New Year, New Strategy – What Does Your 2014 Retail Merchandising Plan Entail?

It is that time of year again. The holidays are behind us and the rush to get things prepped and ready for shoppers is finally in the past. This time of year often represents a slower period – so why not take the time to regroup and revamp? This New Year, get your retail marketing plan in tip-top shape. 

So, what does your 2014 plan entail? You likely already have a system in place to ensure that you have the right people and the right processes – but this doesn’t mean there isn’t room for improvement.

Move forward by looking backwards. First of all – before you revamp you need to review. Go over last year’s numbers – what worked and what didn’t? If things were great in one area, but not stellar in another, clearly there are improvements to be made.  

Check your inventory. Maybe the New Year means inventory time for your business. Knowing what is in your stockroom after the busy holiday season is crucial if you want to avoid shortages in the coming weeks. This may necessitate extra people support after your seasonal staff is gone, so find a merchandising company that can offer trained and experienced temporary employees. 

Price check. Make sure that ticketed prices and signage is correct coming out of the busy season. Even a small signage mishap can be costly, so make sure that you take the time to review those prices and replace any tags that no longer reflect the most accurate price.  

Stay up to date.  Keeping up with the latest retail trends is crucial, especially at this time of the year. People are often looking for the latest and greatest, even when they don’t know it, so make sure that you are keeping abreast of those changes. This could be something as simple as recognizing the growing importance of eco-friendly products and ordering to suit this need to something as complex as entirely new visual merchandising trends. 

Get some help. Having a plan in place for the coming year is important – but what if you don’t have the time to execute it or don’t really know where to start? A merchandising company can help with everything from extra people to planogram execution and compliance to complete merchandising plans.  

This year, maximize your return on investment with a retail merchandising plan that takes into account the newest trends and the most popular customer wants/needs. Storesupport can help. Contact us today by calling 1-877-421-5081 or visit www.storesupport.ca.