The Little Things Can Be The Biggest Customer Turnoff When Starting A Dollar Store

Starting a dollar store involves a multitude of actions. First there is finding the perfect location for your business. Next comes preparing the location for business. There are fixtures to purchase and install. That is followed by the huge task of determining what dollar store merchandise to offer and where you will purchase that merchandise. The list goes on and on. Somehow you are finally ready to open your store for business. Everything is exactly the way you planned. You are proud of the great appearance and impression your store makes as shoppers walk through the door for the first time.



But after a bit of time things start to change. And soon you see shoppers disappearing. But why are they shopping with your competitor? In many cases the reason they shop elsewhere comes at two levels. First there are the big things such as constantly running out of the dollar store merchandise shoppers must purchase on a routine basis. Then possibly it is your decision to change or even reduce store hours of operation as a money saving strategy. But for many of your shoppers the new hours just don't work. So they move on.



More important are the small things. They are the changes in operation that have begun to creep into your business. For example, it might be:



-Dirty, smudged windows -Floors not swept -Burned out light bulbs -Dollar store merchandise in disarray -Boxes of newly arrived merchandise left sitting on the sales floor -Employees no longer greeting shoppers -Long waits at the cash register to make payment for purchases -The list goes on from there.



Each of these is a small inconvenience and may be going unnoticed by you and your employees. Yet they add up. Your shoppers have choices where they will take their business. So they choose to move to stores that are bright, clean and organized. They move to stores where the items they buy most frequently are always available.



Don't let this happen in your store. Pay attention to the small things. Make everything right for your shoppers.



To your success when starting a dollar store!