11 Retail Store Tips to Beat the Competition

Retail clothing is one of the most competitive markets out there. In today’s tough economy you need to have the best service necessary to stay competitive. Every store that has been around for a while will be providing a basic level of customer service. Usually this entails a friendly well informed sales team able to answer their questions. We are not talking about the basics here. You need to give them more than the other guys. Here are some ideas you can get to gain notoriety among your target market.


1. Make the shopping experience as easy and enjoyable as possible. Follow the rules of merchandising, such as clear tagging and running clothes hangers all in the same direction. Customers need to be able to find what they are looking for quickly and easily without getting frustrated.

2. Take orders over the phone or deliver products to their door either personally or through the mail?

3. Provide a seating area around change rooms. This way your guests can relax while friends or family members are trying on clothes.

4. Have your store’s logo printed on all your clothes hangers. Send your customers home with your store hangers when you make sales. This way when they pull their favorite shirt out and see your store logo they will remember where they got it from.

5. Have sales associates keep a list of regular customers and send them personalized thank you notes, special promotional offers, or gift certificates. A “missing you” note is another nice touch if someone has not come in for a while.

6. Hold an in store event or special sale. It does not necessarily have to revolve around a specific holiday.

7. Sponsor an event in your community. Find something related to your market. This might be an athletic event, such as a running or bike race, or it might be along the lines of community play. Sponsorship might include providing products, money, or volunteer service in support of the event.

8. Have longer hours during holiday seasons. Open up earlier or close later. Provide additional sales staff to help out higher than usual customer and sales volume.

9. Make checkout a speedy process. Once people have made their decision they want to get on with their lives. Have enough cash registers so long lines do not form. This is especially critical during busy holidays and special sales.

10. Allow customers to put things on layaway for a period of time. You do not have to hold an item for a month. A few days is not unreasonable especially for a good customer. When they return to pick up the item they may add to their purchase.

11. Gift wrap! Save your customers the hassle of having to wrap items up themselves. This way they can kill two birds with one stone.


About the Author: Ron Maier is the President of Everything Hangers, a leading online provider of clothes hangers. For more information, please visit http://www.everythinghangers.com.