There is no getting away from the fact that a lot more people now look towards the internet to purchase different items and research places where they would like to shop. That being said, talks about the high street being dead are purely rumors – there is still a massive market out there for brick-and-mortar establishments, so long as you can create a shop that people are going to want to visit. There are a few things that you can do which will make it so that people want to visit your physical store and some of these are going to be discussed in more detail below.
Have a Collect-in-Store Option on Your Site
A lot of people now use the internet to shop and, as such, you need to make sure that your business has some kind of online presence that people can use. Of course, it could be beneficial if you get people to come to your shop because, when your products are in front of someone, they can see the kind of quality you are offering and, as a result, they are going to be more likely to make an impulse purchase. As such, you should be sure that on your online store, you are offering people the option to head into the shop so that they can pick up anything that they order. You can encourage people to do this by offering a discount for picking up in-store, or people might be tempted so they don’t have to pay for delivery.
Encourage Foot Traffic with a Good Exterior
One of the markets you are going to have to capitalize on when you have your physical store is the number of people who enter because they happen to pass your business on the high street. If you have an enticing exterior, then people are going to be a lot more likely to come inside and visit your store. You should take steps to stop vandalism from happening to your shop because this can often turn people away. One of the best ways to do this is by installing an anti-loitering alarm, which will sound when people hang around outside your establishment for too long.
Provide Price Matches
If you have someone in your store who has seen the same product online that you sell for less, then you should consider how much they have seen the product online for and provide a price match, if you can afford to. Since they are already in your store, you may as well do all that you can to confirm the sale. There may be times that the site they have found a product on sells items in bulk and, therefore, it becomes impossible to match the price they have seen, but maybe you could still offer a discount to try to get the sale. People will also appreciate the effort you have gone to, to make the sale and ensure they have a good experience in your store, which will likely make them want to come back in the future.
