How to Increase Sales in Retail: 15 Expert Strategies

Despite digital and economic shifts, retail is still the backbone of American commerce. Contributing 3.9 trillion to annual GDP, retailers have long demonstrated profitable business models, serving as the vital link between producers and consumers by offering a wide range of goods and services directly to end-users.

By providing more convenient access to products, personalized experiences via VR and data analysis, and seamless digital transactions, retailers can generate substantial revenue streams and build lasting customer relationships. Additionally, advancements in technology and ecommerce have expanded the reach and adaptability of retail, further enhancing your profitability and influence in the global economy.

In an increasingly digital age, ways to optimize have increased ten-fold. And we’re here to tell you about them. Read on to learn how to increase your sales easily using modern means with 15 expert strategies.

15 Expert Ways to Increase Retail Sales

Want to learn how to increase store sales? We chat with local retailers all day, everyday. Here are our 15 favorite ways to increase sales in a retail business and how to get started.

1. Promote your local brand

These days, everyone wants to go “local.” Highlighting your business’s local roots and community involvement can resonate with customers seeking to support local businesses. Emphasize your unique story, values, and connections to the community through signage, social media posts, and local partnerships to attract loyal patrons who prioritize shopping local.

2. Make loyalty a key part of your retail sales strategy

Have consistent shoppers? Implementing a loyalty program rewards repeat customers for their patronage, encourages return visits, and increases customer lifetime value. It’s one of the best methods for how to improve sales in retail store businesses. Offer incentives such as discounts, exclusive access to sales or events, and personalized offers based on purchase history to cultivate long-term relationships and foster brand loyalty.

3. Offer free shipping

Since the advent of retailers like Amazon, instant, free shipping has become the new standard. Incentivize online purchases by offering free shipping, particularly for orders above a certain threshold. Free shipping promotions can reduce cart abandonment rates, increase average order value, and attract new customers who prioritize convenience and cost savings when shopping online. (If you’re worried about overspending on shipping items that get frequently returned, consider segmenting a “final sale” section or implementing a restocking fee.)

4. Offer complimentary and paid services

Unpaid leads to paid. Enhance their shopping experience by offering complimentary services such as personal styling consultations, product demonstrations, or beauty makeovers. Additionally, consider providing premium services for a fee such as expedited shipping, gift wrapping, or extended warranties to cater to customers willing to pay for added convenience or value-added services.

5. Launch attention-getting promotions

Create buzz and drive sales with attention-grabbing promotions such as limited-time discounts, flash sales, or buy-one-get-one offers. Promote these promotions through various channels including email marketing, text marketing, social media, and in-store signage to generate excitement and urgency among customers. Use high quality images, videos, gifs, VR, emojis, links, and more. Personalized quizzes and gamified apps can really increase engagement.

6. Offer customers personalized service

Want to learn how to increase retail sales? Personalization, personalization, personalization. Shoppers want an experience tailored to their preferences and history with you. Deliver personalized shopping experiences by training staff to anticipate and fulfill individual customer needs and preferences. Use customer data and purchase history to tailor product recommendations, offer personalized advice, and provide attentive service that exceeds expectations, fostering loyalty and repeat business.

7. Speed up the buying process

Speed is one of the best ways to boost sales in retail. These days, customers want the fastest checkout experience you can offer. Streamline your checkout process to minimize wait times and reduce friction for customers. Implement mobile POS systems, self-checkout options, or contactless payment methods (such as text-to-pay) to expedite transactions and improve overall customer satisfaction. Your customers should be able to pay through any medium they prefer.

8. Leverage social media

Harness the power of social media platforms to engage with customers, showcase products, and drive traffic to your retail store or ecommerce website. Create compelling content, run targeted ads, and engage with followers through comments, messages, and live streams to build brand awareness and encourage purchase decisions. Don’t forget the power of user-generated content. Consider creating a photo booth in your shop and inviting customers to share their experiences with your store online for a prize.

9. Host events

Get your party hat on! Organize in-store events, workshops, or product launches to attract foot traffic, foster community engagement, and drive sales. Offer exclusive discounts or giveaways for event attendees and promote the event through social media, text marketing, and local partnerships to maximize attendance and impact.

10. Storytelling

Good stories sell-especially in retail. Use storytelling to create emotional connections with customers and differentiate your brand in a crowded marketplace. Share the story behind your products, highlight the craftsmanship or ethical sourcing practices, and showcase customer testimonials to resonate with shoppers on a deeper level. Your customers will feel a unique bond to you and your products.

