Get Dollar Store Merchandise Ideas from Competitors

Opening a dollar store has many pitfalls; one of them is ordering the wrong type of dollar store merchandise for the store. Not every item you find interesting or necessary makes it to the top ten lists of your customers. That’s why shoppers and employees can be quite beneficial. By watching the buying habits of shoppers, you’ll and listening to their comments, you will find the perfect combination of merchandise and merchandising. Employees are also helpful, particularly if you encourage them to share their observations.

However, unless you have unlimited resources, stocking your dollar store merchandise inventory and then waiting to see what sells can be quite a costly lesson. No matter how much information shoppers and employees offer, a better source doesn’t cost you a high tuition in the school of dollar store hard knocks. That source is the merchandising efforts of your competitors. You can learn from both the successful storeowners and those who are struggling to make ends meet by simply visiting the stores and noting both the type of items they carry and how they display the items.

Start by taking field trips to the various stores to get an overview of the local competition before you stock the first items for your stores. This process can be ongoing from the first day you decide to take the plunge into your own business and continue long after you’ve opened your doors. Make a mental note of the items other shoppers bought, your overall impression of the store, the displays and the overall merchandising of items. You’ll learn a lot from talking to other shoppers and employees while you’re there.

If you can, take your family with you on these expeditions. Every person sees something different when he or she enters a store. You might see racks filled with a specific item and surmise these don’t sell but your traveling companion may have lingered for a while or asked one of the store employees about the item and found they were hot sellers. You should also visit the same stores at different times of the day and on different days of the week to observe the store’s customer buying patterns.

You don’t have to spend your working capital to find out what sells in dollar stores or how to display the dollar store merchandise so it will sell. You will gain a world of knowledge from simple observation of competitors in your area. Observing both the type of merchandise and the method of displaying the items can help you boost your sales by avoiding what didn’t work and latching onto what does.