Triggering the Buying Impulse

People like to think they’re impervious to advertising and marketing.  But the truth of the matter is that most consumers can be reached via some simple triggers.

Triggering the buying impulse is intimately connected with the same thought process which leads people to pretend they’re not conditioned to respond to certain triggers.  They want to be “special”.  They want to be “in the know” and they want to feel as though they’ve obtained something everyone wants, but doesn’t have.

And that’s the key to understanding consumer behavior – people want to feel they’re first in line and know something others don’t.  Successful marketing triggers work from that knowledge and it’s highly effective.

Let’s talk about triggering the buying impulse by following some simple guidelines, outlined below.

The free gift.

They say there’s no free lunch, so what’s better than offering consumers something free with their purchase?  People love to break the rules and the time-honored rule about the “free lunch” is the reason a free gift can trigger impulse buys.

Online giant, Amazon, uses this technique.  When a product is selected, the “free gift” offer will pop up.  Also in play is bundling, which offers additional items at reduced cost.  If you’re an omnichannel retailer, applying this model to your online merchandising can bump your revenue by 10-20% and that’s not peanuts.

Needful things.

Everyone needs socks.  That’s a given (especially right now, as winter closes in).  Offering these and other needful things at a discount easily compels impulse buys.

Shoppers need them.  You need to move them.  Featuring items necessary to your shoppers at a reduced price is an excellent way to clear out inventory that’s taking up space in storage.

Don’t miss out!

Time-limited offers appeal to the psychological tendency to not want to miss out on something important.  Urgency, coupled with a limited supply of what your featuring appeals to this tendency.

Add to those qualities a high value to the consumer (whether monetary or psychological) and you have a winning item that will trigger impulse buys.

Popular?  Sale!

You’re already tracking your best-selling products, so putting them on sale is a baby step toward increased sales revenue, driven by impulse buying.

Omnichannel retailers have the jump on this tip for triggering the impulse buy.  Your social media platforms, shopping app and even Beacon technology can be used to alert consumers that their favorite products are on sale.  That alone can get them into the store and purchasing what you’ve got on offer.

Clip Strip Corp.

As an innovator in retail POP display products, Clip Strip Corp. has been creating and manufacturing superior supports for retailers since 1980.

That’s almost 40 years of experience bringing retailers quality accessories and display supports.  With that experience comes a desire to make life more profitable for retailers by offering them the display options they need for success in an intensely competitive market.

Because we’re leaders in the market, we’re always coming up with something new.  That’s how we got our start and why we’re still in business after almost 40 years.

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source http://clipstrip.com/pop-fuel/triggering-the-buying-impulse/

Brick-and-Mortar Stores Aren’t Fading Away. They’re Transforming.

We’re living in a consumer’s market.  When shifts occur in the retail sector, they’re usually driven by a combination of forces, but right now it’s the consumer who’s determining who succeeds and who doesn’t.

The rise of online retail has presented traditional retailers with a profound challenge.  But here’s the thing – they’re meeting that challenge with bold innovation and consumer-facing efforts which are revolutionizing the sector.

Brick-and-mortar stores aren’t fading away.  They’re transforming by providing immersive consumer experiences which are highly personalized and driven by the shoppers who visit their stores.

Tailor-made retail.

Part of the transformation of traditional retail resides in its embrace of the same channel that’s occasioned the disruption to begin with – the internet.  Brick-and-mortar stores are learning to create the same personalization, but in a 3D way, that the online retailers do for their visitors.

Consumers are demanding a retail experience which speaks directly to them and what they want from their shopping experiences.  And for those who claim that price point is everything, they should know that consumers will spend more for an experience that caters to them.

40% of shoppers say they’ve paid more for an item because they received highly-personalized service in the store they bought it from.  A slightly higher percentage of consumers say they return to stores which offer them this.

Online shopping gives consumers an element of control which is guided by vendors, but driven by the buyer.  Traditional retail can follow that lead, by adding amenities and features which give their shoppers the sense that it’s all about them.

Finally, omnichannel marketing means that customers can shop online, come into the store to pick up their purchase and shop, while they’re at it.  But the pros in brick-and-mortar are going even further.

Innovation is transformation.

The major players in retail are some of the most innovative in terms of ensuring they don’t fade away.  Department store giant, Nordstrom, has introduced new outlets which feature no product.

That’s right.  No product.

Instead, Nordstrom’s invites customers to come in for a styling session, with a personal fashion advisor.  Following a consultation, clothes are ordered and brought in, while the customer enjoys a drink.  It’s this type of transformative innovation which is keeping brick-and-mortars in the game, by putting consumers in the driver’s seat.

American Eagle has changed its strategy by making its stores student-friendly spaces which allow them to come in and wash their clothes, study and hang out.  They might not buy anything that minute, but while they’re there, you know they’re making a wish list.

As you can see, brick-and-mortar stores aren’t fading away.  They’re transforming to put the customer at the center of the retail experience in a way that’s innovative and intelligent.  They’re answering the challenge from online channels in ways which are re-shaping the future of traditional retail and its continuing health in the market.

To survive, we’ve always had to adapt.  Brick-and-mortar stores are doing just that – adapting and transforming.

Contact Clip Strip Corp. for exceptional retail POP display supports.

