Create a new layout

Re-evaluate and replenish product assortment.

Mid-September is one of the better times of the year for most retailers to review their product assortment.

The summer rush is over, inventory is low, and it’s the perfect time to replenish your stock and do some evaluation.

To begin this product review process, start off by asking yourself these four important questions:

Once you have determined the answers to those four questions, you are ready to reorganize your shop. But, before you begin the reorganization process, I would highly recommend walking your store the way a customer would.

Before you begin the reorganization process, walk your store the way a customer would.

Start in the front and work your way around to each aisle, corner and nook. Here are a few considerations for creating a new layout:

• Determine what you want shoppers to see.
• Figure out what message you want to communicate with customers.
• Identify the first section that greets customers.
• Review the sequence of presentation to make sure it is logical.
• Make sure one section’s merchandise story promotes the sale of the next.
• Create a category layout plan that encourages customers to fully engage in your selling area.

Move the Slow Movers

You’ll also want to figure out why items aren’t selling. Check out the slow-moving items. Could the check-out rate be slow because of their locations or display strategies?

If you have moved them around the past few months and changed the way they were displayed, then maybe it is time to consider marking them down to give way to new lines that will be arriving for the holiday season.

Next, try looking at your shop with new eyes. Observe the selling space to make sure the entire store is being shopped. You may see sections that are receiving far fewer customers than other sections and then you’ll know where changes need to be made.

Draw Customers In

Another consideration is how you can make shopping in your store seamless. Try to begin your merchandise storytelling as soon as the customer walks through the door.

Think of new ways to engage them into moving further into the shop. You can draw them in with compelling merchandise displays or stories and create a natural flow from one section to the next.

This may be done with color or with themes. If your selection is home-accessories dominant, start with items you would place in the living room. Follow this with merchandise for the dining room and kitchen, then with bedroom and bathroom items. If done by color, start with the reds and oranges, followed by yellows to greens and then onto blues and darker tones.

By following these steps, you’ll create a new layout that highlights and connects your merchandise and leads to multiple sales.