How You Can Increase Your Average Basket Size

Basket size, (sometimes referred to as "average ticket") can tell you a lot about your retail business. For starters, the number of items they purchase can show you if you’re offering the correct assortment of goods for your customers. It can be an indicator if you are satisfying their needs. More importantly, you’ll know if you’re meeting your overall goals as a business owner.

Here are a few simple tactics to get them to buy more per transaction:

Spread high-traffic items throughout the store
Cross-merchandise complimentary items
Offer some "retail-tainment" so you expose customers to new items they can buy
Track your average basket size

The Secret Sauce is Creating Kits

Kitting gives you the opportunity to sell clients something they may not have thought of, but they will thank you for later.

Unlike the classic upsell – placing magazines and gum by the cash register, or asking if they want “fries with that” – the concept of Kitting is to add value with additional, complementary items that the customer may not even know they need, but will benefit or enhance their original intended purchase.

For example, if your customer comes into your pet store and tells you they're buying a puppy for their child, you can prepare a “Puppy’s First Family” package as a kit.

This could include a puppy care book, a safe travel carrier, stain remover, chew toy, food, water dish, food dish, ball, collar, leash – and of course, a first dog bed.

Of course, this can work for much more complex sales. For instance, a fireplace may have some very specific parts that go with every sale.

You could even kit consumable or safety items with the rental of a piece of construction equipment.

So, instead of having your sales staff suggest one or two items off the top of their head - or worse, leaving purchase choices entirely to the consumer - your team presents as the experts on the topic and helps the consumer in the process.

After all, the general public may not know what items could be useful when you buy a puppy.

Or a snowblower (gloves, hat, boots, goggles, earplugs, hand warmers, gas can).

Or the first time they attempt an oil change ( oil, oil filter, socket set, oil filter wrench, drain pan, funnel, latex gloves, jack and jack stands or ramps)

You get the picture...

With a kit, you suddenly have a way to offer everything the customer potentially needs as one package.

Boost Profits with Windward's built-in kitting

As a business owner, you can create one or more “package” of items that go together under one SKU.

"Kitting" is a Windward System Five on Cloud feature that automatically creates a sales SKU and pricing for a group of items.

Traditionally, kitting is used in hardware or furniture sales to ensure four table legs are paired and sold with a tabletop, or the right bulbs are easy to locate and sell with a particular light fixture.

However, there are also huge opportunities to use the kitting features built into in Windward System Five to create promotional kits that can really give your bottom line a boost by including the high-margin items you want to sell.

Here are the advantages of setting up Kits:

Staff doesn’t need to remember specifics on the floor while they are busy
Everything is included in one SKU, so no essential item is left behind
It’s easy to offer a discount price on the kit, then inform the customer of the cost savings and the convenience of buying it all, all at once
Kit together items from different suppliers and everything entered in your point-of-sale is automatically removed from inventory and updated across Windward System Five, including customer records, accounting, purchase orders, delivery, etc.
Offer the “fries with that” package, i.e., one or two upsell items; as well as the “full meal deal” package, i.e., multiple items that go together.

This leverages price juxtaposition on the spot - the customer can instantly compare and see the value of getting the bigger package.

Have fun with your team creating great kitted packages and SKUS with your customers in mind
Create floor displays of the kitted items
Create advertising focused on the kit

Kitting keeps your customer in the store for their entire purchase, and stops them from rounding out the project at your competitor!

windward-intel-sales-by-category The Windward Intelligence Dashboard helps you drill into average ticket by category.

Kitting is just one way to optimize the value of every customer who comes through your door. Windward System Five has several key features that work together to help you run your business better.

Explore more opportunities for boosting your profits with Windward System Five features, check out this article on Promotions, Gift Cards and more!

If you are ready to learn more about kitting, here’s what to do:

Windward-Professional-Services-white-background

Windward clients, please contact your Account Manager to talk about a Professional Services plan to get Kitting set up. +1 (800) 633-5750

Or you can check out this webinar where we will discuss different Kits Types that meet various needs. There will be a live demonstration with examples and a quick Q & A will follow.

If you are not yet a Windward client, one of our Business Developers would be happy to talk to you about your current business challenges and see how we can help.

Please reach out at +1 (800) 633-5750