2014 Trends For The Retail Fashion Industry

With the new year upon us, retail fashion store owners across the country are preparing and strategizing for the 12 months ahead. In the world of retail fashion, trends play a pivotal role in the success of a business. Stores offering 'hot' garments that are popular and in high demand will ultimately trump stores offering dated, low-demand garments. This goes back to the basic economic principles of supply and demand. So, what are some retail fashion trends to look for in 2014?

Niche Stores

If you live in a highly populated city or suburban area, you're probably well aware of the growing number of niche apparel stores opening up. There are still plenty of national chain retailers which offer all types of apparel, but small businesses tend to have greater success when operating niche stores focused around a specific type or category of apparel. 

For instance, female teen clothing stores have become a popular niche, as they target a specific demographic. If a young girl wants to purchase an outfit, which store do you think she would choose: a general apparel store or one that specifically sells female teen apparel?

You read more about how to choose a niche for your retail apparel store in our previous blog post located here.

Go Mobile

If you aren't incorporating mobile into your retail apparel store's overall marketing strategy, you're missing out on a massive amount of untapped potential. According to a recent State of The Internet Webinar, mobile web traffic will trump desktop traffic in 2014. This means store owners with a web presence must cater to the unique needs of smartphone and mobile users; otherwise, all of this traffic will end up going to their competitors.

Even if you don't operate an e-commerce website for your retail apparel store business, you can still utilize mobile into your marketing strategy. Quick read (QR) codes have become a hot trend that's growing in the world of retail. These square-shaped bar codes allow businesses to market their products and services to mobile users. Users scan the QR codes with their smartphone or device to access to a webpage. This webpage may contain promotional codes, discounts, coupons, new products, or practically anything else the store owners chooses to display.

Fashion on a Budget

There's a growing consumer demand for inexpensive fashion garments as opposed to luxury, high-dollar items. Don't get me wrong, consumers are still buying the $1,000+ handbags, but not nearly as much as the lower-dollar items. If you operate a retail fashion store, consider offering more of the budget-friendly garments and accessories to your clients.

Full-Body vs Partial-Body Mannequin: Which One Should I Choose?

Mannequins have been used in retail apparel stores and businesses for centuries. While their construction and design has changed, their overall objective remains the same: to provide a realistic human form for displaying garments and accessories. If you plan to use them in your retail store or business, however, one of the decisions you'll have to make is whether to choose a full-body or partial-body mannequin. Both are fully capable of displaying garments on a human-like form, but there are some nuances between the two that shouldn't go unnoticed.

What's The Difference?

Full-body mannequins, as their name suggests, feature a complete human form. A typical full-body mannequin contains the body, head, legs, feet, arms and hands. partial-body mannequins, on the other hand, are more basic and consist of just a torso.

Function

Let's first talk about the different functions of a full-body vs partial-body mannequin. The primary benefit of choosing a full-body mannequin is its ability to display garments and accessories anywhere on the body. Since full-body mannequins feature an entire body, you'll have more options when it comes to displaying garments and accessories.

Does your store sell accessories like handbags, hats and necklaces? If so, you'll probably want to choose a full-body mannequin for the simple fact that you can display these items and more. Thanks to its complete design, you can transform a full-body mannequin into the ultimate in-store product display.

Space

Space is also something that retail store owners should consider when choosing between a full-body and partial-body mannequin. Full-body mannequins naturally take up a greater amount of space than their counterpart. Sure, they offer a more complete display of the human form, but their space requirements is a disadvantage that store owners should be fully aware of.

If you haven't done so already, use a measuring tape to determine exactly how much free space is available in your store. You might be able to free up some space by moving around and adjusting product, but it may still not be enough for a line of full-body mannequins.

Price

The price of a mannequin varies depending on a number of factors, but full-body mannequins typically cost more than partial-body mannequins. If you're on a budget and looking to launch a new store without a large amount of capital, stick with partial-body mannequins. The cost-savings it offers allows store owners to display their garments without sending them into the financial red zone.

Understanding Point of Sale (POS) In Retail

Point of sale (POS) is a term that's frequently tossed around in the retail industry. Market analysts, retailers, accountants, and more use the term on a daily basis. Even with its widespread use, however, some people are completely clueless as to what exactly a point of sale system really is. In this blog post, we're going to take a closer look at POS and how it relates to the retail industry.

