Ten Top Tips for Pet Retailers

As you know, CASCO is the leading manufacturer and supplier of Pet and Aquatic store fixtures, providing high quality units for Birds, Small Animals, Reptiles and Fish, but did you know that we are also experts in optimising retail layout to maximise your profits?

Even though the advice we give you may not lead to any additional revenue for us, your ongoing success is paramount to our continued success. 

Here’s a list of our top 10 commandments for pet retailers.  Although some of these tips may seem obvious, they can really make a difference to putting your business back on track.

1 - Keep your store clean
Customers relate cleanliness to newness and value. If you cannot keep your store clean, there is no point in attempting to apply the remaining merchandising basics. Use a feather duster to clean tops shelves, units and stock daily and deep clean one piece of equipment or fixture weekly so cleaning isn't such a big chore.

2 - Face front continually
Place each product towards the front of the shelf and face each product label square for best viewing. Products that hang on hooks should be pulled forward. Display one or two columns of each product to ensure maximum display impact  and that all surrounding products are related.

3 - Fill that space
Empty space kills product sales. In order to give your customers an appearance of abundance make sure there are no empty spaces on shelves. If a product sells out, replace it with another product until you can restock. If you have a popular product double face the product on the shelf to double its exposure.

4 - Follow the two-finger rule
Horizontal empty space can kill sales and so can vertical space. Shelves should be spaced so there is no more than a two-finger wide space between the top of the products and the bottom of the shelf above.

5 - Lean to the right
80% of the population turns to the right when entering a store. The English language reads from left to right and the majority of the population is right handed. Therefore, by positioning more expensive items to the right you ensure optimum visibility for your customers.

6 - Colour, colour, colour
Purposefully place coloured items so they stand out on the shelves. For example, place a white product between two orange ones and run colour vertically to draw the customer's attention down to the lower shelves. Lighting can also be used to enhance and draw customers in. Spotlights can be used to enhance merchandise and indirect light provides additional lighting by re-inforcing wall displays and speciality areas.

7 - Avoid being top heavy
Establishing a natural flow of merchandise is very important. Accomplish this by displaying heavier products lower down and lighter products on top. Doing this assures you are not shading a product from ambient light within the store. Remember to change or remove a product from displays frequently to keep it fresh.

8 - Price merchandise on the bottom or on the back
Consumers generally buy value, not price. You have a better chance of selling a product if they read the label before they read the price tag. Keep in mind, if they pick up the product, you have a 50/50 chance of making a sale.

9 - Visual curves
A visual curve is the tiering of products like a pyramid. This allows overhead light in the store to hit the edges of each item. You can also achieve a visual curve by using shelves and hooks of different sizes in progression.