Social distancing has made people swiftly move to an alternative way to get their groceries or essential items without having to roam around in public spaces. This period has forced retailers to go back to the drawing board to re-strategize on how to scale sales of products even amidst the pandemic.
Here are five ways retailers can take in order to optimize the sales amidst the blow of the current pandemic.
Take your business online
The first thing to do is to make sure that the customers know that their favorite store is having an online version and you should encourage them to use it. You can do some cold calling to announce and promote your online shop. Also engaging in some online campaigns to reach new customers. This shifting may greatly cover the loss you have experienced in your offline stores.
Focus on best-selling products
One of the ways to improve sales during this period is to identify what products create the most momentum, have the highest order, and are sure-sellers.
This strategy would be applicable to retailers to focus on products that are in high demand. With this disruption in the supply chain flows both locally and overseas, you should be very well-calculated in the production system. To stay efficient, you can boost the production and sales of best-selling products to save the overall cost. So, growth in sales will most likely cover the shortage and the inflated price of raw material in creating that product.
Negotiate with your supplier and vendors
It’s no news that the price of raw materials has increased and due to this, retailers now have to wrestle with low stock and rocketing prices, difficulty in optimizing inventory, and forecasting challenges that may affect sales.
To moderate this burden, you can start talking with your vendors and suppliers. Convince them that the most important thing in procurement is not traditional buying negotiating but making sure that the continuity of supply is granted. You can ask for looser payment terms or other temporary changes in the former agreement.
Use Discounts and Deals Creatively
As the pandemic is affecting businesses, you should not forget it is also affecting customers too. This is where presenting offers, discounts, and deals will help your retail store achieve growth in sales. In fact, research shows that 96% of customers always look for a deal when shopping. As a general rule, most customers are attracted to buy a product if they see more value in it and creatively adding deals to the product makes it more attractive.
There are different ways you can create an offer to generate sales and they are, cash discount, a percentage discount, free delivery, value-added offers (like buy 2 get 1 for free) regular customer exclusive rewards.
Do Not Lose Sight of Your Network
In times of uncertainty, retailers should now more than ever create a very strong bond across their network (delivery services, vendors, and partners) to provide the best experience for their customers, in a way that can be mutually beneficial for all partners. This could range from offering special offers through. working with delivery companies to provide free deliveries for a short period.
This will be particularly important at the point of reengagement, when trying to rebuild a loyal customer base and, hopefully, engage with some new customers that discovered your retail store from your digital presence.
The Covid-19 pandemic does not put retail in complete stop because the people depend on it too. However, it is very clear that the outbreak caused disruption. Following these steps would affect your retail store drastically, don’t forget to track and record your sales during this critical time to know how well your strategies are influencing your retail store and so you can have a prediction if a similar situation happens.