11. Get customer feedback.

Solicit feedback from customers through surveys and in-person interactions to gain insights into their preferences, pain points, and shopping experience. Use this feedback to identify areas for improvement, tailor product offerings, and drive referrals.

12. Make sure you always have stock in customer “favorites”

Don’t run out of the favs! Monitor sales trends and inventory levels to ensure that popular products are consistently stocked and readily available to meet customer demand. Implement inventory management systems and reorder triggers to replenish stock proactively and prevent out-of-stock situations. If you do run out-of-stock, create waitlists and offer free shipping or text updates to maximize convenience.

13. Implement a website chat feature

Don’t sleep on turning your website into a conversation starter. With a text-based website chat feature like Webchat, you can generate up to 11 times more inbound leads from your site. By collecting lead information before each conversation starts, you and your team can deliver highly personalized, convenient customer experiences that don’t sacrifice quality for quantity. And with messaging capacities, you can connect with customers in the channel they prefer.

14. Optimize store layout and design

Did you know that you can design your store to sell itself? A well-designed store layout can influence customer behavior and encourage impulse purchases. By strategically placing high-margin items near the entrance or checkout counter and creating clear pathways for navigation, you can increase your ROI without breaking a sweat.

15. Capitalize on reviews

If you offer an excellent customer experience, your customers are probably more than willing to leave a review–you just need to make it easy. Remove barriers to feedback by using text-based, automatic review invites. With the right platform, you can program an invite to be sent at the exact moment in your customer journey when your client is happiest–right after a purchase, showing, etc. They simply click the link to review you, and get an automatic thank-you or discount. Their feedback shows up online, attracting even more customers to try your amazing service.

How to Market a Retail Store: 5 Ways

Now that we’ve covered ways to increase sales, let’s chat about how to market your store. Here are five proven methods to get you started:

Beef up your communications

Marketing includes being in constant communication with your customers. You should aim to connect in ways that are relevant and value-driven to make sure your customers feel valued and not bombarded. Send regular newsletters, promotional offers, and exclusive discounts to your subscriber list. Personalize content based on customer preferences, purchase history, and behavior to increase engagement and drive sales. Use compelling subject lines and visually appealing designs to grab attention and encourage recipients to open and click through to your website or store.

Consider influencer marketing

Partnering with influencers, experts, or micro-influencers in your niche can amplify your brand reach and credibility, especially if you’re a smaller business. Collaborate with influencers to create sponsored content, product reviews, or sponsored posts that authentically showcase your products and resonate with their audience. Influencer marketing can help increase brand visibility, drive traffic, and generate sales through trusted recommendations and endorsements.

Consider SMS marketing campaigns

Did you know that text has a 209% higher response rate than phone, email, or Facebook? And over 65% of consumers think texting makes working with a local business more convenient.

Incorporate SMS marketing into your retail strategy to deliver timely promotions, event announcements, and personalized offers directly to customers’ mobile phones. SMS marketing offers a direct and immediate communication channel to reach customers, making it an effective tool for driving sales and increasing customer engagement. Always address customers by name, and make sure they’ve opted in first!

Leverage video

Retail has become increasingly visual and motion-driven. Harness the power of video marketing to showcase your products, tell your brand story, and engage with customers on a deeper level. Create compelling video content such as product demonstrations, tutorials, or behind-the-scenes footage to captivate your audience and drive engagement. Share videos across social media platforms, your website, and email newsletters to increase brand visibility, educate customers, and inspire purchase decisions.

Try out direct mail

It may be 2024, but snail mail is still alive and well. Explore direct mail marketing as a targeted and tangible way to reach potential customers and drive sales, especially for high-ticket items or when marketing to older customer segments. Design and send postcards, flyers, or catalogs featuring your products, promotions, and special offers to targeted mailing lists based on demographics, location, or purchase history. Direct mail allows you to stand out in a crowded digital landscape and capture the attention of recipients in their homes, making it a valuable complement to your digital marketing efforts.

Get Started

Want to get started with the platform that does it all? Meet Podium.

With Podium, you can attract more customers, save your team time, and deliver an outstanding experience through the power of text. Podium’s AI-powered platform centralizes all of your communications, making sure you never miss a message or an opportunity to connect. Automatic review invites help you gather every bit of feedback, and text-powered payments make secure and convenient checkouts a breeze.

Join over 100,000 local businesses optimizing their processes. Try Podium today.