COVID has drastically altered the retail space. Traditional selling tactics such as seasonal marketing might not work so well currently. So if you’re wondering how you can entice more customers into your bricks and mortar sweet store topurchase Halloween sweets.Or if you’re curious how you’re going to see traditional seasonal sales growth while the pandemic rolls on, then you need to switch up your sales tactics with these 8 easy tricks to get shoppers to buy more sweets.
FYI, you don’t need to be in a sales slump to put these tricks to use - if you’re doing really well right now, these tips will work just as well to help you keep the momentum going:
How to get people into your sweet shop
Make your store attractive.
We eat with our eyes, so the saying goes. The same is true for shopping. Customers will venture into an attractive looking shop - so update your signage outside and invest in creating window displays to draw the eye of passersby.
Create floor to ceiling displays and make sure they’re well lit and clean. Choose your best selling stock and arrange it so that it can easily be seen from all angles. If it’s seasonal, even better.
You could create a mad scientist lab for Halloween, replete withalien spray,bloody eyeballsandpsychedelic mice.
- Encourage customers to support local business.
At a time when high street shops are under threat, encourage local residents to support a local business. Give them reason to support you - hold events in your shop to encourage people to come in, even when they don’t have a reason to.
Offer 24 hour flash sales.
Reward loyal customers with loyalty discount cards.
Offer testers of your new sweet products.
- Safeguard customers in your store.
Encourage visitors to your shop by ensuring it’s safe for them to do so and communicate your health and safety measures clearly.
Put up signage displaying how to travel around your store.
Invite customers to sanitise their hands prior to entering.
Keep entrances and exits clear.
Deliver your health and safety info to customers as part of your marketing drive. Include it in:
Your newsletter
Your email
On your website
On your social platforms
- SEO your store so it shows up in online results.
Just because you’re not selling your products online, doesn’t mean you can’t still invest in SEO. If customers are looking for a store like yours, they’ll likely begin their hunt online. When they’re searching for‘sweet shop near me’, you need to be number one in the results.
Include:
Your location
Your opening hours
Reviews
Lots of visual content such as the sweets on your shelves
- Advertise in the local area.
Unless your shop is in a central location with regular, high footfall, then you need to let people know that you exist. Word of mouth will work only so far, then you need to invest in your advertising.If SEO is your online plan of attack, advertising is your offline plan.
Put up posters and banners around your local area to drive traffic your way. Include your logo on any material as well as your exact location and the products you sell. You want local people to remember you, so that when they need your products quickly, they’ll come to you.
How to get people to buy more sweets
That’s how you can get people to come into your sweet shop. But how can you persuade people to buy sweet products such as halloween sweets, items that aren’t deemed ‘essential’, like milk, bread or loo roll.
- Offer a click and collect service.
Just because you don’t offer a delivery service, doesn’t mean your customers shouldn’t be able to purchase items from your physical shop online and then pop down and pick them up at a time that suits them.
Click and collect as a service has been available for a long time, but COVID has increased its popularity.Researchshows that 45% of customers who click and collect will pick up additional items when they come to collect.
- Make your shop visually attractive inside.
You’ve made the outside of your store attractive, now it’s time to make the inside eye catching too. Work on creating strong in-shop visuals and you’ll encourage customers to purchase more products:
Make displays stand out. Don’t have one layer of stock - play with height, colour and depth of displays to vary their visual elements.
Have a focal point. Don’t create cluttered displays - focus on the key product you’re selling and build your display around that. I.e if you’re selling halloween sweets, create a display around a witch’s cauldron, for example, filled withjelly snakes,jelly skullsandjelly boneswhilewhite micescuttle aroundbags of strawberry blood.
Keep them tidy. You want your displays to stand out for the right reason and make it easy for customers to choose which products to buy.
Display your best sweets near the entrance. Show customers as soon as they step foot in your shop what you’re all about. It doesn’t matter if they’re your most expensive sweets, you want to create a memorable first impression.
- Update your displays regularly.
Don’t leave yourSummer sweet stockhanging around asChristmascreeps in. It doesn’t look good and customers won’t buy it, no matter how discounted you make it. If you want to keep driving foot traffic and sales in your bricks and mortar shop, you need to keep giving customers what they want.
Invest in the latest trends and seasonal products - injars of toxic waste, inbrain lickersandcandy snot shotsfor Halloween, for example. Keep your stock relevant and able to meet customers’ needs, and they’ll keep giving you their patronage.
Finally, if you’re wanting to purchase bulk wholesale sweets for Halloween as a consumer, check out our sister siteBulk Wholesale Sweets,and discover your favourite Halloween sweets at wholesale prices.
Certainly! The article you've shared offers insights into retail strategies, particularly tailored for sweet shops, amidst the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Let's break down the concepts and strategies mentioned:
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Attractive Store Presentation: Emphasizing the importance of visual appeal to attract customers. This involves creating enticing window displays, floor-to-ceiling arrangements, and well-lit, clean displays. Additionally, seasonal themes like a Halloween-themed "mad scientist lab" are suggested to capture attention.
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Local Business Support: Encouraging local residents to support the business through events and initiatives within the shop premises. Building a sense of community and emphasizing the benefits of supporting local businesses during challenging times.
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Sales Tactics:
- Flash Sales: Implementing short-term sales to entice customers.
- Loyalty Programs: Rewarding and retaining loyal customers through loyalty discount cards.
- Product Testing: Offering testers of new sweet products to encourage purchase.
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Health and Safety Measures: Ensuring a safe environment for customers by communicating and implementing clear health and safety measures, such as sanitization stations, clear pathways, and safety information integrated into marketing efforts.
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SEO and Local Advertising: Utilizing online strategies like Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to improve visibility in online searches. Also, investing in local advertising through posters and banners to increase local awareness and foot traffic.
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In-Store Visual Appeal:
- Eye-Catching Displays: Creating visually appealing in-store displays with varying heights, colors, and focal points to draw customers' attention.
- Regular Updates: Keeping displays fresh by updating them according to seasons and trends, avoiding outdated stock.
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Sales Strategies:
- Click and Collect Service: Allowing customers to purchase items online for in-store pickup.
- Strategic Product Placement: Placing best-selling or seasonal sweets prominently near the entrance for immediate visibility.
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Product Relevance and Seasonal Trends: Staying updated with the latest trends and seasonal products, ensuring the stock aligns with customers' current needs and interests.
The article offers a comprehensive guide to adapt and thrive in the evolving retail landscape, especially pertinent for sweet shops, by amalgamating traditional in-store strategies with modern online visibility and safety measures.
