Marketing and Promotion

Have a digital counter in store to display your real-time following on social media

Run regular social media competitions that encourage sharing and liking of your store and the content you post. Many of your followers’ followers are likely to be local shoppers too – so exactly whose attention you want to grab!

Post news, offers, competitions etc. on your social media as regularly as you can. If you don’t want to post every day, try scheduling some content at the beginning of the week so it updates without you having to think about it

Stock what’s trending on social media and put it in the front of store. You can also use trade press to find out which products are new and trending

Try to align your promotions so they are in store and on your social media at the same time, and ideally align to manufacturer marketing to increase the consumer touchpoints

Let consumers know when deals are about to end to drive interest and lastminute sales

Have a weekly ‘megadeal’ and communicate this in-store via display

Put a bell or buzzer in store and when it rings, the next shopper gets a % off their purchase

Have a ‘whoopsie aisle’ – where you promote any near-dated, end of range or slightly damaged goods

Offer 3 for 2 on a selection of stock – buy 2 have one to taste!

Run sampling days where you let shoppers try products in store (always show full ingredient lists and observe hygiene standards), or even plan an evening event for the locals

Invite specific groups from the community to your store for sampling or an experience evening

Run seasonal raffles in store to mark special occasions

Add an extra 10% off family treats such as snacks and soft drinks at the weekend for family nights in

Offer a prize for lottery success in your store; for example if someone gets one or two numbers they get a special prize from you in addition to their winnings

Greetings card purchases are great opportunities to up-sell, try suggesting chocolate, flowers or scratchcards to go with one

Create Big Night In kits or goody boxes with a variety of treats and snack

Put out some recipe cards in store next to relevant aisles and build cross-category meal deals accordingly. You could also post the recipes and offers on your social media

Identify what’s not available on your local high street and offer that to customers, and shout about it!

Consider paying for a billboard on a busy road near the store to advertise something delicious that you sell

Develop your own loyalty scheme. For example, customers could collect points or money-off vouchers for every purchase over £10. This will not only reward your regulars but can help increase basket spend as shoppers top up their purchases in order to get points

Make a “lucky products corner”, where if a shopper purchases a selected product they get entered into a competition

Use your EPOS to build a “league table” of categories according to percentage of sales. Then use that table to allocate time and resource to each category accordingly. You could take the most profitable categories and build league tables of SKUs within them. Promote winners (by giving them more facings and siting them in more visible positions) and relegate losers (by deprioritising or delisting them)

Display a fun riddle outside your store; first person to solve it wins a prize such as a chocolate bar or biscuits

Create excitement for families in store by giving away a balloon on entry for special occasions/days

Have a “Top 10” selection of products every month that you highlight and merchandise together. Make sure you change every month!

Buy a few kids’ trolleys so that the youngest generation can truly get involved in the shop. This is a great, fun way to engage families and build loyalty with them

Get creative with names for your in-store initiatives to have a bit of fun and build up loyalty. One retailer makes their own hot food using leftover produce from his shelves: ‘Curry in a Hurry’!

You can also use social media for your own learning and inspiration by following other retailers, both here and abroad, for fresh ideas and latest trends

Create and deliver hampers from products in store; they can even be themed (e.g. afternoon tea, Valentine’s Day etc.)

Offer regular shoppers a free bar of chocolate on their birthday

Create a bargain area in store – and even better place it at the back so customers have to walk through the rest of the shop

Put up a whiteboard in store for easy messaging and display that you can change quickly and fuss-free