I’ve been puzzling over this conundrum for a number of years: “How do I get more people to actually come into my shop instead of just glancing in the window and walking by?” A neighbour of mine owns a shop selling perfumes and jewellery, and he came up with an interesting idea which started producing results pretty much immediately (within half an hour!).

My neighbour is called Dave. This morning he took delivery of a lot of new products, including a new range of ladies designer handbags. Dave sells everything at very low prices, but there are some items that he sells at just 50p or £1. His shop is in a small indoor shopping arcade/mall, so he has the advantage of being able to put a table outside displaying some of his goods for sale.

He hung up a lot of the new bags in the window – Some of these bags are very unusual and catch the eye. So already he’s attracting attention not only because there are new products in the window, but also because the bags stand out over the normal run-of-the-mill products like make-up and perfume he sells. Secondly, Dave placed a sign on his table outside the shop saying “All items £1,”. This referred to the items on the table only, of course.

The sign created a lot of attention, mainly because everyone loves a bargain. The items were good quality products, so people were crowding round to get a look at what they perceived to be a fantastic special offer. Next thing you know, people are coming into the shop with £1 purchases, and then looking at all the other goodies inside the shop, and usually leaving with more than they originally came in for!

It’s often so difficult to get people in through the door of your shop, even if you leave the doors wide open, with huge signs flashing everywhere! I think it’s because many shoppers are paranoid about entering a small shop. They feel like they are being watched, and it can be uncomfortable to shop under this imagined pressure.

Dave sold some of his new handbags today, and a lot of £1 items. I know for a fact he went home smiling this evening. It also set me off thinking about how I might apply the same techniques to entice more customers into my t-shirt printing shops. I have thought about stocking smaller items that complement t-shirts, such as pin badges (buttons), belts, wallets, sunglasses etc. I’ve already ordered some badges, and I’m trying to source some cheap wholesale sunglasses. I’ll put them on a display stand outside the shop, with the items priced as low as possible. This should work as “bait” to make get people into the shop and hopefully taking an interest in the t-shirts that I have for sale. I’ll post the results after a few weeks of testing.