly better than the other department stores and chain shops were you find the sales person on the phone talking to his or her friends, or studying the different ways to snap and crack chewing gum. No service. In fact, to ask the sales person a question makes you feel like you are putting them out.
In certain boutiques not all that much is different. The sales people are far too caught up in themselves to pay you any mind. As for what you buy, what do they care? Buy something and leave them alone. If they bother to find the size and color you want, they make you feel like it’s a major contribution to the sales effort.
Times was the reason you had service is because managers trained people how to sell and how to give you the service you once received. It’s probably time to revist those days. Teach people how to sell, how to deal with customers. Teach them how not to chew gum and how to stay off their cell phones when customers are in the store.
If you train your sale staff properly, who knows, they may actully be able to sell and not just ring up the cash register. In other businesses, besides retail, they may sell and not just take orders. You may be able to actually boost your business when times are tight and people aren’t buying. Buying, after all is based on perceived need, price and the comfort the customer feels toward you goods and services. Feels toward you.
If your a a specialty shop or boutique, especially train your people so they act like it is really a specialty shop. Train them how to assess fit, color, how to make a fuss over the customers, to make them feel they are special. They are, after all. They have selected your shop instead of the other thousands.
Those that know how to sell will do better than those who do not. The poor economic times practically dictate this rule. Unless you have a big box store. No? Then hire sales people. And check them out before you hire.
