If you want to compete in the marketplace and entice customers into your business, the presentation of your store supplies needs to stay fresh. While you can’t go out and buy new retail equipment every month or so, it is possible to learn ways to keep your same retail business supplies looking cutting edge.

As you study retail equipment news and trends, you see a number of trends emerge that are prevalent throughout the industry. It doesn’t matter if you want to keep your grocery store supplies or your retail store supplies looking fresh, the tips are the same. You should keep these trends in focus:

1. Electronic retail equipment. Whether it’s credit card retail equipment or electronic presentations within the store, high-tech gadgets are plentiful.

2. Modular retail equipment. This is an area that you can use to really save money as you can use your store supplies in an infinite number of combinations.

3. Environmentally friendly store supplies. More pieces of store equipment are recyclable and made from renewable products.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Find articles that discuss retail equipment news and trends

From different ways to use retail equipment to the latest products on the market, you can find articles that cover a wide variety of topics. Always look for ways to use your existing equipment in new ways.

I recommend: SurfWax has a number of articles on retail equipment news and trends. The topics cover a wide range of businesses that make and sell retail equipment and retail supplies. Trio Display offers a number of articles. Read the articles on retail business supplies and retail store equipment to discover new ways to use your store shelving. View the retail business equipment displays featured by 555 Design Fabrication Management to gather new ideas.

Sign up for retail equipment newsletters

Quite often providers of retail store equipment offer news and trends on their websites. While the newsletters may be pushing for sales, there are still plenty of new ideas for ways to use retail supplies.

I recommend: Shop-Equip has a newsletter to help you keep up with retail equipment news and trends. ThomasNet offers a compilation of newsletter items on its website. All aspects of the retail industry equipment and supplies trade have news items. Providers of retail equipment have many of their new products featured in these news items.

Follow blogs about retail equipment

Quite often blogs contain practical tips to help you implement the latest ways to use your retail business equipment.

I recommend: The Klo Agency offers a blog where you can find information about designing unique store displays using your retail business equipment. The Retail Contrarian has insights on using retail equipment to your advantage.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Sometimes less is more. Try not to follow every retail equipment industry fad. Trends that have a classic elegance are the ones to follow. Classical pieces of retail equipment that you purchase can last a long time.

To create a successful retail store where products fly off the shelves, you need more than great products — you need shelves, too. In fact, retail stores require a wide variety of equipment and supplies to ensure a profitable operation. Essentials for any retailer include displays and fixtures to show off your products, a system for ringing up sales, a pricing system, packaging supplies, anti-theft devices and security products. With the right equipment and supplies you can:

1. Reinforce your image
2. Encourage sales and impulse buys
3. Promote sale merchandise or featured items
4. Speed up the checkout process
5. Reduce errors in the checkout process
6. Reduce employee and customer theft
7. Increase store safety

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Fixtures and displays

Store fixtures and displays are a must for any retailer. The display cases, racks, shelves, gridwalls, slatwalls and showcases you choose speak volumes about your store, so make selections that reflect your company image — modern, upscale, elegant or budget-conscious.

I recommend: Turn to major retail suppliers, such as Nu-Era or American Retail Supply for displays and fixtures. For an extensive selection of new and used store fixtures, go to Flint Store Fixtures or Gershel Bros. National Retail Equipment Liquidators specializes in used store fixtures.

Mannequins

Mannequins can help transform a ho-hum window display into a work of art and can be instrumental in increasing sales of featured items. Mannequins come in a variety of styles, including torsos on stands, full-body, heads, hands and feet. Some feature flexibility so you can pose them any way you like.

I recommend: Find basic mannequin styles at MannequinLand.com, which lets you pick from a variety of shapes and sizes.

Point of sale (POS) systems and cash registers

In a retail environment, your POS system or cash register is your most important piece of equipment. POS systems include a computer, cash drawer, receipt printer and monitor. For a more basic checkout system, a computerized cash register will do.

I recommend: POS Software & Systems Group offers POS solutions for retailers. For cash registers, visit RoyalSupplies.com, CashRegisterStore.com or Cash Register Distributors Warehouse.

Barcode scanners and systems

Barcode technology is becoming increasingly popular with retailers. It's about 15 times faster than entering information by hand on a keyboard and about 10,000 times more accurate. The technology speeds up point-of-sale transactions and reduces errors.

I recommend: Find a great supply of barcode software, scanners and printers at BarcodesInc.com.

Security and anti-theft products

Every retailer needs to think about loss prevention and security. Fortunately, there are dozens of products on the market designed to help keep your store safe and minimize employee theft and customer theft.

I recommend: Protect your store with security camera kits from EZWatchPro.com. Security tags, detachers and other anti-theft supplies are available from SecurityTagStore.com.

Bags and boxes

The shopping bags or boxes in which your products leave your store play an important role. With your store name imprinted on the sides, they can serve as walking advertisements. The style and quality of your packaging should reflect and reinforce your store image.

I recommend: Stock up on boxes, bags, packaging and gift packaging at PaperMart.com. CreativeBag.com offers unique bags and boxes in a variety of shapes, colors and materials, including felt, leather and tin containers.

