Pricing Ideas to Boost Sales in Retail

Boost sales in retail: If you are a retailer, it's an unfortunate fact of life that sales will slump from time to time. Don't feel too disheartened though: read on to get some good ideas about how to successfully increase sales and push your sales statistics upwards.

1. Examine Your Pricing Strategy

We believe that getting your pricing right is the number one solution to increasing sales. BlackCurve’s price optimisation software allows you to implement your pricing strategy over your entire inventory no matter how large. Our software blends the flexibility of a rules-based engine with the power of explainable artificial intelligence available 24/7. Retailers can therefore move beyond simple competitor price tracking and obtain the real benefits of dynamic pricing to increase sales. BlackCurve will find you hidden pockets of profit:

“A 12% increase in revenue and 9% increase in profit”.

BlackCurve Pricing Study 2019.

2. Ensure that your products are relevant

A winning product assortment will help you increase sales. Stay on top of your inventory to ensure that you’re stocking the right products at the right time. You need to have a clear idea of what’s selling, which products are making you money, and which ones are losers so you can make the right call when it comes to ordering products, running promotions, etc.

You can forecast demand by looking at historical data, current trends, and using old-fashioned intuition. Begin by scrutinising your product and sales reports and identify your principal items and how quickly they’re selling. This will give you a clearer idea of what items to order, the quantities you need, and when you need them by.

"Out of stock" is a depressing phrase for your customers. It not only results in missed sales opportunities but also diminishes customer satisfaction and brand perception. Customers will just move on to your competitors. To avoid this:

Have an inventory management system with stock level alerts, accurate reporting, and effective product ordering features and
Cultivate strong relationships with your suppliers

3. Promote corporate social responsibility

Multiple studies have shown that today’s consumers are more inclined to shop at stores that are associated with a good cause. Giving back and being more responsible can therefore boost your retail sales. Some ways to do this include:

Supporting a community project
Sponsoring staff members for charity events
Donating a portion of your sales to charity
Being more ethical with how you source or manufacture products

4. Connect with your customers

Have empathy with your customers and make them the centre of your initiatives. Note that whenever he holds a meeting, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has an empty chair in the room representing the customer!

It’s important to “understand your customers beyond how they engage with your business,” says Mark Bowen, a business development manager at ASD Bank. “ ....get busy knowing their deeper behaviour, likes and dislikes and what they value most.” This allows you to glean valuable intelligence about your customers and the knowledge to develop improved products, services and experiences, which in turn increase sales.

One notable example of this comes from IKEA. The company did a study of 8,292 people in eight cities to learn more about their morning routines. Doing this enabled IKEA to discover the challenges people face when getting ready for work and what things really hold them up.

The study led to IKEA coming up with a product called the Knapper, a full-length mirror with a built-in rack and hooks for hanging clothes and jewellery. The product helps people get ready faster by allowing them to put together their outfits the night before.

Excellent customer service is also a key to increasing sales. Always let the customer know you appreciate their business. Offer value-added services and products; impulse buys, upsells, and cross-sales can also really boost retail sales.

Although all the above will help you reach success, we can help you with your pricing!

Why should your retail company trust BlackCurve to increase your sales?

For Business Growth: this is achieved by setting the optimum price for EVERY product in your inventory.
To Increase Your Inventory Size: smart pricing automation frees up your time to extend your product offering.
To Move “Dead” Stock: BlackCurve’s proprietary algorithms increase sell through without the need for heavy discounting.

“Sell 5% of previously static inventory”.

BlackCurve Pricing Study 2019

Get Support from AI: pricing decisions are supported by AI, identifying smart pricing decisions 24/7.
Price Dynamically: change prices at any time to react to changes in your marketplace.

“2% of a retailer’s inventory is typically priced too low”.

“10% of a retailer’s inventory is typically priced too high.”

BlackCurve Pricing Study 2019

For Improved Competitive Benchmarking: know when to follow or when to ignore your competitors' pricing.
An Intelligent Use of Data: use sales history, website traffic, stock levels etc. to deliver the best price.
Transparency: every system-suggested price change is transparent and easily explained.
Will Save you Time and Resources: allows you to concentrate on other areas of business growth.

“Retailers save 104 days per year, per channel from pricing automation”.

BlackCurve Pricing Study 2019

Leading eCommerce Platform Integrations: seamless data transfers, a speedy set up and immediate ROI.
To Integrate with eCommerce Platforms: e.g. Magento, Big Commerce, Amazon and eBay, or hook straight into BlackCurve’s API.

Retail success and an increase in sales doesn’t generally just come down to one thing – it’s a combination of various retail practices done correctly, a continual journey of tweaking and improving. However, getting your pricing right is ALWAYS a vital component to boosting sales and with help from BlackCurve this is easily achievable. Book a chat now to see what we can do for you.