Clutter Kills Sales and Demotivates Employees
It's a constant battle no matter what type of store you operate.
Years ago a big box store I took over loved piling promotional stuff on the checkout counters. Not just the standard candy, snacks, and impulse items that are planned for. Department managers were constantly putting one more item on the counter itself. (we didn’t have moving belts)
There was so much stuff on the checkout counters there was almost no place for shoppers to put their items. It was over the top cluttered. This frustrated customers and cashiers.
On my first day, I banned everything but company-directed goods from that area. Clearing stuff from the counters, which I consider customer space, filled multiple shopping carts. The cashiers were ready to throw me a parade, the department managers wanted to run me out of town. Customers were happy for a little room to put their selections.
Later that week I had all the unnecessary clutter pulled from under and around the registers that cashiers had accumulated. Turned out there was a lot more junk under than on the registers. That included a lot of merchandise, often smaller valuable items that had no business being there.
It took some work, some habit changing but we set a new standard. The checkout area became consistently one of the cleanest neatest best-organized parts of the store. It was easier for cashiers to do their jobs, customer last impressions were positive and it was harder to steal. Most importantly that expectation helped set the tone for the rest of the store.
By picking one high-profile area everyone quickly understood what I expected and why. I listened to everyone that disagreed and gave them my why, which was about the customer experience. It did result in some quickly polarized opinions. Over the three years I was involved with that store I was consistent about customer experiences and keeping things where they belong.
As a result, every metric improved, sales, average sale, net profit. Shrink went down, customer returns went down, and so on. Turnover spiked then went down to the point we were in one of the best tiers in that metric.
Clutter pain points can include the lobby entrance area, fitting rooms, time clock areas, dock and receiving areas, managers and other offices, lockers, hallways, processing areas, and more.
Break rooms are also a pet peeve of mine, it is employee space that should feel good to be in. They should be clean, bright, painted regularly, floors shiny. The frig, well, it should be clean inside and out. A pleasant breakroom should be a daily priority.
My method on refrigerators was that everything was cleaned out every night. Nothing was allowed to be stored overnight. Even once a week is better than no process at all.
Getting rid of clutter makes for a more pleasant work and shopping experience reduces shrink damages and workman’s comp claims. It even reduces turnover.
about me
I am a thrift, eCommerce, and retail business expert located near Chicago helping individuals and entrepreneurs grow and succeed. You can benefit from my twenty-plus years of retail, and seven-plus years of thrift and eCommerce experience.
Check out my website, thethrifter.com for lots of thrift-oriented resources. You will find plenty of free tips for retailers, resellers, eCommerce operators, and shoppers. I’m always happy to connect on LinkedIn or Medium.
You might also be interested in my Thrift Merchandising ebook on Amazon. It’s about merchandising thrift stores more like traditional stores. It’s free with a Kindle Unlimited membership.
Tim Gebauer — The Thrifter