Supplies

To keep your retail operation running smoothly, you need a wide variety of general supplies.

I recommend: SpecialtyStoreServices.com carries a full line of retail supplies, including shopping carts, shopping baskets, tagging guns. Order price tags and sales forms at Staples.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  When buying equipment, take your time and plan well. Making a mistake due to a hasty decision can be costly.
• •  If you are ordering supplies, especially supplies that need to be customized, do not buy more to save a little. Buy enough to test to see if they fit and what changes you want to make…and you will want to make them.
• •  There is no such thing as a perfect layout of a store. Over a period of time, the type of merchandise you'll be carrying may change, requiring some display units, especially those that are moveable, to be replaced.

All of the retail supplies that go into making a business work can add up to quite an investment before you even open your doors for business. If you learn all the ways you can make the most of your retail equipment from your first day of business, that same equipment may still be working for you many years later.

Even though your business's décor may change, you can quite often use the same retail business supplies. You may need to be creative when finding ways to keep older fixtures looking fresh, but it’s not too difficult. As your look at ways of making the most of retail equipment in your store, think of the following:

1. Your clients. You want your store shelving to be welcoming and to make the customers comfortable and happy. Happy customers are paying customers.

2. Your space. Be creative with the arrangement of retail equipment. You can often put old equipment in a new spot and your customers may think you have all new décor.

3. Your budget. If you want to add to your retail equipment, consider modular pieces that you can add as your finances allow.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Take good care of your retail equipment

Practice good housekeeping. Keep your retail business supplies clean and polished to help them last longer. Make sure everything is in good working order.

I recommend: Allen Designers offers tips on ways to use the different pieces of equipment for stores to help you optimize your store shelving. JNE Retail Equipment, a business retail supplier, has a set of guidelines to help you keep your shopping carts in good shape for your customers.

Add to your retail equipment inventory as needed

As your business grows, you may want to add new pieces of equipment. Consider adding closeout items or used store supplies. Both are often just like new and can save you a considerable amount of money.

I recommend: You can find a selection of used retail industry equipment and supplies at Gershel Bros.. It also has a wide selection of closeout retail business equipment, including grocery store supplies, that you can buy at a steep discount. Check out the closeout deals on store supplies offered by Deluxe Enterprise Operations.

Consider leasing retail equipment

If your needs change on a regular basis, or if you need certain pieces of retail equipment seasonally, you may want to consider renting or leasing just the pieces you need. Any store supplies you lease are tax deductible, so this is another incentive to consider when looking for ways to make your retail equipment budget go farther.

I recommend: Read how making the most of retail equipment might include leasing for your business. Nolo has an article that discusses the pros and cons of leasing retail store equipment. Crest Capital can help you lease retail equipment for your business.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Discourage employees and customers from improperly using of your retail equipment. Don't allow people to sit on tables. Leaning or hanging on fixtures should be discouraged as well. Put chairs in locations where your guests may need to sit, like outside fitting rooms.

Although there are many types of retail establishments, there are certain retail equipment key terms that are important to understand no matter what your niche. Any brick and mortar business is sure to have a cash register and other point of sale equipment. Depending on products for sale, there are a large variety of shelving options including slatwalls, wire grids, and gondola shelving available. As you read this guide, you can become familiar with additional retail equipment key terms.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Cash register

A cash register rings up the customer's sale. It prints out a receipt for the customer as well as makes a copy for your records. It also provides a safe place to store payments such as checks and cash. Today's electronic cash register has many additional capabilities, and it's up to you to decide which extras you want.

I recommend: Check out a basic cash register at CleanSweepSupply.com.

POS equipment, or point of sale equipment

You may wish to use POS equipment as part of your check out process instead of a cash register. A POS system can help you keep track of sales, trends, customers and a host of other items. Many pieces of POS equipment are touch screen compatible, and it is possible to find refurbished equipment if the cost of new is prohibitive. In addition to the computer, you'll also need peripherals such as a cash drawer and a scanner.

I recommend: See the various POS options available at The Electronic Avenue.

Barcode scanners

Barcode scanners read information from the price tag. You can also use them to check inventory during the check out process. There are fixed barcode scanners that attach to a computer and there are portable barcode scanners.

I recommend: Get more information about barcode scanners from Barcode Discount.

Gondola shelves

Gondola shelves are basic display units found in many retail shops. You can set the shelves at any height. You can order gondola shelves with pegboard back to give you even more versatility in arranging your goods. You can find wall gondola shelves as well as freestanding units.

I recommend: See the variety of gondola shelves available at Trio Display.

Slatwall

Slatwall is a type of fixture that has pre-cut grooves into which you can insert a variety of hooks and shelving to display merchandise. Slatwall pieces easily install against existing walls. You can also order freestanding slatwall display fixtures.

I recommend: Fixture Depot offers many examples of slatwall and accessories.

Gridwall

Gridwall serves the same function as slatwall except it's a metal grid rather than wood. Because of its metal construction, gridwall can hold heavier objects. There are also a number of accessories that go with gridwall shelving.

I recommend: Hubert offers accessories and gridwall shelving options.