POS: The Basics

The short definition for POS is the location where a customer exchanges money (or credit) for a retail store's product (see image to the right). The most commonly used type of POS in the retail industry is a cash register. Here, an employee takes the customer's cash, credit card, debit card, etc. in exchange for the product. It's a simple process that plays a critical role in the overall function of a retail store.

Why POS Are Important In The Retail Industry

The bottom line is that retail stores and businesses can't operate with a POS. The entire purpose of a POS in the retail industry is to perform the exchange of goods for money. Without it, stores wouldn't be able to effectively sell their merchandise to customers.

However, point of sale systems serve an additional purpose in stores and retail businesses: they help manage inventory. Depending on the particular type of system used, some POS systems automatically subtract the purchased item from the store's inventory. This automation takes some of the burden of trying to manually count each and every item off the store's employees. Once a customer purchases an item at the POS, the system subtracts the item from the inventory, allowing the owner and manager to see exactly how many of which products are currently available.

Different Types of POS

While cash registers are the most commonly used type of POS system in the retail industry, there are several other types as well. Ever visit a grocery store or national department store and notice the self-checkout registers? These self-checkout registers fall under the category of a POS. Even though there's no employee present, they are still responsible for performing the exchange of goods for money.

Of course, POS systems don't necessarily have to be high-tech. A street vendor accepting cash for his or her goods is technically a POS.

Hopefully, this will give you a better understanding of POS systems in the retail industry.

Common Pitfalls of Operating a Retail Apparel Store And How To Avoid Them

Thinking of opening a retail apparel store? It's an exciting and lucrative industry that allows you to connect with customers on a daily basis. If you have a knack for fashion and enjoy building relationships with new people, this is the industry for you. But like all retail industries, there are some unique hurdles that new owners need to be aware of. In this blog post, we're going to reveal some of the most common pitfalls of operating a retail apparel store and how to avoid them.

Pitfall #1) Not Selecting a Niche

Arguably, one of the biggest mistakes new apparel store owners make is not selecting a niche. Unless you're a massive retailer with an established and well-branded business, chances are you won't experience much success -- if any -- taking the 'general' route.

A more effective approach to the retail apparel industry is to choose a niche. You can read more about retail apparel niche selection in a previous blog post here, but some ideas to consider include:

• Teen apparel
• Swimsuits
• Men's big & tall
• Baby clothing
• Suits
• Trend

Pitfall #2) Not Creating a Business Plan

Launching a successful retail apparel store begins with the creation of a structured business plan. Regardless of your store's niche, you should take the time to create a business plan which details your goals, objectives, finances, and overall strategy. If you need help with your business plan, don't be afraid to seek assistance from a professional CPA.

A business plan is important for any business, but it's especially important for the retail industry. Having a written business increases the chance of approval when applying for loans. If you need a capital to help get your apparel store up and running, bring your business plan to banks and financial institutions. Doing so shows lenders exactly how you plan on running your business, which ultimately makes them feel more comfortable lending you capital.

Pitfall #3) Too Much Shrink

Shrink is defined as the loss of product between the manufacturer and point of sale. For instance, if a shirt gets knocked under a shelving unit or some other fixture where it's ruined by dirt and dust, it's counted as shrink. Allowing your store's shrink to spiral out of control can take a huge toll on its profits, which is why it's important to constantly work on identifying and reducing shrink in apparel stores.

Customer Retention 101: What You Should Know

Customer retention plays a key role in the overall success of a retail store or business. Once you make that initial first sale with a customer, you need to go the extra mile to encourage future transactions with them. Relying strictly on one-time-purchase customers isn't a sustainable business strategy, and it will ultimate allow your competitors to weed you out of the market. So, how you keep customers coming back to your store for future purchases?

Why Customers Leave

The first step towards improving customer retention in a retail store or business is to understand why they leave. Unfortunately, determining the answer to this question isn't always an easy task. Each and every business is unique, so there are different elements that affect customer retention. However, we've compiled a list of some of the most common reasons why customers leave a retail establishment listed below:

• Poor customer service
• Dissatisfied with the product and/or service
• Lower prices offered by a competing store
• Bad location
• Bad store hours
• Strict or non-existent return policy

Note: the single most common reason why customers leave a retail store is poor customer service. Employees with unfriendly or aggressive attitudes can send shoppers packing in the other direction. This is a serious issue that all retail businesses need to address, as it can send an otherwise profitable business spiraling into the red zone.

