For many customers, price plays a key role in determining the purchase of a product. Just as important, storeowners, like you, aim to garner higher profits and generate growth to increase the well-being of your business. But just how can you increase profit and serve your customers? Well, my friends,...
Should you take advantage of favorable real estate prices? Retailers usually lease their retail spaces because the cost of owning, developing and maintaining real estate is beyond the budget of most. With limited capital, most retailers rightly focus on “Job No. 1”: retailing. It also takes time to be a...
As retailers, you may be known for the brands and products that are not carried in the mainstream—but you are also known as the reliable source for quality lifestyle enhancement. This means not just product education, but tips to improve quality of life, overall and every single day. Last month,...
Employee attitudes and store culture can drive customers away. Can you see your store from the road? How easy is it for customers to drive to you? If you are like most independent natural products retailers, your store is not as visible or conveniently located as the local supermarket, so...
Where can you find some of the freshest produce? On stands at a farmers’ market. But, many supermarkets frown upon farmers’ markets, seeing them merely as gatherings for growers, as well as being their competition. Rather, they should be thought of as a way to help boost a store’s...
Our industry began with the idea that good food shouldn’t have bad ingredients. While our stores were small, that did not prevent our idea from remaking the world of food retailing within a generation. As our industry continues to grow, “neo-natural” supermarkets are popping up all over the country.
According to the HerbalGram, sales of herbal supplements have grown from $4.1 billion in 1999 to $5 billion in 2009 (1). Retailers, it is vital that you stock the supplements that are in high demand so you can achieve optimal sales. Educating clients and having a good selection is...
More choice is not always better. Recently, we wrote about the cash-flow and profitability benefits of lowering your inventory levels (March, 2010, Merchandising Insights; "Inventory: The Blob that Ate Your Checkbook", page 82). Now, new research reveals that shoppers with fewer choices buy more stuff. Columbia Business School professor Sheena...
People often have specific health goals in mind when walking into a whole food or supplement store, so it makes sense for storeowners to aid them in their search for products suited to their needs. This usually is accomplished with signage and store sections, pointing the customer in the direction...
If you are like most natural products retailers, you believe you give good customer service. If so, you should be seeing a steady flow of new customers into your store. Why? Because good customer service creates good word-of-mouth. If a steady stream of new customers isn’t flowing into your...
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