In addition to large promoting budgets, one issue that enormous retailers have over the small business is access to research. Major retailers pay thousands of dollars every year gathering info from consultants on current trends in fashion, technology, buying habits and more. As a little business owner, you would like to be up-to-date on what's happening in the marketplace, and often the sole professional you've got access to is... you!
You are already doing trend analysis in your store on a daily basis. Reading trade and shopper magazines plus listening to your customers' buying habits is trend research. When you're flipping through magazines, tear out articles and things of interest. Additionally to magazines, surf the net for sites focused on your business. Pay shut attention to articles that mention things you carry and note announcements of latest product offerings or updates to current products.
Listening to your customers' needs and noticing shopping for patterns can help you determine what things best fit your store. You know your merchandise better than anyone and I am going to bet you know which items in your store move faster than others. Keep track of your high sellers every week. Charting patterns of sales will facilitate you are expecting a way to balance your inventory within the future.
Don't forget to see what others are doing. Paying attention to what your competitors are bringing in (and seeing how briskly it moves off the shelves) can help you establish what sells well in your community.
It just takes some organization to flip your daily activities into useful information. I favor to organize research comes during a three-ring binder. They are straightforward to access, simple to update and durable. Create tabs for your magazine tear sheets, sales reports, and competitive research notes.
Go through your binder thoroughly before each shopping for trip or vendor visit. Arming yourself with analysis can make the buying process therefore a lot of easier! Do not depend upon your vendors to supply you with all your trend information. Vendors can provide nice information, however they are sales individuals, so typically the "hottest trends" simply happen to be items they carry. You will grasp what works best for your community and, more importantly, for your store. Usually trends don't hit everywhere at the identical time. For example, a big seller in Maryland may not make it big in Alabama for months, or it might not ever be a hot item there.
Knowing your market trends will facilitate your avoid shopping for mistakes. The investment of it slow in analysis can be well value it, as it pays off in better buys and bigger sales!
Miki Hicks has over 15 years of retail experience, working in each store and company environments. In the corporate world, Miki worked in sales, marketing, special events and trend analysis for major shops and specialty stores nationwide.
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