Merchandising and Inventory
Since the sole purpose of opening a retail business is to sell merchandise to the public, you should be certain to know exactly what types of merchandise you plan to sell, and also to know which merchandise to include in your store. You don’t want to try and offer clothing and dog food in the same establishment if you are not planning on opening a department store.
This may sound silly, but many stores that fail offer merchandise that doesn’t seem to make sense when mixed together. You would be surprised at how many retailers make this mistake.
When thinking about your merchandise you should also consider the correct positioning of it. This can often be the difference between selling your goods and not selling them. For example, you should place your sales items in an obvious and easy to spot place if you want that promotion to be seen. As a courtesy to your customers, you should consider placing private items in a less conspicuous area of your store. It just shows that you care about your customer’s feelings.
When stocking your inventory, you should place like items together. If you were to open a car dealership, you would want to place your convertibles together and your vans together because it is a bit more slightly, but also because any consumer that is looking to buy a convertible would not want to have to travel all over the place just to find the one they like the best.
You will also want to place accessory items together and in a nearby position because they will be more likely to be purchased if they are near the item that it best fits with an din plain view.