5 ways to create in-store experiences that increase sales

It’s reported that by 2030, online shopping will wipe out 50% of town centre stores. As online shopping becomes easier and more accessible to all, High Street stores must elevate their in-store experiences to compete. In order to create the best retail store experiences for customers; time and money must be invested to understand which measures should be put in place to make the customer journey as smooth as possible

How do you create in-store experiences that increase sales?

1). Take care of your customers and your customers will take care of you

No matter your industry, good customer service goes a long way. The prevalence of social media means that bad news about a retail experience travels fast and can be difficult to recover from. Make sure staff are always on hand to offer help and where possible offer a solution to any problems.

To take customer service into the 21^st Century, there are Tensator® Virtual Assistants available that create the illusion of a live person and provide a unique instructional platform. Inspiring customers with digital displays does not only help to showcase a brand, but also encourages participation for customers. Tensator® Virtual Assistants also have the ability to speak any language!

2). Turn customer flow into cash flow

Lengthy queues in retail stores can often lead to dissatisfied customers. Keeping customers distracted whilst queuing is beneficial in two ways. Firstly, the queue will appear to move faster and secondly, it can be the perfect opportunity to increase sales. In-queue merchandising is designed specifically for placement in front of the point of sale to generate purchases from waiting customers. In fact, it can be proven to increase impulse sales by up to 400%!

3). Distribute customers efficiently within the queue to avoid walk-aways

Making sure your customers are in the right queue and are being directed to the correct till is an important operational consideration for any retail store. Electronic call forward systems serve customers in the order they arrive in the queue and are proven to reduce perceived waiting times. This increases efficiencies and in turn helps to manage the distribution of waiting customers to available service positions.

4). Match resources to demand

It can be irritating for customers having to queue for lengthy period of times in a store without the option to roam around without losing their space in the queue. For stores that mainly deal with orders, a Virtual Queue system is an innovative way to take the pressure away from queuing. Customers take a ticket in the order they arrive in store, leaving them free to browse or relax whilst they wait for their ticket number to be called. If appropriate they are also able to now book an appointment at home for an in-store service before they even arrive in-store. Other features can be incorporated into a Virtual Queue Management system, such as multimedia management to promote the brand and promotions as well as giving the customer an idea of the waiting time.

This in-store feature is proven to increase shopping experiences as it matches the correct member of staff to customers’ requirements, ensuring that the customer is served as efficiently as possible.

5). Provide a clear route for your customers

Large stores can often seem like mazes. It’s important to make sure there is a clearly defined route to maintain a good customer flow. Directing your customers to the appropriate queue using barriers is another good tip. Although a small addition to a store, they instantly increase queue flow with organised queues. Queue barriers such as the Tensabarrier® are a great option, as although sturdy they are also portable so can be removed during off-peak shopping hours.

How can Tensator® help to create in-store experiences that increase sales?

Tensator’s retail products are proven to create in-store experiences that increase sales. Our diverse range of retail queue management products ensure that there’s a solution for whatever a store requires to ensure an improved customer experience. We also provide a consultative approach, where we can use our expert knowledge to help determine which in-store retail solution is most appropriate for your unique issue. For more information on our solutions for retail, please feel free to take a look at our brochure.

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