Some people love to shop; it’s their natural state. They adore spending hours casually making their way down the main street, diving into small side shops and wading through the crowds to get to the high street stores. This particular species of human being loves to wade through a clothes rack, digging through piles of shirts and trousers, searching for the very best value for money.

The other species of human being is known as the non-shopper. These people will shop when forced to do so, but prefer to steer clear of the stores as much as possible. When they do shop – and trust us they do – they prefer looking through racks and hangers they can easily see. Digging through a jumble sale of clothes isn’t their idea of fun and, in order to entice and please these reluctant shoppers you need to look at how you lay out your charity shop.

Charity shops have a name for themselves as being a bit of a jumble sale. With t-shirts thrown in with skirts and dresses hung up alongside coats, it can become a bit of a chore having to dig through the mass of donated clothing.

From using a specialised charity EPoS system to designing window displays and clothes organisation, here are a couple of tips to help you bring in the buyers!

Rack Organisation

It’s hard to find what you want when you shop; some people go into a store with a very specific item of clothing in mind and never truly find it while others walk into a shop and haven’t a clue what they’re looking for.

If a rack is too crowded and full of everything in the store, certain items may get lost in the frenzy, pushed to the back or sandwiched between two bulky items never to see the light of day again. Organising your racks is imperative when trying to sell your donated goods. After all, if they can’t be seen then they won’t be bought.

• – Clearly indicate which clothes are for women and which are for men.

• – Separate your clothes into groups e.g. dresses, t-shirts, jumpers etc

If you want to, you can also make it easier for your shoppers by organising your clothes into size order.

De-clutter Your Shop Floor

Health and Safety love a good ol’ rant, so of course you need to make sure that you don’t have stacks of books lined up in front of the fire escape, lining the staircase or framing a doorway. This is a little bit of common sense though, what we really mean is not to over-fill your shop floor.

Some people will love shimmying between clothes rails and boxes full of children’s toys, but this can sometimes seem too confusing and can put people off searching for good buys. Section off areas of your shop for your different items, such as books, toys, jewellery, clothes, shoes, ornaments and so on.

Another option is to keep some of your goods in the back room and replace a bought item with them.

Window Display

Bringing customers into your charity shop is your main aim. Some people will quite happily wonder in of their own accord, while others will need a bit more persuading. Your window display will be your selling point.

• – Neatly display outfits that work well together alongside accessories you may have in your store.

• – Use different levels in order to capture the eye. Keeping your entire window display on the same level can seem boring and will more than likely not capture a tired shoppers attention as they trawl the main street

Now that your shop is organised and you can see where you’re standing, you’ll want your customers’ great experience to continue from the moment they enter your charity shop to when they come to the checkout. Your charity EPoS system can help you out here too. Our charity Full Scan Mode (FSM) is both employer and volunteer friendly, making it easier for you to use and keep track of your stock. You can contact us on 01204 706 000 to find out more about our EPoS systems as well as getting in contact with our experienced support team if you have any questions about your system.