How to Increase Retail Sales in 2024

Figuring out how to improve retail sales when your business is experiencing a plateau or decline can often turn into a challenging quest. Sometimes the cause is external factors, when, for example, you try to mitigate the damaging effects of the economic crisis, and sometimes you just ignore flaws inherent to your plan of action. Either way, if you spend a lot of effort but do not see any improvement, here are 10 obvious yet innovative ways to increase sales in retail.

Causes of Low Retail Sales

1. The range is not updated

The store owner can keep the entire assortment the same every month: demand for some goods has stayed the same for decades, while others will certainly be purchased someday. But the client needs the confidence that when he comes to his favorite store again, he will find some new product, even if he does not like it.

One of the best ways to increase sales in retail is to change 5% of the entire assortment every month. But if the percentage is lower, regular customers will notice stagnation.

2. Salespeople Mistakes

The simple truth is that the consumer buys products not in a store or from a manufacturer but from a person. And if this person is not interested in selling the product, cannot explain its merits in detail, and cannot answer the usual questions, retail sales will slowly fall.

Also, when the team consists of professionals, but there is one “weak link,” the number of clients inevitably decreases, and even objection handling does not save the situation.

3. Marketing Policy Mistakes

The seller should refrain from deceiving and confusing the client, making him uncomfortable. It doesn't increase sales. What is the salesman not allowed to do?

• Write one amount on the price tag, and punch another on the check.
• Leave a banner with an announcement about a promotion that has already ended.

How to bring retail sales to the goal of "Success"

Of course, this way is not easy, it requires dedication, strategic thinking, a skilled team, creativity and resources. However, it is suitable for everyone whose mind is busy searching for new ways to increase retail sales. So, let's take the first step.

1. Don't get lost, make a road map

You can let a lot of pitfalls, obstacles and difficulties unravel along the way, but it's still better to be ready to face them in advance. So, to avoid unnecessary difficulties that significantly slow down your progress towards your goal, you should do the following:

• Set a goal.
• Brainstorm ideas, tactics and tools.
• Implement your plan gradually.

Don't rush to take immediate action, examine the situation thoroughly. Otherwise, you risk becoming a victim to your unattainable expectations. Failure can be disappointing and discouraging, while success, even if it is a small improvement, can be a huge motivation to move forward.

2. Look at your store with the eyes of your customers

You can try to recreate the plot of the movie "What Women Want" and walk around in the shoes from your store, but there are less radical methods that allow you to see yourself from the point of view of your customers. Studying and practicing consumer empathy should be your fundamental approach to solving the puzzle of how to increase retail sales as it will help you discover what attracts and drives away your customers. So, what are the best ways to gain insights into the customer experience?

• Collect feedback and track reviews on your website, social media, forums, and other platforms.
• Leave a questionnaire or feedback form in your store so that people can express their gratitude, complain or share their opinions.
• Conduct A/B testing.

3. Try to rethink your communication

Now that you know about consumer empathy, you're ready to successfully implement it into your business routine. You can anticipate not only what customers demand in terms of product improvements, but also how they want to be treated. So, it's time to train your staff to advise, help, support, make suggestions, and comfort customers with sincere empathy, as well as to be competent professionals in their field.

Although empathetic vis-à-vis conversations are well-known, they can be difficult to master, and making online shoppers feel welcome, heard, and valued may seem to be impossible for many retailers. However, modern technology has evolved significantly in providing practical means for social interaction. So, here are some original ways to make your digital communication easier:

• In addition to the FAQ section and chatbot, install a live chat feature.
• Check if your customer support team is easy to contact and responds quickly.
• Publish exciting and SEO-optimized content on your website and in social media.
• Respond to mentions of your product, testimonials or reviews. Share and comment on them in social media, your website or other platforms.
• Send emails to introduce new products and services, offer a discount, and remind your customers of what they liked. Moreover, it will be extremely effective to use different messengers for this purpose: this way people will be able to contact you instantly, without any extra effort.
• Pop-ups may be useless when users leave your website, but when it comes to addressing them on the spot, pop-ups become a real treasure. At Claspo, we work every day for marketers and business teams to implement new options and remove restrictions on editing and customizing widgets for your websites. With a free subscription plan, you can create widgets for different purposes of your business and evaluate the results. Use Claspo to create pop-up messages that provide customers with welcome discounts, limited-time offers, personalized recommendations, announcements of upcoming sales, and many more.

