Are you making your data work hard enough for you? The more you know about your business and how it works, the better decisions you can make about where to go next.
Good data helps to make you more productive and more profitable. So what information should you be collecting and how can you use it to boost your sales?
Getting the right insight
Why guess when you can know? Gathering data about everything from daily footfall to average spend can help you see how to change your displays, organise your staff rotas, plan sales campaigns and order more of the right stock. There’s no need for trial and error when the facts are there in black and white. Here are just a few of the vital trends you should be monitoring:
- Average sales per customer
- Average Basket value
- Profit margins on all product lines
- Busiest till times
- Sales by department, range, individual product and supplier
- Favoured payment options
- Key shopping times for online stores
- Stock/inventory levels
None of these things work in isolation – if your average sale per customer is £30, drill down into the data to see what the average sale is at different times of day. You’ll be able to see when it’s highest, and what sort of products are being bought at that time. You’ll then be able to make sure you have lots of those products in stock, and you might want to put in place some time-limited offers that help to boost your average basket value at slower times of the day.
Similarly, knowing when your busiest sales periods are will help you to manage your staff rotas. Make sure there are plenty of people on the shop floor when you’re really busy, so that you can offer great customer service, but if your store is virtually empty in the half-hour before closing, you can save money by reducing your staff levels, or set staff to do something more productive rather than just waiting for customers to come in.
Where does this data come from?
The best way to collect and manage data in your business is to have a really good point –of-sale or retail management system in place. You’ll be able to generate specific reports, tailored to your business, that give you all the information you need to make changes and improvements. Link your point-of-sale to your inventory system and you can also do away with time-consuming stock checks and eliminate the risk of customers coming in for a popular item and being unable to find it on the shelves.
Can your system make you rich?
Well, no system can promise that – but an intelligent, easy-to-use retail management system can help you to save money, increase margins and improve the bottom line. To try it out for just £1 per month for three months with no obligation, why not contact Modulus Retail today?
