To maximize revenue in unattended retail, strategic product merchandising is essential. This involves the careful selection, presentation, and promotion of products. By utilizing a vending management system (VMS) such as the one offered by 365 Retail Markets, you can enhance your product merchandising efforts, leading to a 10% to 15% increase in sales across your micro markets, smart stores and vending machines. Here's how it works.
Tracking and adapting to product performance
Effective merchandising starts with closely monitoring product performance. When a product underperforms, it’s crucial to identify the reasons and make necessary adjustments. This continual evaluation helps retailers respond to market trends and optimize their product offerings. A VMS provides easy access to vital product performance data, enabling swift action.
Leveraging data for informed decisions
Data-driven decision-making is the cornerstone of successful merchandising. A VMS records sales data at your point of sale, providing insights into product performance. By analyzing metrics such as daily consumption rates and par levels, the VMS categorizes product performance as red (poor), yellow (average), or green (excellent). This approach ensures that decisions are based on concrete sales data rather than assumptions. Adjusting your product mix based on this data allows for optimized inventory and improved sales results.
Optimizing the product mix
Fine-tuning the product mix based on performance is critical. A beverage that sells well in a white-collar environment may not perform as well in a blue-collar setting. Underperforming products should be swapped out for those with higher demand. This strategy ensures that your shelf space is used to its fullest potential, keeping the product assortment dynamic and relevant. The VMS from 365 Retail Markets suggests alternative products based on location type, helping you select items with better sales potential. Stocking in-demand products also helps reduce spoilage, with proper product merchandising potentially cutting spoilage by up to 30%. For a three-route operation with a 5% spoilage rate, this could translate to over $75,000 in annual savings.
Commitment to continuous improvement
Merchandising is not a one-time task; it’s an ongoing process. Regularly revisiting and refining your strategies ensures that your product mix remains attractive to customers. A commitment to continuous improvement, with plans to review and adjust merchandising tactics based on feedback and performance data, is vital. Although this might seem tedious, a robust VMS simplifies the process by providing easy access to product performance metrics.
Want to boost sales at your locations? See how utilizing the 365 VMS will help you sell more products.
Contact 365 Retail Markets at [email protected] or visit their website at 365RetailMarkets.com.
