If we talk about brick-and-mortar stores, they can be found in shopping malls, town centers, on the streets, or in small communities. People associated with brick-and-mortar retail have the ability to sell something, such as groceries and clothes. If the customers like those products, they decide whether to buy that particular product or not.
The COVID-19 pandemic indeed has had a lasting effect on the eCommerce industry. Even though the setbacks are massive, the growth of retail stores can be continuously seen across the digital world. In 2020, the global retailers saw their revenue rise to $4 trillion via their physical stores. This figure is likely to move up to $6.5 trillion by the end of 2024. This guide will discuss the best strategies for getting the best out of the brick-and-mortar business model and how you can open your own retail store.
Introduction
For those who want to know what is brick-and-mortar retail, it is a location that enables the business owners to showcase their products via a physical storefront. Customers can browse products, interact with sales representatives, and see if those products benefit them or not. For example, if there is a new clothing brand in the market, customers can view the information of the clothes and try them.
These stores work by selling products to the customers who drop in. If your physical store has an attractive storefront, it can catch the customer’s attention straight away. Once the customers enter the store, they will be able to visualize and interact with the products that they think of buying. If there is a fitting room, they will also be able to try them.
Best Strategies to Open a Retail Store
1. Right Location
If you look at any high-quality example of brick-and-mortar retail, they will look at various factors in determining the right space for their store. It is not just about putting the right offer for renting a storefront in a busy eCommerce district. You must know where your customers are at present (town, city, or district). Moreover, you can also search for shipping information for well-known locations. Strikingly allows you to integrate Google Analytics into your online store to know where your customers are coming from.
Secondly, you must also know whether there are more online stores in the market that are selling similar products. For that, you must do competitor analysis to ensure that you are aware of business owners in the same domain as you. The biggest thing that goes unnoticed by business owners is the ease of access. The biggest frustration that the customers have is the inability to find a nearby parking spot. So, if your store has parking nearby, it will create a good impression.
2. POS System
The next step for the brick-and-mortar retailers is selecting the best possible point-of-sale (POS) system. For any eCommerce platform, payments are vital for the shopping process. The POS system will enable you to take payments from the in-store shopkeepers. High-quality website builders, such as Strikingly, provide business owners with the function of accepting payments via PayPal.
Image taken from Strikingly
PayPal is the perfect gateway that enables online business owners to accept online payments. Nowadays, customers want the purchasing process to be done in a flash. If you go shopping frequently, you will understand what we are trying to convey. By adding Paypal to your website, Strikingly will make it convenient for your visitors to finalize their online buying. They don’t need to waste time submitting the cheque to your online store to confirm the transaction. Moreover, you can also reduce failed or late payments.
3. Hire and Train Associates
Brick-and-mortar retailers are highly vital to the success of your store. They are the first people to interact with the customers or anyone who requires help with a product that they think of buying. If you put a proper job advertisement, you will likely find your first retail associate. Their daily responsibilities are as follows:
- Welcoming customers and helping them out with their purchases
- Processing payments via POS system
- Maintaining customer loyalty
- Making visual merchandising displays to gain passersby
- Carrying brand loyalty initiatives
Once you can find the best people for customer interactions, you must train them properly. You must bring them up in the ranks to ensure that your store grows. Remember, it is not necessarily about how qualified your associates are, it is just about how they interact with people.
4. Inventory Management
When you are trying to understand what is brick-and-mortar retail, you will also be introduced to inventory management. For those who want to know, it is a process of recording all the items available for sale. According to research, retail inventory results are accurate only 63% of the time. Retailers are usually unaware of the items they have at their disposal as they are promoting out-of-stock products.
If you promote the out-of-stock products on your social media channels, it will only be a matter of time before your customers recognize that, which will harm your brand image. To maintain the integrity of your store, you must make sure that you are keeping track of the in-store inventory.
5. Pandemic Restrictions
Even though the concept of virtual shopping has changed the eCommerce industry for good, many customers still feel the need to go to physical stores. Ever since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is not a secret that people have changed their ways of shopping. For those who want to go in-store, the majority of the customers feel secure when brick-and-mortar retailers put the precautions on display to reduce the risk of infections. The precautions include the following:
- Providing hand sanitizers
- One-way route of entering and leaving the store
- A certain number of people allowed at a particular time in the store
- Click-and-collect services
6. In-Store Shopping with Ecommerce
As we have mentioned above briefly, you can use your physical presence to improve your online sales dramatically. Around 73% of the customers worldwide use multiple channels for shopping purposes. In fact, if you look at any high-quality example of brick-and-mortar retail, they would welcome their customers to use multiple channels for shopping. The easiest way of doing it is by collecting your customers’ email addresses when shopping in your physical store.
Image taken from Twitter
Once you get their email addresses, you can use them for future retargeting or welcoming them to your online store. If they are happy with your physical store, it is more than likely that they will be pleased with your online store. The best form of advertising is the recommendation from families and friends. If you see people talking about your online store, you can reward them. Moreover, if you see your customers talking about a product that they recently purchased from your store, you can thank them as well.
Build a Store on Strikingly
Now, as you know the best strategies for brick-and-mortar retailers to implement, you can use this knowledge for your own online business. Through Google, you will find numerous eCommerce websites, and the majority would require proper technical skills to run efficiently. On the other, Strikingly is a top-class website builder that allows you to create your business websites in less than an hour.
Image taken from Strikingly
Regardless of the niche that you have in your mind, Strikingly will always have the kind of template that ticks all of your boxes. In the collection, you will find all pre-made templates on which you can modify content and images as per your liking. Strikingly understands the importance of valuable content. Hence, we ensure that the business owners can convey their message regarding their brand to the customers. Through Strikingly VIP options, you also have the option of maximizing interactions with your customers. The more you hear the customer’s opinion, your online business will evolve.
Image taken from Strikingly User’s Website
Speaking of interactions, social media is one brilliant option for making customers part of your plans. Strikingly also understands the role of social media integration in the welfare of an online business. As a result, we give our business owners an opportunity to include social media links on their websites so they can gain more followers. By including social media links, there is an increased possibility that your content or images will go viral.
Conclusion
We can safely say that the experience of brick-and-mortar retail isn’t going away. The owners of brick-and-mortar stores have to think considerably about the location, the way in which they will manage their inventory, and how they can ensure safety for their customers while shopping post-pandemic.
Image taken from Strikingly
If you want the best for your eCommerce website, you must rely on a high-quality website builder, such as Strikingly. By relying on us, you can create your website in just under 20 minutes and start focusing on developing your online presence. Are you ready for the success of your online business? Sign up on Strikingly right away and work your way to the top.