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source http://clipstrip.com/pop-fuel/brick-and-mortar-stores-transforming/

Get the Most Out of Your Retail Store this Holiday Season with Visual Merchandising

Christmas is retail Ground Zero.  This is where the rubber meets the road for retailers, with 30% of their annual income deriving from the Holiday shopping season.

That means you need to pull out the stops and give it everything you’ve got.  One way to achieve the desired effect (record sales) is visual merchandising.  While the term may cause the faint of heart to blanch, you’re a retailer.  You’re in a sector which is not for the faint of heart to begin with, so fear not.

You’ve got this.

To get the most out of your retail store this Holiday Season with visual merchandising, there are some simple, cost-effective rules to follow.  These are basic rules.  You don’t have to be an artistic genius to make them work.

Bring the color.

Because it’s the Holiday Season, the first colors to come to mind are red, green and white.  That’s all very well and good, but you can use other colors to create an arresting and beautiful display.

Stick to two colors.  That’s the most effective strategy for using color in your visual merchandising efforts.  Try hues not traditionally associated with the season.  Lose the green and red, replacing them peacock blue, or magenta.  Paired with white, these create tension and contrast which catches the eye.

Storytelling is powerful.

Your front window is the most traditional site to tell your shoppers and potential customers a story.  That story is about the Holiday Season, your products and your brand.  All these elements can work together to create a surprising tale which translates into sales.

Maybe your story is about Holiday stockings, hung with care.  Your products are the gifts stuffed in them and your brand logo adorns them all.   Or maybe your story is about Santa Claus’s cookies, left on the kitchen table for him to enjoy, in thanks for his Christmas Eve efforts.  Those cookies may be gourmet biscotti, or they may even be soaps in the shape of cupcakes.

But the story’s the thing.  Tell it without words and allow shoppers to walk into the tale you’re telling.

Create a focus.

Visual merchandising demands a thoughtful approach.  Don’t overwhelm your shoppers with too much of a good thing.

Creating a hotspot which draws the eyes of your shoppers is a tactic which can increase sales by almost 230%.  It’s effective.

Santa’s cookies or cupcakes (your products) are the focus of your display – not the table.  What’s in the stockings is the focus – not the stockings themselves.  When using visual merchandising during the Holiday Season, get your products seen in a whimsical way which speaks to the magic of this time of year.

You can get the most out of your retail stores this Holiday Season with visual marketing when you approach it as one of your customers.  What do they want to see?  Visual merchandising is for them, so think like them for great results.

Clip Strip Corp. is a leader in high quality retail POP display supports.

The post Get the Most Out of Your Retail Store this Holiday Season with Visual Merchandising appeared first on POP FUEL.

source http://clipstrip.com/pop-fuel/holiday-season-visual-merchandising/

Winter Display Ideas to Fall in Love With

Winter is coming.  It’s already feeling like it out there, but it begins officially on December 21 this year.  Winter display ideas to fall in love with and share with your customers can be fun.

There are so many ways to create beautiful winter displays without breaking the bank.  For this post, we’ll focus on cost-effective solutions.  We’ll also look at ways to achieve the effect you’re going for without driving yourself crazy.

Everyday items and unusual choices.

Winter displays are as easy as everyday items you might find around the house.  Cotton balls, for example.  String varying sizes of these on fishing line and create a snow storm in your window.

Scout around the dollar store and you’ll probably find plenty of fodder for your winter display genius.  Go to the arts and crafts aisle and look for white feathers.  Now, look for glitter glue.  Use the same fishing line you did for the cotton ball snowstorm to hang them and you have a surprising effect which is outside-the-box.

Secondhand shops are another great source of inspiration.  Often, you’ll find old doilies nobody wants here, bundled for a very small price.  Buy them!  Now adhere them to your window in the shape of a Christmas tree or snowman and voila, you’re a visual merchandising superstar.

Consider yourself crafty, or have kids who are?  Decoupage snowflakes are a folksy alternative to secondhand store doilies.  If your kids make them, that’s another wrinkle to your efforts – telling your customers about it.  Your kids might also want to help with constructing paper garlands, or popcorn and cranberry ones.

With a little imagination, the sky’s the limit.

Use words.

Your winter display can become even more fun, with the addition of a chalk board.  Write the words to seasonal songs in fancy script on the board, decorating it with a doily or two.  “Baby it’s cold outside”, or “the weather outside is frightful”, becomes an entertaining display element.

Even standard merchandising supports (as found in the trusty dollar store – yes, we love that place) like pre-printed “open” and “sale” signs can be customized to create another dimension to your in-store merchandising.  Adorn them with LED lights in the shape of icicles or stars and create something from next-to-nothing.

Create a world.

Your window is an opportunity to create a branded environment for your products.  Using simple materials, you can make magic from basic items.  Consider an enchanted winter forest, lit by twinkling LED lights.  The trees are bare branches, which can be found just about anywhere, lying on the ground, doing nothing.  5 to 10 of these make a small forest.  Arrange them around your merchandise, displayed in mounds of packing popcorn to imitate snow.

Back to the secondhand store.  Create a scene of a vintage Christmas using period ornaments that older people will recognize as those of their childhood.  This is especially effective if that’s your target demographic, or if you’re a toy shop frequented by doting grandparents.

Clip Strip Corp. is a leader in innovative retail POP supports.

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source http://clipstrip.com/pop-fuel/winter-display-ideas-to-fall-in-love-with/