Business of retail - Chapter 3 B

Dan, a small business owner, was excited to open his sporting goods shop. Dan created a ___________ to show what products he would sell, the price of those products, the place or location of his physical store and how he would promote his business. 

 

• Delivery Route

• Business Model

•   Marketing Plan.

• Inventory Plan

1The Halloween holiday season just ended and the retail store was already beginning to receive items for the next holiday, Thanksgiving.  How should the store make room for the new items?  

• Discontinue the holiday items

• Mark the holiday items out of stock

• Store away the old holiday items for next season

• Mark down the holiday items

On the first snow day of the winter season, a sales associate notices that customers are entering the store cold and unprepared for the weather. Currently, tables of tank tops and beach accessories are stationed where the customers enter the store. Which action would be best for the associate to take to ensure that the customers' needs are being met?

• Direct the customers who appear cold toward the merchandise that interests them.

• Pull sales reports on the sale of autumn items and show the figures to the store manager.

• Create an inviting display of sweaters, scarves, and gloves at the store entrance.

• Inform the department manager that the sales floor is not merchandised properly.

An associate has just been transferred to the shoe department of the store where he works. On his second day, a customer asks him when the new summer collection will be available to preview. The associate is unable to answer and asks another associate. How can the associate best be prepared to answer similar questions about seasonal merchandise?

• Hope the merchandise arrives before the question comes up again

• Wait for a friend who works in the buying department to come back from annual leave and then ask him.

• Follow up with the other associate to find out about the store’s seasonal merchandising plan

• Try to find out the information by reading the company’s promotional material.

   A shoe store is selling sandals, and a sales associate notices that a nearby department store is running a sale on sandals for the same price. What is the best strategy the associate can use to make sure the shoe store’s sandals sell?

• Use approved signage that advertises the sandals as the store’s “Everyday low price.”

• Check the competitor’s website for policies and additional service offerings.

• Visit the competitor’s store to view their merchandise displays and prepare similar displays in order to increase visibility of the merchandise

• Discount the shoe store’s selection of sandals by 10% to ensure the store is offering the lowest price.

  Sharon is a sales associate and recently changed the arrangement of merchandise on the sales floor and would like to determine whether the new setup is helping sales. Which is the best way for Sharon to accomplish this?

• Listen to what customers are saying and observe how they are reacting to the new merchandising setup.

• Take notes about the number of displays and whether the frequency of restocking is increasing or decreasing.

• Pull sales reports from before and after the merchandising change and compare the associated sales figures.

• Ask customers for feedback relating to the new merchandising setup and whether it is useful and improved.

While the season is changing from summer to back to school, a manager asks a sales associate for ideas on a sales strategy that will help clear out the remaining summer merchandise. Which of the following strategies is most likely to help reach this goal?

• Reduce pricing on summer apparel by 60% or more and add incentives for purchasing sunscreen, bathing suits, and tank tops.

• Put up signs throughout the store stating that all summer merchandise is ”while supplies last.”

• Suggest shipping the summer merchandise to an outlet store to make room for the spring line.

•   Introduce an employee incentive plan for the salesperson who sells the most summer apparel that week.

You notice that a particular brand of cereal is selling faster than expected, and the shelf is nearly empty. What should you do?

• Request additional inventory from the stockroom only after the shelf is completely empty

• Ignore the situation since customers can choose another cereal brand.

• Wait for the manager to notice and restock it themselves.

• Retrieve additional stock from the stockroom and refill the shelf promptly.

Your store is running a promotion on pickles. They have created an end-cap display. A customer accidentally runs into the display with their shopping cart and many bottles of pickles fall and break. You see the mess as you walk by. What’s the best next step for the sales associate?

• Check on the shopper to ensure they are unharmed and direct traffic away from the area until it can be cleaned up

• Nothing. Maintenance is surely aware of the problem

• You’re not assigned to that part of the store, so you keep going and find someone else to take care of it

• Pick up the big pieces of glass while you wait for help

Visual merchandising accomplishes which of the following:

• Organizes merchandise in the stockroom

• Promotes products using magazine advertisements

• Allows customers to make a connection with products

• Creates advertising billboards