Navigating Retail Guilt: The Futility of Token Purchases and the Importance of Strategic Buying

7 NSRA.org

Have you ever been in a situation where you pulled up to a stop light to discover that you will be spending the next two minutes of your life emotionally involved with an individual holding a sign that depicts the life challenges he or she is struggling with? The signs typically read something like “homeless please help” or “hungry and out of work” or anything designed to get you to roll down the window and part with some of your hard-earned cash.

Consider the Options

You have options to consider during these very lengthy seconds. One is you can do your best to avoid eye contact altogether. This is nearly impossible when the poor soul is standing a mere three feet from your driver’s side door. You can stare back in defiance wishing meanwhile that this societal blight wasn’t tolerated in your city. After all you work hard for your money you know there are jobs available and this guy is just looking for a handout. The most popular option however is to succumb to whatever guilt you are feeling roll down the window and hand over the spare change or couple of bucks you can quickly grab from your wallet. You may say “There you go.” You may think this small problem goes away (for now). You have a temporary reprieve from guilt and you have “helped” someone less fortunate. But you really haven’t helped anyone have you? You did this for yourself so you would no longer feel uncomfortable.

“Solution” to a Struggle?

When I visit stores that are over-assorted and overstocked I know the store’s buyer(s) struggled with the same feelings as the person at the stop light. The buyers either can’t follow their merchandise plan or don’t have a solid plan to begin with. What generally ends up happening is they roll down the window (figuratively) and throw little token orders to lots of vendors. They assume this will make all the reps like them and everybody will be happy.

Buying a little from everybody simply

Because someone has taken the time to show you a line or come into your store

is really like rolling down the car window and handing the guy on the curb a few dollars. It does nothing to help either party. The vendors are the ones holding the signs that say “Please buy my line.” You give them an order not because you really want that merchandise – you do it because you don’t want to feel bad about turning someone down.

The ramifications of this practice are costly to your store and to the vendor.

With a token order you mean nothing to the resource and the resource means nothing to you. From the vendor’s point of view a line can’t be properly represented and developed in this fashion.

On the retailer’s side the merchandise that you really wouldn’t have purchased in the first place probably doesn’t fit into your assortment plan – and most likely is a duplication of something already carried. The merchandise becomes “lost in the sauce” ties up floor space and cash slows your turnover and eventually reduces your margin when you wake up and mark it down. You are way better off to skip the line altogether than to write token orders for the wrong reasons.

Create a Resource Matrix

A seasoned merchant will avoid this situation by having a solid dollar control plan and a resource matrix that is consistent with the store’s …. This is not to say that new lines shouldn’t be continually tested. To the contrary testing a concept a new vendor or a different price point is something that may develop into a viable business opportunity. We always want to reserve open-to-buy dollars available for these occasions.

Remember it is more prudent to say “No” sometimes than it is to say “Yes” every time. Your job as a buyer is to select the merchandise that best represents what your customers are most likely to be willing to purchase and that stays in line with the … of your store. You will sell more with a focused presentation – and avoid assortment creep – if…

Buy the Best and Pass the Rest!

Ritchie Sayner is vice president of business development at RMSA Retail Solutions. Follow him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RitchieSayner.

Buy the Best Pass the Rest

Ritchie Sayner

Published in the July/August 2014 issue of Shoe Retailing Today
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Ritchie Sayner

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