editor’s letter
Selling “Stuff”
Stephanie K. De Long
Want to register more sales? Literally? Then keep some impulse items at check-out.
Whatever you call them—after-market sales or impulse buys—positioning purchases at the register is nothing new. Yet, many ECPs don’t take advantage of this location’s profit-producing potential.
How profitable? Long a believer in such secondary sales, Robert Sarasohn, owner of Grove Opticians in Boca Raton, FL, told EB back in February of 2001 that every accessory sold with frames took five percent off his cost of goods. Like other optical experts we’ve spoken to, Sarasohn observed it’s often novelty items that sell best.
HAVE FUN
Speakers on last month’s EB-moderated “Tapping Into Your Inner Retailer” panel at Vision Expo East all talked about some of the “stuff” they’ve sold and given away.
■ SOCK IT… Panelist Gai Gherardi, l.a.Eyeworks’ co-founder and co-designer, said they’ve had a bowl filled with something fun to buy since opening in 1979. “Someone we knew made colorful, thick socks. And that’s what we had near the register when we started. In Los Angeles, yet. And we sold out.”
■ EYE C U… Valerie Vittu, panelist and owner of Margot & Camille in Philadelphia, gives away evil eyes. In certain cultures, the “eyeballs” are considered to protect against evil spirits. Vittu also offers candy canes all year round.
■ BEARLY THERE… Consultant and panelist Carol Norbeck said she always sold out of the 200 eyeglass-wearing stuffed Eyewear Bears she ordered every year for her three Optical Illusions locations in Seattle.
■ I BELIEVE… While all of the above are fun, product near the register can also reflect a position you support. For example, l.a.Eyeworks sells a peace monocle—a peace sign fitted with a magnifying lens. Engraved on the back are the words “Love One Another.”
For more suggestions on how add-on sales can add up, be fun, and do good, see What They Said on the left.
Steph De Long
Editor-in-Chief
P.S. For more on adding non-optical products to your offerings, check out What’s in Store on page 60.
| WHAT THEY SAID… |
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Adding Up Add-OnsHere are some tips, previously featured in EB, on how some ECPs make their eyewear accessories displays work like an additional employee. Impulse BuyingKeep a basket full of beetle clips, cleaning kits, anti-fog creams, and fun accessories next to the cash register to encourage impulse buying and bump up the average sale. Suggestive SellingTrain staff to suggest a color-coordinating leash to buy with new sports sunwear. Set a policy of recommending cleaning kits and cords to help maintain clients’ new sunwear. Accessory OutpostPlace a floor tower filled with leashes, clip-ons, and cleaning kits in a high-traffic area that allows customers to feel and touch the accessories. Novelty and ColorPlace a variety of brightly colored cases with interesting features such as flip-top enclosures. The colors and novelty features are another way of encouraging impulse buying. In the WindowAdd impulse items to your window. This lets people passing by know you’re a full-service dispensary—and, depending on the items, a fun one, too—with products to meet more than their basic eyewear needs. |
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