7 Optical Shop Ideas for Growing Sales

“First impressions are everything,” and this is certainly true for optical shop ideas as well. But how do you continue impressing customers who make the effort to visit your store?

Here, you get 7 proven ideas for your optical store that will make your customers rave like this-

“You’ve got to see this place. It’s just great!”

Optical Shop Ideas that are Absolute “Sale-Magnets”

1) Make their Visit Count: Optical Shop Ideas

In this age of e-commerce, optical shops like you must put your best foot forward when it comes to convincing buyers that your store is worth visiting.

It’s easier than ever to buy glasses just by tapping on a few buttons on the screen. However, feeling emotions outside of the digital realm is difficult.

More than ever, Customers wish to experience all the lovely emotions that occur with coming into a store, trying on things, asking their family’s opinions, and then buying.

Make your consumers receive excellent optical “retail-therapy.”

Ensure these things:

• Your employees are well-versed in the fundamentals of what shapes fit which face types, as well as the most recent eye fashion trends.
• Greet them in a polite and encouraging manner, as if they were guests in your house. An open heart is the finest method to greet a customer.
• Allow your optical customers to explore for a while before returning to make a positive comment about whatever they are looking at.
• Your initial objective is to gain the shopper’s confidence so that your recommendations are respected.

If you implement these optical shop ideas right, you’ll have the pleasure of experiencing a significant boost in your optical sales.

2) Allow Customers to Touch and Try on Glasses:

Your optical clients are more likely to spend more money on items that they can feel and touch.

People place such a high value on the sensory experience that the more time they spend looking at and holding items, as well as trying on the glasses they like, the more money they are willing to pay for them. In this case, Ari’s Billing Software for Optical Shops is going to help your business.

What can you do?

1) Train your staff to not restrict the customers from trying on glasses and freely explore different options

• Train your staff to be keenly observant about what customers are getting drawn to and then step in to guide them with their knowledge of optical products.

2) When selling multiple-pair frames, sell the second pair first

• For example, because sunglasses are typically sold as the second pair, you can tell the patient, “The doctor has issued you this prescription for your ‘indoor’ spectacles.” Before we begin with those, I’d want to ask about your ‘outdoor’ glasses. This prescription can also be used for your ‘outdoor’ glasses.

3) Train your staff to have an interactive model of conversations about the customers’ feedback regarding their last shopping experiences in your store

• If they have any resentment, you can take that into consideration and address their concern (making them feel heard). This makes the customers feel cared for and works like a charm.

It is one of the best Optical Shop Ideas so, this is yet another proven optical shop idea. It is better that you should not subscribe to the outdated “Do not touch the product” mentality.

3) Use the Right Visuals, Sounds, and Scents: Optical Shop Ideas

According to many retail research, when individuals are nostalgic, they are less concerned about money and are thus prepared to spend more on items.

Use this insight to grow Optical Business at your optical store. It can truly have a great impact if done right.

What can you do?

1) Use photographs and music to create an in-store ambiance that invokes memories and emotions

• Images of family, holidays (people wearing sunglasses on their family beach vacations), and nostalgic music are absolute deal-makers.

2) The music you play in your optical store has the potential to affect not just how much consumers spend, but also what they buy. So, choose wisely

• Stores that play jazz or classical music are viewed as more sophisticated, and consumers who enter are more likely to spend more than those that play pop or rock music.
• Calming music often assists customers in slowing down, enjoying shopping, and relaxing into the retail experience of your optical store.

3) Shoppers in scented spaces (particularly vanilla and clementine scents) tend to remain longer or believe that they have spent less time buying than they really have. Use this to your advantage

• They perceive the assortment of goods as better and the offerings as more contemporary; they indicate a stronger desire to buy and are prepared to pay higher costs.

4) When selecting smells for your optical store, you must ensure that they are relevant to and compatible with your target group

• A Swedish retailer performed study on this, using vanilla perfume in the women’s section and a spicy honey aroma in the men’s. Customers spent more time, bought more things, and spent more money, nearly tripling sales. Customers spent much less in the perfumed atmosphere when the fragrances were flipped (vanilla for males and spice for women).

The optical industry, with its one-of-a-kind combination of products and services, as well as its clinical, technological, and fashion environments, strongly engages one sense (sight).

However, you can use these optical shop ideas to comprehensively use all other senses to create a distinct, personalized customer experience to even triple your sales.

4) Offer Surprise Rewards:

Surprise rewards are effective: they may make people happier and more favorable about you.

Expected benefits, on the other hand, are less effective and may even result in lower levels of enjoyment.

Adding that extra special something to your customer’s store visit not only improves optical sales but also makes your optical customers more loyal.

What can you do?

1) Provide the optical customers of your loyalty program with random benefits

• Benefits can range from free cupcakes to concert tickets. Members will want to share the exciting surprise with others, which may be a terrific way to develop user-generated content for your company.

2) Print exclusive vouchers or gift cards in front of them to make them feel extra special about their purchases

• You can use Ari Optical POS to instantly print desired vouchers and gift cards for your customers with zero hassles.

Unexpected benefits provide an emotional high that people want to experience again and again. That is why this idea, among the other optical shop ideas is so effective (it is truly addictive).

5) Know Who Your Customers Are, and Who They Aren’t: Optical Shop Ideas

There are distinctions in the personality styles of your optical store customers to consider.

Once you grasp the personality types, you’ll recognize that most customers aren’t attempting to be difficult or take their time—simply it’s how they navigate the world.

And you’ll be able to keep up with them, generating more optical sales than ever with the help of Optical Software.

Here are the four personality types and the factors that influence purchase habits:

• The Driver personality type prefers to be in command, communicates in short phrases, and must be perceived as an achiever.
• The Analytical personality has a rational buying process, which means they want all of the features and benefits demonstrated to their satisfaction before purchasing…which might take some time.
• The Expressive personality sees potential in everything and will follow their intuition; they know what they want and buy emotions rather than facts.
• The Amiable personality prefers to avoid controversy by purchasing items that are popular or utilized by celebrities.

You’ll grasp the personality types after you understand your customers with these optical shop ideas.

6) Take part in Eye Observance Days:

Participate in eye health observance days to raise awareness about the importance of vision care.

These holidays provide an excellent chance to raise awareness, engage existing and new patients and provide special offers to improve optical revenue.

Here are some eye care observances you must take part in:

• National Sunglasses Day
• Save Your Vision Month
• Women’s Eye Health & Safety Month
• National Eyewear Day
• Fireworks Eye Safety Month
• World Sight Day

You can simply segment and target your client database for these events with Ari Optical POS based on their purchase history, preferences, and even family tree.

7) Send Regular Emails to Your Optical Patients: Optical Shop Ideas

Email marketing may open up a world of possibilities for your optical store sales.

It can lead to new patient acquisition, increased patient loyalty, higher average revenue per patient, and lower total marketing expenses.

Use Email Marketing to:

• Send monthly newsletters to your optical patients.
• Notifications of special discounts, developments at your optical shop, new equipment or new staff members, new blog entries, contests, and giveaways.
• Send appointment reminders, thank you notes, and birthday greeting cards. You may also provide referral benefits to consumers who promote their friends and family.

Email Marketing is made easy with Ari Optical POS’s integration with Mailchimp software. You can use this well-known software to implement all the optical shop ideas suggested above.

Are You Ready to Boost your Optical Sales?

Allow Ari Optical POS to take care of all your optical inventory management needs and help you implement the optical store ideas that we discussed.

You can continue attracting new optical patients while increasing sales of designer frames, prescription eyeglasses, and more.