4. Turn consumers into like-minded people

If, for some reason, your business starts to go through difficult times, your loyal customers will become a reliable support to help you regain stability and stay afloat. That's why it's important to make every effort to encourage customer loyalty to your brand:

• Create a discount loyalty program that is easy to join. It should give your customers tangible benefits.

• Reward your visitors for buying more and dismiss their hesitations. In a store, salesmen or consultants usually offer "1+1=3" deals or a discount for an immediate purchase, and on your website, you can safely use pop-ups to display these offers. Claspo will help you create them with a few clicks. Claspo's features provide you with various opportunities to increase retail sales. Claspo offers comprehensive targeting options to ensure that your pop-ups are displayed for the right audience at the right time. Claspo also offers many templates for displaying your discounts and special offers. You can choose to show them on all pages, on specific pages, or when scrolling to a specific place on the page.

• Be honest and sincere. Posting real photos, videos and stories about your company, products or staff on social media and on your website can make users respect you, sympathize with you, or prove that you are trustworthy.
• Support various social movements. You don't have to set a goal, you can simply donate, participate in charity events, or implement sustainable practices that align with your position to contribute to a worthy cause and turn purposeful customers into advocates for your brand.

5. Realize your own value

As a captain, you risk sinking the ship if you don't control the situation or miss the unfolding events. Therefore, you need to be always aware of key aspects of your business, such as:

• Inventory (for example, so that you don't run out of Christmas sweaters at the height of the festive season);
• Products that fascinate customers and those that are outdated or not liked by the audience;
• Budget (it's hard to spend money on a marketing campaign if you don't have it);
• Prices (they should be affordable, but not limit your income);
• Strengths that can be used for advertising and weaknesses that need to be corrected.
• Features that distinguish you from your competitors (quality of materials, speed of delivery, wide range of products, etc.)

6. Combine traditional advertising and modern technologies

Sometimes even members of the younger generation start a conversation with the snobbish "Call me old-fashioned, but..." and resist innovative technologies. Indeed, nothing compares to the sensation of reading a printed book. However, if you give up on e-books, you will lose the ability to have all your favorite novels with you. The same logic is at the heart of advertising. So, along with business cards, brochures, flyers, billboards, and press releases, take advantage of the following tools:

• Facebook Ads Manager and Google Ads;
• Blog and social media (you can combine the creation of SEO-optimized content with asking bloggers or influencers to promote your company);
• Email campaigns and retargeting;
• Voice Commerce (customers can use voice-activated devices or virtual assistants, such as Amazon's Alexa or Google Assistant, to search for and purchase products or services online);
• Inbound marketing (generate leads with content creation, SEO, social media to increase brand awareness and conversion rate);
• AI solutions (you can use various artificial intelligence applications to solve complex tasks, automate tasks, and improve decision-making process);
• AR (augmented reality) involves the integration of digital content, such as graphics or animations, into a real environment that can be viewed through a mobile device or augmented reality glasses, providing an enhanced interactive user experience;
• Live communication with customers (to answer questions or solve problems, use live chat, video calls, or phone calls).

7. Inspire consumers to buy more

Inducing customers' impulse purchases and upselling can be a huge source of revenue for you if you do it wisely:

• Don't try to sell additional products if you can see that a person is short on time or is on a tight budget.
• Make sure that additional products or services won't significantly increase the overall cost.
• Place small items near the cash register so that customers can easily find the right earrings for a dress, remember that they needed wet wipes, or decide they need a tool adapter.
• Add a special section with goods and services that complement the products a customer wants to buy.

