What is popular today will be in Goodwill bins and garage sales tomorrow. One thing you can always count on is that the public’s taste and desires continually change. Learning the changes in the shopping appetites of the public can give you insight into the types of products you need to keep your store on the path to profit. You can’t wait to find out what’s the hottest trend if your business’s bottom line depends on you having it available when the customers want it.
There are a number of ways to stay abreast of the public’s taste in products. One is to talk to customers on a daily basis. They’ll help you learn what’s hot and what’s not with their suggestions for products. However, in many cases, this technique provides the information a bit too late for your store to benefit from the sales. By the time you find a supplier, order and stock your shelves, your customers may already have filled their needs and moved on to the next big trend.
Conduct shopping expeditions at other popular stores. You might consider going to upscale stores to see what they’re carrying, then look for lower priced versions of the same products at your suppliers. Choose stores that cater to age groups similar to yours. You also should shop the discount stores as well, checking to see what’s on their deeply discounted sale racks to find what not to order. You’ll often see large eye catching displays for popular items in several stores, whether it’s a stuffed toy porcupine or hair feathers. These are often the best sellers.
Talk to your suppliers and wholesalers to find out what other stores are selling and what they frequently order a second or third time. If you have good wholesalers, they’ll steer you to items that fly off the shelves of other stores. Using an online wholesaler can be quite beneficial, particularly if you have a store in Middle America. Often the big trends don’t hit the Midwest until after it’s hit the coastal states. Also, if you own a store in a smaller town, use a retailer who works with stores in larger surrounding cities to get a bead on what’s hot in the big cities surrounding your area.
Knowing the latest trends can keep you in the black and help to insure a profit. You want to stay ahead of the public’s latest passion so you don’t have excess merchandise that eventually goes to the discount bin or takes up space until it’s too passé to bring in a profit.
