Maximising Sales Success

IN TODAY’S RETAIL landscape, average order value (AOV) is an essential metric for measuring sales success. A high AOV helps to increase profit margins and can directly influence customer loyalty.

Fortunately, retailers have a variety of tactics at their disposal to increase AOV – from a strategic change in product ranging to changes to a store’s layout, we spoke with Nite Ize Senior Director of Sales Jay Getzel and International Director of Sales Peter Voigtsberger for their insights and tips on taking your AOV to the next level.

Knowing Your Products

To maximise sales success, retailers must first be aware of the difference between an impulse buy and other types of purchases.

“An impulse buy is something that's small – it's inexpensive, it doesn't take a lot of brain power to understand. You kind of look at it and just get it.” explained Jay.

However, price is not the only

BY SABRINA

characteristic for an impulse purchase product.

“These very high conversion, low cost products, they don't go through the same buying process in the way that a large purchase does,” said Peter

“It's a question of want. It's a question of impulse. It's a question of your eyes being drawn to something, a pretty package, a cool colour, a great style or something that is very utilitarian, and simply just grab it and throw it in your basket,“ said Peter.

Read It Like A Book

So how does the product display and retail store layout affect the buyer's decision?

“There's a very, very big difference between going into a store and buying something on purpose versus buying something on impulse,” said Jay.

“They assume that the game is really having the right product there, that somebody's going to come in and they need to buy it.”

“A lot of it has to do with making sure the product display and selection makes good visual sense and is attractive to your eyes,” continued Jay.

“You want to look across the products almost like reading left to right, and be able to make a decision quickly.”

Aside from making sure your impulse buy products are easy to understand, Peter also explains the need to always keep things fresh in the store.

“I mean, it sounds like that sounds obvious – keeping products in stock, making sure it's looking attractive, that it's consistently rearranged,” said Peter.

“If you've got repeat customers that are consistently coming through, often having things change is a way to let your customers know that you actually have something fresh to show them,”

“Because that's the impulse game – they're people looking for new things, whether they recognise it or not.” continued Peter.

“It's all about engaging them at that moment, thinking about ways to get them involved at that moment and then executing them at the point of sale.”

By creating an environment where your best AOV boosting products are made more intuitive and relatable, conversion and sale rates will rise.

So what are some changes that we can make to the store and how do we make this happen? Here are some tips from Jay and Peter:

Supermarket Aisles Vs Single Queue

“A lot of our stores used to have checkout aisles that are very much like the grocery store with multiple aisles,” said Jason.

“And each of these aisles would have their own assortment of confectionery that would be replicated across each checkout aisle.”

“Over the course of the last three to five years, I've seen many outdoor retail stores make a big evolution to their checkout lanes.”

Shifting to a single queue lane that zig zags and filters customers into various checkouts, this minimises the need to replicate the same assortment of AOV products on each checkout.

With customers surrounded by low cost products while lining up, the time spent being exposed to the selection of AOV can increase the chance of engagement, thus helping increase the average order value of their transaction.

Clip Strips

“With clip strips, a whole bunch of products can get merchandised on it with this little area up here,” said Jason.

“They're just very easy for a customer to grab and go.”

Not only offering easy access, clip strips are a great way to save space and rearrange your product offering without having to change the entire layout of your stores. “We're not asking you to replace or kick any product out,” continued Jason,

“We're just saying to utilise some of the corners and little spaces that are in between your existing racks where you can place one of these and add extra value and extra merchandising space very cheaply and effectively.”

From Father’s Day to Christmas, these clip strips are effective for seasonal promotions that allow your products to be seen in more areas around the store.

Adjacency

Adjacency, or attachment purchases on the other hand are acts of transactions that occur because they are related or complementary to something else.

“It’s the mind that the customer is looking for a supplementary product that completes their need,” said Peter.

“For example, we have seen a lot of growth in the run off phone pouch in REI stores, after putting it next to the mobile section versus when it was in travel.” added Peter.

“Nite Ize is a very attachable brand. When customers are going in to buy that one or two hundred dollar product, we make sure that our brand is very close by and near those products that make the most sense.”

By understanding the adjacency between big purchase products and supplementary products that can add onto the sale, retailers can further leverage this and increase their AOV in store by placing adjacency products in areas of relevancy.

With these strategies and tips in place, retailers should be able to boost sales and improve profit margins. Your sign to change things up is here – get ahead of the game and change for the better!