Everybody loves a good bargain, but some people seem to live for sales. In their minds, they are extra-savvy shoppers. Or perhaps they’re simply on a limited budget. Regardless of their motivation, sale-centric shoppers are vital for your retail business. With that in mind, here are some retail solutions you can try to appeal directly to the bargain-hunter in all of us.

Establish a permanent clearance section.

Passive, self-serve clearance racks, shelves or bins allow customers to browse through items on their own. This is a nice way to cater to budget-minded shoppers, as it gives them a sense of privacy. As with everything retail, making customers comfortable is a major step toward inspiring them to return.

Use the power of suggestion.

Sometimes you hold a sale to bring in more customers. Often, though, you put merchandise on sale because you want to get rid of it. So give it a boost out the door by verbally calling attention to markdowns. Point them out to customers. Suggest other full-priced items that would go well with the sale item. Better yet, suggest alternative full-priced products that offer better features or selection.

Use your sale as a drawing card.

Turning discounts into events can make a huge difference in the amount of traffic you attract. The event could be:

• Your predictable, semi-annual blowout that customers look forward to.
• A surprise one-day-only event. It could be storewide, or department- or brand-specific.
• A group effort held in conjunction with neighboring stores. (This is a great way to attract new customers.)

Urgency sells.

Other than storewide sales events that have a defined timeframe, limiting discounts will spur customers to take action. You can limit quantity – gift with purchase available only to the first 25 customers. Or limit the time – today only, ends Saturday, etc.

Offer surprise specials now and then to add excitement during peak shopping hours.

Position smaller, inexpensive clearance items as impulse buys, strategically displayed alongside related full-price items or at your checkout counter. Or use them as giveaways if shoppers spend a certain amount. Add a sign that says “almost gone till next year” or “buy 2, get 1 free.”

Successful sales start with marketing.

Whether it’s the items in your ongoing clearance section or a storewide event, sale-priced merchandise must be promoted. Bold signage is a must. Red is a commonly-used can’t miss color, in part because it implies, “Stop! You must pay attention to this!”

But first, you have to get shoppers into the store. Pull out all the stops, focusing on what’s in it for them (savings!). Alert them in advance, then remind them:

• Use your usual digital marketing channels — email, social media, your website, your newsletter.
• Post a sign at your cash wrap reminding customers to return for your sale.
• Use pre-sale bag stuffers – but don’t just tuck them into the bag, show them to each customer first.
• Talk it up with customers even if you forego the bag stuffers.

Maximize marketing success by including a coupon redeemable during the sale (only for full-priced merchandise, of course). Then get ready to enjoy the profits from your efforts to cater to sale-centric shoppers.

If you have an idea, we will make it a retail reality.

The mission statement of Palmer Retail Solutions is quite simple: to offer our clients the absolute best combination of innovation, quality, service and value for our diversified custom store fixtures and merchandising displays. Palmer has been designing and producing retail fixtures, cash wraps, kiosks and point of purchase displays for leading specialty and big box retailers and brand merchandisers since 1990.

Palmer operates three facilities in metro Detroit that total almost 700,000 sq. ft. In order to deliver world-class products, Palmer continuously invests in the latest CNC millwork equipment, engineering software, finishing technologies and assembly automation.

Palmer is uniquely positioned in the industry by having virtually unlimited assembly and finishing resources that are integrated with our warehouse for maximum efficiency and enable us to manage even the largest national fixture rollouts.

Be it a comprehensive fixture program that has been designed and developed by Palmer or an existing design that requires value engineering and a bid, Palmer offers the industry’s best domestic sourcing solution. We look forward to the opportunity to consult and bid on your next project. Please browse our product portfolio to see examples of the many products and categories we manufacture.