Think about your reaction to a sign or menu insert at your favorite restaurant announcing the day’s specials.  You assume these are items currently in season, or recent creations by the chef, or perhaps just good offers.  The fact that the specials are only available that day gives them an urgency they wouldn’t have if they were listed on the regular menu.

A list of daily specials also indicates to me that the restaurant is interested in constantly changing and evolving — and that they want to make coming there enticing, especially for their regulars.  These are all attributes of a good retail shop as well, aren’t they?

Look around your store to see what has changed in the last day or week. If there is no new display or signage, you may be losing customers who don’t feel it is worth coming in regularly to see the latest. 

It is not enough to have new arrivals tucked in amongst your existing stock. You need to draw the shoppers’ attention to goods that have just come in, and let them know what is exciting about this new merchandise.

If you can’t afford to bring in new lines at this time, the same effect can be achieved by shifting merchandise around in the store and cross-merchandising goods in new combinations.  Be sure to use signage to draw attention to any new displays.

You might also consider some “today only” pricing specials (which double as effective Facebook promotions.  Once customers learn that they may be rewarded with an exclusive sale price just for coming in on a given day, they may stop in more often to see what’s new.

Happy Retailing,

Carol “Orange” Schroeder