Retail Store Operations – A Roadmap to Excellence
The definitive guide to wholesale buying
January 20, 2021
The A to Z of starting your own dream retail business
January 29, 2021Retail store operations mean all those activities that enable the smooth and efficient functioning of the store. These activities include store layout, physical inventory, human resources management, promotional activities, cash operations, pricing, supply chain, data management, and many more. All these activities are required to perform at their peak level and in harmony to ensure effective retail store operations. The key focus areas for achieving operational excellence include the following:
Optimizing store layout and design
One of the factors that can ensure a great shopping experience for customers is the store and product placement design. The aesthetics of a store requires an optimum synchronization of science and art. The key aspects to ensure an optimized store design include:
- Store location must be such that it is easily visible for customers to find it and should not be at a location that faces heavy traffic congestion.
- The flooring; the placement of shelves geometrically, straight or in angle; the display of products in categories or order of popularity; and space must set the right atmosphere conducive for shoppers to go about their shopping.
- The best strategies for visual merchandising must be implemented to make the product displays attractive and to ensure the sale of the experience of purchasing and not the product.
- Retailers must pay attention to lighting, music, and maintenance services so that customers like to stay in the store for a longer time, thereby increasing the probability of purchase or higher bill amount.
- There must be enough signage inside the store to direct customers to the products, services, or offers they are looking for and outside the store to navigate the exact location.
Continuous improvement in customer services
It is rightly said, ‘Customer is the King!’ Therefore, excellent customer service becomes an essential feature of any retail store to ensure customers’ loyalty towards the brand or store. It is the area where offline retail stores can differentiate from online stores and achieve a competitive advantage over others. Positive, personalized service is the key differentiator. The key aspects of customer services may include:
- Greetings to customers
- Multiple touchpoints for customers
- Personal services
- Rewards for loyal customers
- Help in case of non-availability of the product
- Guidance in case of a concern regarding a product
- Returns and refunds
Better inventory management
A comprehensive inventory management system is the key to adapt well to the changing dynamics of demand and supply. It is a complex process, but it leads to greater productivity for a retail store if managed well. Retailers must ensure that accurate records are maintained, forecasting of demand and sales is reliable, and the production cycle runs as per the requirement, thereby saving time and money. The following functions require better administration to achieve a successful inventory management system:
- Retailers need to ensure that the demands of customers are anticipated well in advance to obtain the right stock items at the right time in the right quantities, and a good merchandize mix is obtained so that the customers have options in ingredients, colors, sizes, and other features for choosing the final product for purchase.
- Merchandise must be handled appropriately so that shelves and displays are never empty, items are moved smoothly for delivery, and shipped items from vendors are handled properly before moving to the store.
- Retailers must keep track of the shipments received, maintain records, and handle them properly, so that good condition is maintained in the stores.
- Pricing must be checked thoroughly physically and in the systems to account for supply and demand, discounts, promotions, and seasonal fluctuations.
Investing in staff members
It is essential for the retailers to have knowledgeable staff in the products and services sold, have good communication skills, and are kind and gentle. If that is not the case, a disconnect happens between the customer and the staff, thereby affecting the sales. Therefore, retailers must invest in onboarding the right candidates, conducting the required training for its staff members, and providing them the motivation to perform and grow through frequent reviews and incentives.
Streamlining functions through technology
There are multiple functions in the store operations, and all must work well for a profitable end-result. Technology can ensure this through an efficient task management system to help in the day-to-day operations of the retail store. The strategies include:
- Employing software for handling all the accounting and bookkeeping for the sales and purchase transactions guarantees better cash management.
- Maintaining multiple online checklists for store opening and closing, store cleaning, inventory stock keeping, products sold, new products arrived, and other lists promise a disciplined approach to store management.
- Using POS systems, customer relationship management platform, and barcoding for products help collect data, which, if used correctly and managed properly, can generate results to be used to strategize the marketing and promotional activities.
All of the above best practices can help the retailer ensure more streamlined operations of the retail store; however, all of the above must be managed congruently. These points will ensure that retailers achieve the operational excellence required to sustain these ever-changing, highly competitive, and tough business times.
