Stop, shop and buy—the retailer’s First Third strategy

Put on your shopper’s hat and learn to view your store through your customers’ eyes

So, try this in your store …

Walk to the front door, just inside. Put your back against the door and face the inside of your store. Close your eyes. Take three deep cleansing breaths, clear your mind and think, “I am a customer just walking into this store.”

Now open your eyes. What do you see? Hurry! Say it out loud. What is the first thing your eye rests on? The second? Third? What do you notice? What catches your attention?

Close your eyes again, and name out loud each of the specific products in the order you saw them. Not displays. Individual items.

What displays do you remember? What signs do you recall?

What was your impression of the store? Messy? Neat? Cluttered? Open? Tight?

And ask yourself, “What are customers noticing as they enter my store? Will they stop, shop and buy something?”

Welcome to First Third thinking!

The most visible area that a customer notices when coming into your store is called “the First Third.” This is the front area where most of the features and primary displays are placed and is usually where most of the sales happen. How you develop and treat this primary retail space could well be the key to your selling success.

Here are three First Third questions that will help to clarify the effectiveness of your space:

Test question No. 1

Is the front of your store set up for the customer or for your staff’s convenience? If the customer sees a counter full of clutter, messes, stacked products, catalogs and bags, what does that tell him or her? When I am an invited guest in someone’s home, I don’t appreciate being around messes, dust, clutter, dirty bathrooms and such. I prefer a clean, tidy space that feels prepared for me, their guest. Are you fully prepared for your guests’ arrival?

Clean up everything the customer sees from the counter area to the spaces under fixtures. Dust, straighten, display and sign. (Bonus question: Do people vacuum their homes when guests are present or while they are getting ready to leave?)

Test question No. 2

Do customers notice a specific product, or are they overwhelmed by visual pollution—seeing a store full of “stuff” with nothing in particular catching their eye? Most stores have more than 20,000 SKUs on hand. For a customer to see every item would take a year. Are you controlling the details so they see what you want them to see?

The whole idea of a feature display, like a table or endcap, is to get the customer to stop, shop and buy. Focused displays around themes, price points or specific items will be more sales-effective than filling a display with everything you can think of. Are you trying to highlight too many things at once, thus causing visual pollution?

Test question No. 3

On the sides and at the end of each aisle, does the customer see a nice product display or a storage area? Look down your main store aisle and notice what the customer sees. The endcaps lining that aisle should be features with good signage and special product displays. At the end of the aisle there should be an attractive display to draw them farther into the store.

Remember, you are in control of what they see and respond to. Does the line of sight end at an attractive display of specific products that make them want to stop, shop and buy?

A vital part to your ministry and business will be whether customers buy some of your life-changing products. If the merchandising is visually appealing and focused, then the whole store becomes a showcase full of features and specific items that you control. Have your staff regularly ask themselves, “What does the customer see?” and develop a First Third strategy for every highly visible, primary feature area of your store.

If what customers see as they enter your store are specific products, promotions, features and neat, organized, well-signed displays, you are on your way to more customers who will stop, shop and buy.

MICHAEL HUPP is executive director, merchandising at Cokesbury and a CBA board member representing chain stores.