How to maximise Outerwear sales this Autumn/Winter

Foremost Golf Business Development Consultant, Charlie Hartley explains five key retail tips to maximise outerwear sales.

Whilst autumn is always one of the best opportunities to sell outerwear, this is especially true this year. With so many new golfers in our sport, there is a high probability that a lot of them are ill prepared for the months ahead. With a little effort, this profitable category could help maintain the momentum of the season and keep sales healthy, despite supply issues in other categories.

Here we discuss five retail tips to help maximise outerwear sales.

1. Space and Position
Give your outerwear proposition a larger and more prominent space in-store. It is often hidden away, giving preference to another category, but now is the time of year to give it some prioritisation. Identify your key selling locations. Remember that outerwear is often an impulse buy, so the display has to stand out. On poor weather days, try moving key products to the very front of the shop, tempting golfers the minute they enter. If outerwear sales underperformed last year, change the way you offer this category this year.

2. Linked Purchases and Merchandising
Outerwear offers plenty of linked purchase opportunities. Does the customer know that there are waterproof trousers in stock that could go with this jacket? Beanies, rain caps, mitts, umbrellas – the list goes on! Your signage and ticketing should clearly outline these link products and staff should be trained to offer them too.

Most outerwear suppliers provide some fantastic shop-in-shop propositions that really show off products. Use more shop fittings like mannequins to bring displays alive. It’s important to rotate the products and colourways in these hot-spot locations to keep things fresh and relevant to the time of season. Have you got adequate point of sale on display? Do not underestimate the power of these ‘silent salesman’ tools. They will inform and reassure your customers on the key features and benefits.

3. Know your product range
There is a raft of technology in many of today’s outerwear products. Make sure you learn the key differences, as this will enable you to upsell far easier. Try to include your staff in product training. It will stand them in good stead to provide a better, more professional service to customers, as well as increasing your sales. Knowing products inside out will pave the way to being able to sell a £500 waterproof suit as opposed to a £250 one. Giving informative face-to-face product knowledge, whilst being able to offer the ability to touch, feel and even swing a club in a garment is what separates you from your online competition.

4. Replenishment
There is little point in giving a prominent location to outerwear, with good merchandising, if the stock densities are poor – the display will look weak. Keep track of sales using your EPOS data and look to regularly replenish key items throughout autumn / winter. It may be worth offering less suppliers, but having more depth. This way you have to stay on top of less products and can pre-book in good numbers without spreading yourself too thinly and having ‘bitty’ displays.

5. Marketing is key
Marketing is more effective when you can coordinate your store signage, website and digital communications to reflect the exact promotion and models that you are stocking in-store. Winter garments offer some really fun and creative video opportunities that will showcase the products’ defence mechanisms against poor conditions. Don’t be afraid to get creative! Even if the customer doesn’t buy there and then, you are planting the seed that you are who they should be buying their next outerwear garment from. GR

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