The Recycler Issue 317

guarantee the bare minimum amount
of shrink in a store, inventory would
be under lock and key and customers
would only handle products after
checking out. Floor models tarnish as
customers try out printers and they
have to be sold at a discount –
sometimes even a loss. Products are
stolen and broken on the sales floor,
which all leads to profits draining
away. Items that are small and
expensive (like OEM ink cartridges)
are predictable targets for shoplifters.
In other words, “shrink.”
But a sales team knows that
customers need to hold and handle
products as part of the selling process.
A twenty-one year study by Procter &
Gamble found that shoppers were
more willing to purchase – and pay a
higher price – for products they could
touch and feel than items they could
not. It is called the “Endowment
Principle” and it is part of how
human beings create an emotional
connection to the things we touch. In
fact, the mere act of touching or
holding something begins to create a
sense of ownership. Imagine the
ownership you would feel if you were
holding up a shirt to see if its size and
then having another shopper take it
from you. That’s the idea behind
having customers hold items as they
move through the sales process. It
helps them feel ownership and move
toward a purchase.
So most retailers balance the need
for security with sales by using a
number of theft-deterring tactics.
Some use locking peg hooks that
require a store associate to unlock
merchandise. Clear plastic securitytagged
“keeper boxes” are common in
stores that want to showcase their
merchandise but still keep it safe. RF
tags inside boxes can set off alarms as
they pass through the doorway. But in
the end, securing inventory by
making it difficult to handle, can have
a chilling effect on sales. Sales and
security are a common opposing set of
retail goals.
Similarly, payroll hours and
customer service levels are opposing
goals that need to be balanced. A store
manager who wants to provide
exemplary customer service cannot
also run a shop with such a lean staff
that they are unable to devote time to
talking with customers. A store
operator who creates a schedule needs
THE RECYCLER • ISSUE 317 • APRIL 2019
to acknowledge that the staff cannot
process deliveries, merchandise and
clean the store as well as serve
customers unless there are enough
hours built into the schedule.
Overscheduling and then sending
staff home early will quickly lead to
high staff turnover. So a manager has
to build a schedule that will allow
flexible hours when store traffic is
high and ensure that staff members
fill their non-selling time with
productive tasks around the store.
As a store owner or manager, it is
your job to ensure that your team
understands the idea of balancing
opposing goals. Too many times, staff
members get focused on the one goal
that matters most to them (increasing
sales or reducing inventory or labor
hours or theft) and that can be the
genesis of conflict on the team. Your
role is to ensure that every person on
the team understands that there is not
a single goal that usurps all others. A
RETAIL COLUMN
successful retailer can make progress
against all goals at once.
One way to ensure that team
members give appropriate attention to
balanced goals is to include all goals in
their personal goal setting for the year.
If the head of loss prevention is
rewarded for both reducing shrink
and the store achieving its sales goals,
that person is more likely to be flexible
and creative when solving the
problem of securing inventory while
improving sales. Conversely, if the
Sales Manager is also rewarded for
reducing shrink, that person may be
more open to supporting security
measures even if it means a longer
sales process on the floor. It is your job
to help your staff see that opposing
goals can be achieved in balance. Each
area that a store measures is
important. Achieving one goal should
not be achieved at the cost of missing
another opposing goal within the
company.
R
Flora’s upcoming book: Retail The
Second-Oldest Profession: 7 Timeless
Principles to WIN in Retail Today will be
released on 26 February 2019 and will
be available via Amazon, Kobo, Tolino
and in bookstores (or special order)
worldwide. It is available as both a 260
page paperback and an ebook on all
tablets and readers.
Flora Delaney is a retail consultant
and advisor to the remanufactured
cartridge industry in the US. A
seasoned retail executive, Flora’s
clients benefit from her holistic
approach and pragmatic solutions.
Email flora@floradelaney.com to
reach her.
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