You need to attract new customers to your retail shop – and keep your current ones coming back. Retail businesses thrive on their customers, so you need to ensure their experience is as smooth & hassle-free as possible. Success in retail comes down to more than just how much you sell and your shop inventory management. It’s about getting more done by working smarter.
So here are 5 tips for how to manage retail shop at your business.
1. Organize your tasks
It sounds obvious, doesn’t it? But how often have you felt like you accomplished absolutely nothing while scurrying from task to task throughout your day? It happens often. So whether you start the day in morning or the night before, write down your tasks in advance.
It’s similar to your to-do list, except that here you’re going to become more focused on the project and how you hope to accomplish it by the time you’re ready to leave your store or turn off your computer. As an example, simply telling an employee to “clean the store” isn’t nearly as effective as telling them to “reorder backroom inventory based on the purchase date.”
2. Set up your store
Use the slower times of the day to organize your store once you figure out the most popular times. You won’t lose precious time looking for things in the cluttered back room or pointing out where certain things can be found, not only will it look more attractive to customers, but you won’t have to direct them to specific items.
Make sure that all the boxes and shelves in your backroom have labels, and look for ways to improve how things are placed so that everything is in its proper place. Retail shops should position items where they must be restocked most often near the door, so associates can find them easily and restock them.
3. Identify and schedule peak times for your store
What is the busiest time of day for your store? Is there an hour when things are quieter so you can do more involved tasks? If you have a POS system, you can easily run hourly sales reports so you can see when sales are high so you can figure out what time is the best for you. Not only does this tip apply to daily tasks but also seasonal ones for your inventory management.
4. Delegate and train your team
Even though you might believe that you are superhuman, no one can run a successful retail operation on their own – and they shouldn’t attempt it by any means either. The first step to accomplishing more is surrounding yourself with well-trained employees who can help you accomplish your goals.
As the majority of the work is done by you and multiple fires have to be put out, you should re-evaluate any training you’re providing to your employees.
5. Maintain your focus and attention
Every moment of the day is filled with distractions that rob you of your time. In the first five minutes after waking up, 40 percent of consumers check their mobile phones. When choosing to focus your attention on one task at a time, you will be able to increase the quality of the time you currently have. In order to accomplish this, you and your staff must effectively manage distractions. To eliminate distractions, you should establish rules and expectations at all times.
Conclusion
A successful retail shop requires you to manage your time well, but how productive you and your staff make use of those hours has less to do with how many hours you work. When it comes to your retail business, time management and shop management should be all about reducing distractions and inefficiencies that are limiting your store’s growth. You’ll achieve success if you adopt these tried and tested methods.
