Be a better store. 3 things to do NOW

How are you? You’re fine.

Be better!

1. Add Reading Glasses

If your shopper is over 39, she doesn’t want to have to take her glasses out to read a tag, the receipt, tertiary signage, etc. Reading glasses are ubiquitous, except when we need them. Be a realist. Find a simple way to supply reading glasses at key points in the store.

  • The most obvious places for glasses are fitting rooms and cash wraps.
  • Make your glasses YOURS (e.g. tie a feather to the hinge) to keep them from accidently being worn out the door.
  • Position/Merchandise the first pair of glasses conspicuously to train shoppers to look for them.
  • DON’T make them monocles or one-armed–that just means they’re hard to handle.  1GlassesB

2. Measure Time in Store

I know you’re busy.  That’s the point.  Make the most of busy.  Use your phone’s timer, keep a notepad on you, at the counter, etc. and record the time (hour, minute, second) shoppers enter and the time they leave.  Do math.  Note the duration. DON’T do this when “you have the time,” but prioritize it for one week.  Average time in store is your most important window of opportunity.

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  • Take yourself through your store in that amount of time and  see what you see/do/hear/feel.  Put yourself in your shoppers’ shoes. 
  • When we move along to Next Steps at Being Better, there are more measurements you can add to paint an even more robust picture of your shopper’s experience.
  • DON’T focus on pushing the limits of shoppers’ time in store– work with what you have and it will grow organically, as it needs.

3. Ban the Tape

A sign taped to your window, your cash wrap, a fixture, etc., sends an unintentional message.  Don’t ignore the vehicle- it’s as important as the message. Is it really so urgent you didn’t have time to post it in a finished manner?  Do your store hours really change so often that you can’t print, laminate and suction-cup-hook it to the window rather than taping it? Is taping a one-sided 8 1/2 x 11” piece of paper about the Boy Scouts’ can-drive the best way to support your community?  No.

tapeWindow1 copy   tapeWindow2 copy

Triage all that’s taped:

  • If it’s urgent, put it on an “Urgent” bulletin board in a dedicated “Urgent” space.
  • If it’s permanent information, frame it or at least laminate it and re-imagine where else it may live a happier life.
  • Support your community on a Community Board.  Follow the same rules as “Urgent.”
  • Seanette Corkill of Frontdoor Back (Visual Merchandising/Store Design) coined it perfectly:  “TAPE is a four-letter word.”
  • DON’T think you have to create something permanent on your doors/windows–make it easy to move, change, etc. (think suction cups and static clings.)

suction cup on window   Bulletin board outside   store hours framed