Of course, financial incentives are also important. So don't be shy:

• Offer discounts and promo codes.
• Warn about your big sales.

8. Go online

Most Internet users had experience with online shopping before the pandemic began. But after the lockdown forced us to stay at home, e-commerce entered our lives and became an integral part of our daily routine. 

So the question is: how to increase the sales in retail? Actually, you can offer a totally virtual experience where visitors buy things online and get packages delivered to their doorstep. However, as more and more people become accustomed to hybrid shopping, you can also introduce methods that are fast, convenient, and allow consumers to forget about painful queuing:

• Add online and in-store pickup (BOPIS) options.
• Install self-service vending machines (SCOs).

Of course, customers will not be able to benefit from buying goods online if they cannot access your website or app. So make sure your company sales policy covers all platforms and devices:

•  Desktop, tablet, and mobile versions are equally accessible, user-friendly, and easy to navigate.
• People can easily download and use your apps on the App Store and Google Play.

Using the Claspo Pop-up Builder, you can see how the widget is displayed for the mobile version and for the desktop version. Before publishing, you can change the width and length of the widget to fit your page layout if necessary. You can also configure your widget to display only on mobile or desktop.

9. Turn your showcase into a work of art

Your store may be merely wonderful, and the products may be of the highest quality, but customers won't be able to appreciate it until you manage to enchant them, just like the gingerbread house with Hansel and Gretel did (feel free to use it for inspiration, but of course, don't be a wicked witch to your visitors). So, how to increase product sales? Here are some useful tips to help enchant your potential customers and impress their perception and aesthetic taste:

• Put your best-selling products on display so that people can see them before they even enter the premises.
• Remember that color palette and lighting matter. Create displays with similar color schemes, or highlight certain items with bright colors. Put the spotlight (literally and figuratively) on the best-selling products and items on sale.
• Decorate the space. Don't be afraid to decorate your booth with Harry Potter figures to give your bookstore a magical atmosphere, or add flowers and put a wicker basket to one of the bicycles to feel the atmosphere of a carefree summer ride again.
• Make sure your website doesn't look like a pretentious country fair, but has an elegant, functional design. Create separate sections for popular products and sales.
• Upload high-quality photos and videos of the product surrounded by other items or worn by a model so that people can visualize its use or try it on.
• Page elements should not distract from the call-to-action button.

10. Join the Creative team

If you're out of ideas on how to boost sales in retail, try to be original:

• Invent or look for reasons to celebrate. Surely, a sale of cute and funny socks or a wine tasting dedicated to World Wine Day will melt the hearts of visitors.

• Try to think creatively and make a sign/showcase on the street. It doesn't have to be something bulky and complicated, just put fake glasses and a bottle of wine with the words "Why not?" or draw an inscription: "There is no problem that can't be solved with chocolate."
• Take inspiration from the environment. Take photos or videos of your product, customers, and work environment and share them on social media.

Conclusion

Going through stagnation or recession can be really hard. Sometimes, it may feel like you and your marketing analysts simply run out of ideas on how to increase retail sales.

But don't panic. Open this "first aid kit" and try to adjust your sales/marketing strategy, show more empathy for the consumer, streamline communication, optimize the online shopping experience, or change the design of your showcase. Undoubtedly, you will find a suitable way.

Increasing retail sales: how Claspo can help

79% of consumers say they are more likely to take advantage of an offer if it is personalized based on their previous interactions with the brand. Claspo's powerful targeting options based on user behavior and segmentation allow you to personalize your offers and thus increase sales.

Claspo's innovative features also include annoyance protection (which allows you to reduce user annoyance and set silence intervals between widget displays) and overlap protection (which sets display rules when more than one widget should be displayed on a page and prevents overlap).

These features create a harmonious and aesthetic look of a website, making pop-ups convenient and understandable for users.

Another convenient feature of Claspo is its flexible tariff plans. You can start with a free plan and upgrade to another one when your development strategy requires it.

Increase your sales fast with Claspo's highly converting widgets on your website!