STORE ADVICE Easy changes, big impact

Retailers reveal changes they’ve made that cost them nothing, but collectively delivered more than £10,000 in savings and sales

Retailers should always be on the lookout for new ways to increase sales and margins or to cut costs where they can, but many ideas come with a price tag attached.

A n investment in new stock, new equipment, new store frontage or new promotion tactics may bring long-term gains in revenue, but they also require up-front capital, which many retailers don’t necessarily have or want to risk.

There are also things that can be done that will cost a retailer nothing. Small changes can bring major, long-term benefits, and Colin Savage, from Baxters Newsagents in Milngavie, East Dunbar- tonshire, recommends keeping a notepad handy to write down ideas as they come.

“We’ve all got half a dozen ideas in our minds, but we forget them,” he says. “Write them down and, as soon as it’s quiet, look at them, then act on them.”

Sw itching things up in the product range department can have a big impact. Analysing where products, baskets and displays are located or considering the customer journey from another angle can provide insights that enable you to make changes.

This takes time and energy, but it doesn’t charge your bank account. By assessing and then changing the layout of certain products, retailers can change the customer journey to ensure people see more of what they want them to see, which can result in bigger basket spend.

If you can encourage just an extra 50p spend from every customer journey, it can bring in thousands of extra revenue.

A nything that can be done to reduce electricity use will have a n impact . While many methods require capital outlay, operational changes can have a big effect with minor cost

Write ideas in your diary, then act on them

COLIN SAVAGE

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