Organizing Chemical Products for Better Sales Results

Get better foot traffic in your store!

Generating strong product turnover in pool chemical products is an important goal of any pool supplies business. Profit margins on these products can be quite good and increasing the number of product turns can dramatically increase profitability using the same store square footage. If they have arrived at your store, let’s take advantage and make the most of their time.

Product Concentration

Whether you’re selling chemical products from a service counter area or a consumer retail space, most of your foot traffic won’t do much exploring. Typically, they’ll either go straight back to the location where they have previously found what they wanted or (and this is especially true for new customers) they’ll approach the counter and ask where they will find what they need. Lastly, they’ll make a beeline back to the sales counter to pay for it.

Nobody wants to have to hunt for a product. If you want customers (and your floor sales people) to easily find what you’ve got, put all of the chemicals in one area. This also puts customers in front of additional chemical products that they may not have considered; this improves the chances that the best product(s) for the job will be chosen and makes for happier, repeat customers.

Brand Decisions

Customers want products that address their needs. Stocking multiple brands that do the same things creates confusion in the minds of customers and a confused mind says “no”. Instead, stick with one or two high-performing brands with product lines that can cover the full range of challenges that your customers actually have. Place available manufacturer print material near the products in an appealing display. This allows customers to quickly select the right product and is a more efficient use of the chemical space, solving customer problems while maximizing your stock turns. It also looks much better and your customers value that more than they’re likely to tell you.

Program Selling

Some products do a better job of fully solving customer problems and sell better when they’re paired. Algaecides and shock products should be stocked side-by-side. Likewise, phosphate removers and clarifiers should be merchandised in a way that promotes the purchase of a program (sequential use), not just an item.

Stock the Shelves

Empty shelf space communicates negative things to customers. They wonder “is this business on its way out?”, “is the management here really too lazy to put their stock on the shelves?” It is also, of course, a waste of selling space. Successful businesses have plenty of stock on shelves for customers. Sometimes businesses make the mistake of understocking shelves due to weak cash flow. If a cash-flow bind is long-term, weight your chemical product offerings more heavily toward the fastest sellers and, if absolutely necessary, right-size the shelf space so you can keep them loaded with one full array of problem-solving products.

Typical Items

Products that customers will be asking for regardless of merchandising efforts shouldn’t take up valuable floor and shelf space. Instead, put an example or two with associated communication pieces next to the register and keep the rest within a few steps behind the counter.

Impulse Items at Point of Sale (POS)

Chemicals and other products that customers will buy on impulse should be placed in plain sight as close to the point of sale as possible. Make their placement appealing to the eye and avoid clutter. Less can be more.

Chemical product sales are the lifeblood of the pool products trade. Putting a little thought into how they’re organized benefits you and your customers. And who doesn’t want that?

Expanded information on these topics is being made available to Certified Lo-Chlor^® Dealers in the Dealer Section of this website. We’re here to help.