When it comes to sales, visual merchandising is maintaining a constant awareness of how your store and displays influence customers’ purchasing decisions. Let’s compare and contrast this thought with the concept of promoting. The activities you do outside of your company to attract new customers are referred to as advertising. The moment these customers enter your shop is when merchandising comes into action; it’s the moment when the “closer” is brought to bear on your products in a figurative sense. The term “visual merchandising” refers to the practise of exhibiting all of the products you have in your business in such a way that compels customers to make additional purchases beyond the ones they had planned on making when they first entered the store.
If you are successful at visual merchandising, you will see an increase in add-on purchases such as pastries, sandwiches, or t-shirts. If you sell these add-ons in the proper manner, you will see a quick increase in your total revenue as a result.
Although it’s probably safe to assume that every business appreciates being successful and valuable, “success” is not a one-size-fits-all concept. There are many different ways to achieve your goals. The journey there will be different for every sort of business that operates. The goal of the vast majority of coffee shops is to have as many customers walk through their doors on a daily basis as is humanly possible. When you finally succeed in luring a customer inside, it is your responsibility to provide them with as many high-quality goods as you possibly can. In this piece, we will go over some recommendations on how to visually market your wares so that they are more appealing to potential buyers.
Coffee Shop Layout and Design
The process of merchandising starts at the very beginning, while you are still working on the physical construction of your store. This includes the space for displaying pastries, storage for products, a counter area, and sitting sections. If you underestimate the amount of space you’ll need for merchandising, you may up up paying a lot more money for it. To avoid this, you should be sure to plan ahead.
It is also a good idea to establish which products will be most important to the concept of your coffee shop. This will allow you to know in advance how much space to dedicate to each of those products. You may also ask your suppliers for their advise on how to display your stuff, or you could look at how your rivals are showing their products. If you want to sell mugs and low, for example, you won’t need nearly as much room as if you want to sell a variety of brewing methods and tools. However, due to the fact that the purchase of a single Chemex generates the same amount of income as the combined purchases of many customers, this location has the potential to be profitable. Learn about your target audience in order to determine whether or not it is worthwhile to carry more expensive items.
Positioning Add-On Items
The most typical error that we see is that the folks in line do not have a clear view of the additional items. When you are waiting in line, you are almost probably doing one of the following:
- Trying to decide which beverage to order while rushing through the process.
- Finding a way to pass the time while waiting in line is important.
The second option is for you to try to convince them to buy the additional products you provide. Put your tough objects (shirts, mugs, and so on.) across the path of your line as a consequence of people like to examine when they are ready; nevertheless, make sure that they may yet be observed from out of your counter in order to stop petty stealing. The majority of the time, this fundamental principle of visible marketing is disregarded.
In addition to this, ensure that your pastry case is exposed and can easily be evaluated. When a customer steps away from the checkout and notices the pastry case, it is the most frustrating sensation in the world for them to have to stand in line all over again to get the croissant they need. There are probably a good number of customers who did not make the effort. Your food will almost certainly be one of the first things a customer notices when they walk into your establishment if you have a pastry case that is well presented. You can almost see the thoughts of which kind of pastry to order running through their heads at this point.
Take Advantage of Items With Visual Appeal
You need to capitalise on the items that are aesthetically fascinating in order to convince people to buy the add-on items you are selling. This will allow you to sell more of your add-on items. These are the aspects that will attract the attention of your customer and cause them to think, “Oh, that seems pretty interesting… I’d want to give it a go. If you want people to try new and interesting looking foods and drinks, it won’t do you any good to have a granita machine that churns out vividly coloured granita and is hidden away in a corner. In addition to that, check to be that your pastries have sufficient lighting. The majority of baked goods seem more attractive when illuminated with a softer, warmer light, however some frosted dishes look better when illuminated with a cooler light. Experiment with the things you already own, and don’t forget about the lighting! The key to successful merchandising is making the most of the space you have available to display products in a way that is both physically appealing and captures the attention of customers while they are waiting in line or debating what they want to drink.
The 80/20 Rule
The essence of this concept is that just 20% of your inventory will be responsible for 80% of your total sales. If you want to have the ability to fully understand this concept, it is possible that you will need to know what products fall into the 20% category. Here are several examples:
- Cookies, brownies, sweet
- Bags of coffee beans in their entirety
- tisanes vendues préemballées
- Products of baking
- Mugs, cups
- Brewers (French press, Chemex)
It will become clear to you that none of these beverages include espresso. Customers visit most coffee shops for the purpose of purchasing coffee, but businesses are able to remain in business thanks to the sale of other items. Because of this, it is essential to have merchandise that is apparent. Keep an eye on how well these products are selling to ensure that you are maintaining your dedication to supplying your customers with high-quality items that are relevant to their needs. When considering the addition of new items to your inventory, it is imperative that you ask yourself the following two questions:
- In what ways will it complement the other products that we offer? (Will it be obvious to everyone that it’s there?)
- Will the amount of money made from sales be sufficient to cover the costs of producing the product and promoting it?
Presentation And Organization
In the world of visual merchandising, everything revolves on how an item appears to the customer. People won’t bother looking by means of your store if it seems chaotic and unorganised, so don’t expect them to rummage by means of it in the event you want to sell them anything. Displaying all of your goods in an orderly and aesthetically pleasing manner is a must.
In the instance of the pastry case, we have seen that this is very effective. A coffee shop was selling their high-end pastries in their original packaging, but it seemed as if the shop had gone to the supermarket, bought the pastries, and then tossed them in the display case without giving them any more consideration. They just purchased a couple of them on a daily basis at most. After they came to this conclusion, they removed the pastries from their package and meticulously arranged them on porcelain plates before setting them aside. The next day, they were having trouble maintaining a proper level of stock in their pastry case.
This just serves to further emphasise how important presentation is across the board. People go to a coffee shop because they want to acquire pastries of the highest quality that look delectable and, of course, taste scrumptious. No one wants to buy anything that seems to be stale or that was bought from a grocery store. In addition to this, you need to make sure that your product cabinets and pastry case seem as like they are filled, but not completely packed. Customers do not want to take the last of an item for a variety of reasons, including courtesy and a concern that the item may have gone out of date. However, if there are either too many options or too many of the same item, customers will feel overwhelmed. A good rule of thumb is to show around six of any food products, four of any coffee bag or merchandising products, and two of any higher priced items like brewers at any one time. You should begin by following these recommendations, but feel free to change things up if you find that various configurations perform better in your market.
Your Employees
What more effective method of marketing could there be than using your very own employees? Although well-planned and well-maintained displays go a long way, having staff members who are always on the lookout for opportunities to help customers makes your efforts 10 times more manageable. It is important that kids develop the habit of being watchful as soon as possible. Your employees should know when to step in and help someone out who appears confused or is wandering around unsure of what they are looking for, and they should also know when to inquire as to whether or not the person is finding what they are looking for. This is especially important if the person appears to be lost. In the domain of merchandising, having the capacity to provide recommendations or solutions for how to up-sell the add-on items is another useful feature to have.
These skills need training, as well as a high level of familiarity on the part of your staff with your company’s offerings. It is very necessary for them to have tried each of the pastries and coffees in order for them to be able to “speak from experience” when responding to a customer’s inquiries or making a suggestion to a customer. It is a good idea to have a data sheet on hand that lists the components of each kind of pastry that you sell, just in case your customers forget anything or want more information.
More Cafe Marketing Ideas