You may ask, “What defines an item as a key item?” A key item is one that sells “a lot” and is key to making your store’s sales goal. It is an item that you sell, restock and order often and people seem to find that they’ve “gotta’ have it!”
One of my clients had a $3.99 foam souvenir headband that produced $1 million in sales per year. Another client had a $6.99 coaster that accounted for more than 10% of their entire stores’ sales volume per year. These, as defined as key items, are such an important part of a store’s success.
How To Determine key items
Analyze sales reports. Pull up last years’ item sales (either 12 month or just peak season for a seasonal location). Use Excel to compare the volume (dollar value of item sales) to the quantity (number of units sold) in descending order.
"Key items can be any price — they do not always need to be lower price-point items."
You can have one, two, five or even 10 key items that stand out, meaning they produce significantly more revenue than any other items. These are your key items. Key items can and often will change, as your assortment changes with new products added and as trends change.
What to do next
Place key items in mutliple spots to further enhance it as a “winner.” That previously mentioned $1 million headband had six separate floor stand fixtures throughout the store for maxiumum exposure.
Key items can be any price — they do not always need to be lower price-point items. As a reference point, the same client that had the $6.99 coaster as a key item, also had a $185 hand-embroidered pillow that produced similar dollar volume in sales each year. They sold fewer units of the pillows, but it validated its prime space on the sales floor, as it still produced exceedingly high-volume dollars toward the store’s overall sales.
To boil it down, key items are the key to your store’s success.
