How to Improve Retail Store Sales with Effective Cross-Merchandising

Cross-merchandising is one of the best strategies used by retailers for their stores to boost the shopping experience and to increase sales. Retail cross-merchandising requires proper planning, and it benefits retailers of all types and sizes. Visual merchandising — is considered as one of the components of cross-merchandising. Planograms are the visual merchandising tool, that help retailers effectively plan and execute their store shelves. It is an effective method of using store space more convenient for customers to purchase. This helps to properly use the store’s layout, entryway, and checkout counters in navigating customers to make purchases and results in increased average order value. Let us take a look at some cross-merchandising tips for your retail stores.

1. Advertise the store’s new products: Introduce new products by using cross-merchandising strategies like displaying products in the high-traffic area of the store or, next to complementary products. Also, placing new products next to the core products could help raise awareness of new products. For example, placing new products besides the core products like bread and butter can entice customers to notice such items effectively.
2. Entice new customers: Make sure to surprise your customers with cross-merchandising by exhibiting new products they were not looking to purchase but realize they need. For example, retailers can place conditioners along with shampoo to encourage customers to purchase both.
3. Point out a need: Remind your shopper’s that they need another product by looking at the complementary products next to each other. For instance, if a store sells clothing and accessories, placing a safe washing bag for delicate next to clothing could bring more sales to your store
4. Provide samples of both products: Providing samples for customers can further encourage them to purchase more. For example, cosmetic retailers could let the shopper’s try out a new primer and top it with a foundation to see results like how it visibly suits for shopper’s skin can encourage customers to purchase both.
5. Intentionally promote slow-moving products: Cross-merchandising can help retailers in moving stagnant products with planograms. Retailers need to identify the slow-moving items with the help of planogram report analysis and make sure to pair them with fast-moving complementary products.

Grouping products together to improve sales can be effectively done with planograms. It is an effective method to educate customers about products which are recently been on the market. It makes the in-store experience more convenient for shoppers and saves time running to a different store to fetch such items.