Why a Fresh Looking Store is Important Even in Thrift

When customers see fresh stuff every visit they are almost compelled to stop in to see what's new.

Photo by Zoe Schaeffer on Unsplash.

We aren’t exactly the produce section at the grocery store, but still keeping a sales floor looking and feeling fresh to customers critical.

Thrift customers are bargain shoppers and are always on the hunt for that next great deal. That’s where fresh comes in. Customers that see the same stuff visit after visit come in less and less often. Customers that see something different every time they drop by, come in more often.

When they see fresh stuff every visit they are almost compelled to stop in to see what’s new.

There are a few ways to keep a store looking fresh:

1. Stuff coming out of the back room to the sales floor. This is by far the best and most important way to keep a sales floor looking fresh.

2. Moving stuff around. It’s amazing how moving an item or group of items from one part of the store to another makes things sell better.

3. Get sold stuff off the sales floor. No one wants to look at the deal they missed out on.

4. Put complementary items together. Displays that show a whole living room lamps, decor, and all make a store look great. Belts next to pants ties next to suits.

5. Keep clutter to a minimum. In thrift, it’s super easy for odds and ends to pile up, especially around the checkouts.

6. Keep displays looking full. End caps and displays can sell a lot of stuff. They also send a message of fresh and full, or not.

7. If too much of something piles up have a sale. We recently ran a $1 sale on kitchen chairs. We had so many they were beginning to overwhelm other departments. Yes, the money wasn’t there, but space was cleared for better fresh stuff.

8. In thrift, we start behind because the stuff we are selling is less than perfect. A super clean store helps make up for that.

Great merchandising is also great customer service.

Click here for your free 1 page PDF

Thanks for reading!

Tim Gebauer — Thrift Merchant

I am happy to connect on LinkedIn.

Check out some great custom artwork at my Redbubble site.

You can also find me on Pinterest.

Check out my Online Sellers book on Amazon.

I also write on Medium.