5 Tips to Create a Better Taproom Merch Display
Craft beer today is arguably just as much about branding as it is producing a high-quality product. Because of this, your brewery should aim to remain in your guests’ minds long after they take the last sip. This can be done via social media, mailing lists, and even encouraging your customers to proudly leave with a collection of bottles, cans, crowlers, and growlers. But don’t forget the merch.
In past studies, we’ve looked at the power of suggestion. Suggesting a second beer? A 16 percent increase in that tab. How about handing a guest a physical menu? An impressive 35 percent increase in that customer’s check. Encouraging a to go purchase? A nearly 50 percent success rate when that question is asked.
Simply placing your merch area in a visible location with clearly priced items? Guests will make a merchandise purchase 9.3% more often when these qualifications are met. Guests only purchase 6.3 percent of the time when the area isn’t visible or containing clearly priced items. Guests purchase merch 15.6 percent of the time when it is. In addition to placing merchandise in a visible location, staff should also encourage guests to make the added purchase.
When a guest purchases merch, their average tab is $56.55. When they don't purchase merch, the average tab is only $41.26. It can be taken from this that the average piece of merch is going for $15.28. Note, this number does not refer to any specific type of merchandise and reflects all items sold, whether a keychain, t-shirt, hoodie, or anything else.
Steve and Scott Schmidt of Promote The Brew are experts in helping breweries get the most of their merchandising. They shared several tips about designing and maximizing your merchandise sales.
1. Location – Every brewery is different and space limitations often play a role in the retail location decision. A brewery should strive to determine in the planning stages of their building or build out how much space they want to allocate to their retail program. A space that is 6 foot wide by 8 foot high can provide ample room to display the product from a well thought out product plan.
2. Product Mix – Steve and Scott recommend the core products make up about 30 to 40 percent of the product plan, with the remainder comprised of seasonal and special event merchandise that is rotated in and out of the display based on the product timing plan.
3. How Much to Display – Keep a small amount of product on the display with extra stock stored in another area. This helps keep the display clean and manageable. Another benefit to keeping less product on the display is the consumer is more likely to make a purchase if they think the product they are interested in only has a few in their size left. Scarcity drives impulse buying behaviors.
4. Placement - Keep your higher ticket items in the 3' to 5' area of the display. Make sure the shelves on your display are in that area, as this line of sight sees the most sales. Below this have a bar to hang clothes so the customer can see, feel, and hold up to compare the size to their body. Having product where the customer can touch it will increase sales. Customers hate to ask busy beer tenders to grab product and then return for another size or color, so they often don't ask. This is easy revenue missed because the customer could not self-shop the display.
5. Display Pricing Neatly - Use easy to see and read typed signs or a menu of items for the customer. Do not use tape on your display. I repeat, do not use tape on your display. If you use handwritten signs, make sure the person writing them does so that they are neat and easy to read.
Dedicating just a little bit more time to properly organize and manage your retail operation can ultimately result in a sizeable increase in sales. Moving your merch display from the back corner to a prime location could increase your merch sales $142 per every 100 customers. That shirt placed at the right location on your display will look great around town. Treat this side of your operation as a powerful way to continue to build your brand.
We would love to offer any brewery that reaches out after reading this article one free Secret Hop*. Please email andrew@secrethopper.com to schedule. Cheers!
*1 free visit per brewery per calendar year