April 13, 2009
Here are some valuable tips for merchandising in today's economic times from our own in-house merchandising guru.
(This excerpt was taken from a recent blog. View Jay Shaffer's full blog posting here).
Merchandising Tips for Today’s Challenging Times
There is an enormous growth in the sales of Do-it-Yourself or Fix-it-Yourself products. These days it is all about cutting down on service costs by doing it yourself and or postponing the purchase of new products by investing in, improving on and maintaining the products you already own. Specific product categories reporting increased sales are:
1. Automotive parts and accessories – while new car sales are at a record low, the flip side is that people are keeping their cars longer and doing minor maintenance themselves.
2. Gardening supplies – say goodbye to hiring someone to mow your lawn, say hello to record numbers of people planting gardens and growing their own food.
3. Fabrics and sewing products – a stitch in time saves nine…and saves $$$!
4. Cooking and kitchen products – home cooking is all the rage now and eating in is the new big thing.
5. Minor Home Improvements –people are vacationing less and staying home more and coming face-to-face with all the little things that need improving, fixing or cleaning.
6. Getting life and home in order -products that help people get organized are flying off the shelves. Now that folks are staying home more they want things to be in their proper place. Garages, attics, basements, cabinets and closets are being cleaned out, repurposed or upgraded. Also driving this trend is the opportunity to earn extra cash by selling these no longer wanted items at local flea markets and garages sales.
These are just a few of the key product areas with increased sales that I am hearing about these days. I am sure that if you scour the inventory of products you sell, you will find at least a few that follow this same mind set – products that offer big value to your shoppers.
Once you identify these products, merchandise the heck out of them –feature them on the home page, spotlight them in recommended or key featured products, cross sell them all day long. Finally, always remember to reinforce via clear and concise message the value that these products bring your shoppers in these economic times.
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