It's easy to overlook the importance of customer service in a retail store when you're busy counting inventory, placing new orders, creating layouts, etc. However, allowing your store to suffer from poor customer service will negatively impact its customer retention. The bottom line is that shoppers want a friendly, welcoming environment, and if they aren't receiving it from your store, they'll head towards one of your competitors.

Keep Customers Coming Back With a Loyalty Program

Loyalty programs are becoming more and more commonplace in today's retail industry. These programs 'reward' customers for their 'loyalty' -- hence the name. An example of a popular loyalty program is the Kroger Plus card, which offers steep discounts on both grocery items and gas.

Implementing a loyalty program in your retail store will encourage customers to come back to your business for future purchases. Each time a customer makes a purchase, they'll feel like they are getting something extra for being a member of your loyalty rewards program.

5 Tips For Taking Better Pictures of Your Merchandise

Merchandise pictures are an essential tool in a retail store's overall marketing campaign. Store owners post them on social media, send them out in newsletter, mail advertisements, magazines and more. High-quality pictures will naturally encourage your target audience to make a purchase, but poor, low-quality pictures can have the opposite effect by discouraging sales.

Tip #1) Learn Your Camera

You can't expect to take professional-quality pictures of your merchandise without first learning and understanding your camera's functions. Unfortunately, it's not as easy pointing and clicking the button. In order to take truly remarkable pictures that convey all of the positive features of your merchandise, you must learn things like shutter focus, viewing angle, etc.

Before you begin photographing your store's merchandise, spend some time reading through the user manual for the camera. It's not a bad idea to perform some test photos to help you get used to it.

Tip #2) Backdrop

Have you thought about what type of backdrop (if any) will go behind your merchandise? Rather than leaving your store as the backdrop, consider setting up an actual picture backdrop that's white, green or some other solid color. Doing so brings more attention to the actual product by removing 'normal' background elements.

Tip #3) Natural Lighting

I can't stress enough the importance of using natural light for your merchandise pictures. Even if your camera has a flash, natural light offers better clarity while minimizing glare and reflection. So turn off the flash and set up additional light around your merchandise.

You can try using an additional floor lamp around your product, or you can set up an actual studio light kit.

Retail apparel store: photo by jheffryswid™ d e s i g n.

Tip #4) Close-Up

A fourth tip that's worth noting is to focus on close-up photos of your merchandise. There's certainly nothing wrong with experimenting with distance photos, but the bulk of your pictures should be close-ups. Doing so will highlight the small details and features of your product, which in turn translates into more sales. Just remember to set your camera to the close-up mode/function; otherwise, you'll lose some of the image quality during the process.

Tip #5) Editing

Last but not least, run your pictures through a photo editing program to perform some basic touch-ups and optimization. Whether it's removing glare, cropping unwanted objects out of view, rotating, etc., subtle editing procedures such as this can have a drastic impact on your merchandise photos.

Visual Merchandising 101: What You Should Know

Visual merchandising is defined as the creation of three-dimensional product displays to encourage higher sales. Nearly every retail business has at least some type of visual merchandising display. Apparel stores, for instance, typically use mannequins styled and fashioned to look as realistic as possible, while grocery stores use cardboard cutouts to market their products. Visual merchandising is a highly effective way for retail stores and businesses to market their product without spending a fortune on traditional advertising mediums. To learn more about visual merchandising in the retail industry, keep reading.

The history of visual merchandising dates back to the 1800s, when the nation's leading apparel stores shifted their focus from wholesale production to direct-to-consumer. Since this was such as competitive industry, these companies needed an edge to win customers over, and visual merchandising gave them this edge. Companies like Marshall Field & Co. set up full-scale displays depicting 3D mannequins and other objects to display their goods. This proved highly effective at capturing shoppers' attention, at which point they continued to experiment with visual merchandising with their competitors following closely behind.

The most obvious goal of visual merchandising in a retail store is to encourage more sales. When a flowing dress is placed on a life-like mannequin, shoppers are more likely to purchase it. Numerous studies have shown a direct link between increases sales and visual merchandising. However, there are other 'secondary' objectives that shouldn't go unnoticed. See below for a brief list of visual merchandising objectives:

• Helps customers locate a particular product or type of product.
• Helps customers see exactly how a garment looks when worn on the human form.
• Moved product faster.
• Creates a more aesthetically pleasing store environment.
• Helps customers make smarter decisions regarding their accessories.
• Highlights key areas within a store.

