Five Ways Charity Shops Could Improve Sales Figures
I spend a lot of time in charity shops sourcing stock, and I inevitably get chatting to staff and overhear titbits of information on my travels. I've also seen the rise and fall of many a charity shop. They start strong, but then make a number of common mistakes that eventually lead to closure. I believe I have enough experience at this point to make five suggestions that would help charity shops sell more.
1. Organise clothing according to size.
There's nothing more instantly off-putting than walking into a charity shop and realising that the clothes are arranged according to colour rather than size. It might look nice and organised, but as a customer it's ten times harder to find items that are your size and you're often more inclined to leave and go to the next charity shop instead.
2. If it's not moving, LOWER THE PRICE.
If your shelves are filled with items that aren't selling, existing customers get bored. I know I hate seeing the same items sitting for weeks on end. There are thrift shops in America that lower the prices of ALL of their items on a daily basis until they sell. British charity shops could learn from this. I once witnessed an employee in a particularly pricey local charity shop declining donations, because the charity warehouse was full to capacity. There's no excuse for this.
3. Don't be too ambitious.
Most charity shop workers don't have time or the resources to consult the likes of eBay to get an idea of item values. It depends on branch management, but some charity shops are extremely overpriced - to the point where you could buy the same items cheaper online. Ultimately, the stock is acquired for free, so even if you're only getting a couple of pounds for it, you're making money.
4. Don't overfill bric-a-brac shelves.
Sometimes when charity shops find they have too much stock (because a lot of it isn't moving), they overfill the bric-a-brac shelves. The idea of 'less is more' applies here. When there's too much on the shelves, items are harder to see and are also more likely to get broken. If you're applying points three and four to your branch, you should still be selling high volumes of stock despite displaying less at any given time.
5. Ensure all items are actually priced.
You'd think this goes without saying, but the number of times I've had to ask for a price on an unpriced item is astounding. You want the buying process to be as simple as possible. While I'm happy enough to ask for a price, many people may be too shy to ask, or simply can't be bothered to.
