Adapting to the Future: Thrive with Less Retail Traffic

This article is the fourth in our series about maximizing opportunities with less retail traffic. We can speculate why traffic has decreased this year: it’s an election year, housing starts are down and furniture sales follow home sales, customers bought a lot during the pandemic, customers are back to spending on vacations and experiences, their spending power is down because groceries are expensive, etc. All might be contributing factors.

The reality is that other than during the pandemic, traffic has been declining for a few years now, as customers continue to prefer purchasing home furnishings online to in-store shopping.

In Furniture Today in July, Surya posted the results of a survey of places customers prefer to shop in a store versus online. Of the number of people surveyed (equal number of men and women), only 27% said that they would rather shop in a store than online when purchasing home furnishings. Ouch.

With fewer incoming opportunities in the present and the future, it would be prudent to consider incoming traffic the gravy and outreach activity the meat and potatoes. Develop marketing skills and strategies to increase your personal traffic and build your selling skills for those customers you see.

Actions to Take:

1. Develop Marketing Skills: Focus on strategies to increase your personal traffic. This could include outreach, prospecting, and networking.
2. Enhance Selling Skills: Improve your ability to close sales with the customers you do see. This includes asking effective questions, presenting solutions succinctly, handling objections confidently, and being tenacious in following up.
3. Shift Your Mindset: Consider incoming traffic as an added bonus and prioritize creating your own opportunities.

The future of retail may involve less foot traffic, but that doesn't mean fewer opportunities. By adapting your approach and enhancing your skills, you can thrive in this changing landscape.

I welcome your thoughts on the future you intend to create.

Now, go sell something!

oxo

Jody