Of course, there are some potential disadvantages to performing visual merchandising in a retail store, one of which is the space requirements. Because it consists of 3D elements, visual merchandising takes up a greater amount of space than using standard posters or banners. If you're struggling for space in your store (which is an all-too-common problem), you may not have the extra room for large, complex visual merchandising displays.

The pros of visual merchandising tend to outweigh the cons. Even if your store has limited space, chances are you can still make room for a couple small-sized visual merchandising displays. Once these displays are set up, you'll reap the benefits of higher sales along with 'secondary' benefits mentioned above.

Tips For Seasonal Businesses To Survive The 'Off Season'

Businesses that generate a large portion of their revenue during a particular time of year are known as seasonal businesses. A party supply store, for instance, is a considered a seasonal business because most of its sales occur during the months of October, November and December. Customers may still purchase items during the other nine months, but it's Halloween, Christmas, and New Year's Eve during the final three months of the year that drive the most sales. Unfortunately, this oftentimes places seasonal businesses in hot water since they're forced to struggle to turn a profit through the rest of the year. If you own, manage or run a seasonal business, keep reading for some essential tips on how to survive the off season.

Venture Into New Products and/or Services

One idea for seasonal business owners to consider is venturing into new products and/or services that aren't restricted to a particular time of year. Even if 90% of your sales occur during a certain month, perhaps you could offer a new line of products that customers will purchase during the other months. There's no guarantee this technique will work, but it's certainly worth the effort just to try. After running a small test for a couple months, you should have a better understanding as to whether or not this new product or service will work.

So, what are some products or services that seasonal businesses can offer? It really depends on their niche/industry. A bakery that specializes in seasonal pumpkin pie and apple cider, for instance, could broaden their horizons by offering custom cakes, cupcakes, cookies, wedding cakes, etc. Another example would be a retail winter apparel store venturing into spring and summer clothes.

Capitalize During The Peak Times

Taking advantage of the high sales and profit margins during the peak time of year will make it easier for your business to survive the off season. If your business is typically closed on Sundays, perhaps you could stay open 7 days a week during the peak time of year. The bottom line is that you want to generate as most sales and revenue as possible to make up for the off season. This revenue will help your business stay afloat when sales begin to slump downwards.

Seasonal businesses aren't a new concept by any means; they've been around since the early times of trading, and it's doubtful they'll be going away any time soon. Following the tips outlined here will give your seasonal business the upper-hand during the off sseason.

How To Reduce Employee Turnover Rate

Does your business suffer from a high employee turnover rate? There are both direct indirect costs associated with high turnover rates. Some of the direct costs include training programs for new employees, time and resources spent hiring new employees, and the cost for new equipment. Indirect costs may include gaps in production, reduced morale, reduced performance, etc. Allowing your business rate to suffer from a high employee turnover rate will only hinder your professional goals. Thankfully, there are some simple steps business owners can take to encourage longer tenure among employees.

Screen Potential Job Candidates

One of the biggest mistakes business owners make is hiring the first candidates who apply for the job. Even if they have all of the right credentials listed on their application, this doesn't necessarily mean they are fit for the job. And hiring candidates such as this without screening them beforehand could have disastrous consequences for your business. Some workers strictly want temporary jobs for a little side cash, so try to determine candidates' short and long-term goals.

So, how can business owners determine a candidate's goals? When you're interviewing a candidate (you should always interview candidates before hiring), ask them how long they plan to stay with the company if they are hired. A good answer to this question is "as long as possible," but you'll want to beware of candidates who say a couple months or even a year.

Show Appreciation To Employees

There are many factors that can drive employees to quit their current job and look for work elsewhere. The single most common reason why workers quit their job, however, is because of lack of recognition. Cutting your employees a check once every two weeks isn't enough; instead, you should implement some form of recognition program to show appreciation for everything they've done. You don't have to spend thousands of dollars on expensive gifts, but a simple recognition will go a long ways in reducing turnover rates.

An employee-of-the-month program is one example of an employee recognition program. Perhaps you could dedicate a wall in the office to employees of the month. There are dozens of companies that specialize in plaques, trophies and other gifts specifically for this reason.

Other Tips For Reducing Employee Turnover Rates:

• Allow employees room to grow and work their way up the professional ladder
• Keep employees involved in current and future changes within the company
• Make sure employees are given time off
• Maintain a positive attitude