Business Management – Keep your finger on the (im)pulse!
The butchery department is an often overlooked hotspot for impulse sales. When shoppers hover over the meat display counters they continue to shop with their eyes. If the right item – whether on their shopping lists or not – is clearly visible and close at hand, a spur-of-the-moment sale is almost guaranteed.
We see the one-stop-shop trend everywhere – even in traditional clothing stores now also selling anything from toiletries to home comforts and hardware. At big butcheries the provision of meat enhancers and accessories has long been an important add-on service to meat prerequisites: herbs and spices, oils and vinegars, pickles and preserves, marinades and sauces, kebab sticks and biltong hooks, freezing and roasting bags…
When a customer wants to purchase braai products and accessories at a supermarket they head straight for the area next to or in close proximity of the butchery department – a very convenient spot for such things.
Considering that even Fruit and Veg stores have braai products at the checkout points, why do our independent butchers not bring the braai to the butchery, the traditional home of braaivleis? And, while at it, why not bring the braai to the place of action: the actual butchery?
Worldwide consumer behaviour studies show that consumers are just as likely to purchase items at the supermarket checkout that offer immediate gratification – like biltong, meat sticks and pork crackling – as those aimed at later use such as olive oil and marinades.
Likewise, the butchery paypoint can be construed as a location for fulfilling consumers’ post-shopping needs.
Charcoal, fire lighters, braai lighters and disposable braais are things that will be needed by a customer at one point or another, maybe even the same day.
Less needful but equally desirable are cookery books. There are very few shoppers who are not intrigued by books offering mouth-watering braai recipes and useful cooking tips – especially when they’re waiting to pay.
Creating attention-grabbing point of sale displays at or near the butchery counter area will ensure that you achieve the maximum number and value of impulse buys.
How to promote shopability and impulse sales
The presentation of product is almost as important as the product itself. You have only one chance to make a first impression and you want it to be a good one. Point of Sales displays can be anything from floor stands or counter displays to ballot boxes and custom printed stand-up displays.
Today’s hurried and harried customer appreciates interesting and exciting presentations, which also add to the overall image and impression of your store.
Well-planned and carefully executed presentations promote both shopability and impulse sales.
Seekers will find the merchandise they are looking for when they are presented neatly with impact, and segmented according to their motivation to purchase, while browsers will be impulsively drawn to provocative and poignant presentations projecting a “buy-now” appeal.
Shopability and impulse factors are:
• density (the amount of merchandise on the selling floor or fixture);
• accessibility (the customer’s ability to view the merchandise’s best assets and make a purchase with minimal effort);
• cross-merchandising (an additional item that accommodates the primary item the customer is considering, e.g. peppercorns and peppermills).
To add to the store’s buy-appeal it should always appear well-stocked, but not crammed, as over-stocked presentations are overwhelming to the customer and discourage product-handling. Conversely, empty or sparsely merchandised fixtures give the impression that you do not have a complete assortment.
Accessibility of the product is as important as density. Time-pressed customers do not have or take the time to strain, reach or squat to remove items from fixtures for closer inspection. By taking into account the customer’s vantage, retailers can position the merchandise attributes in the most flattering way.
Presenting the right mix of products is crucial. To be effective, cross-presented merchandise must relate in a logical way, such as coordinating items that would be used together. E.g Apple Sauce, with the pork, mint with the lamb etc.
Chronological order seems logical in the case of braai products, but it doesn’t end with placing braai lighters next to braai tongs. Pack sizes – from big at eye level (the shopper’s first vantage point) to small at the bottom – are important, as is assortment, including price variety.
Many a braai expert will tell you charcoal chunks could never compare to the quality of briquettes; others say differently. Price difference, however, is a common denominator. As far as quantity is concerned, a flat dweller will require a smaller pack size than a home owner.
There is nothing as annoying for a customer than having to drive or walk from store to store, or walk from one point of a store to the other, to find a variety of simple, complimentary items that should be stocked together (or be stocked in the first place).
It’s all about giving your customers a choice. This will save them from having to make an unnecessary trip to another store and save you from losing money.
