Do you remember what your customers bought exactly 6 months ago?
This question might seem irrelevant but it can lead to a rise in sales – yes, it’s true.
When you know what your customers want and how much they want, you can serve them better. Their buying patterns reveal a lot about their preferences – what brands they choose, what quantities they prefer & what price they are willing to pay.
And you can keep these preferences in mind while stocking wholesale products at your store. Already knowing what they want would also let you suggest better quality items at higher prices, which will lead to increased sales.
Many retailers are now shifting to new and innovative methods to increase sales. As there are so many options, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the possibilities.
Coupons, discounts or loyalty programs do entice the customers, but it’s difficult to predict which option will result in the greatest sales.
By using the data of previous sales, you can develop a strategy to enhance your profit.
When you have the correct data and you know how to utilize it, you don’t have to do much guesswork. When you have access to your customers’ order histories, you can get an insight into what will be more successful when it comes to improving sales.
Order History
Order history includes the precise things that your customers purchased along with the prices for each product.
Order history may be seen in your POS system. A solid POS will allow you to explore using a variety of data points, ranging from the customer to particular goods and sales are broken down for certain periods.
Create detailed client profiles when you and your team make sales so you can learn more about them and their purchasing patterns.
This is just the first step. You can further ensure that your POS system enables you to analyze this information. After that, you can get more clarity into demands, brand choices and other factors which will help you stock products at your store. This will simplify your future sales.
The Key To Increased Sales: Gain Insights On Previous Orders of A Customer
Order histories give you a fair idea about what works and what doesn’t in terms of items that customers desire to purchase from you. What is the simplest approach to putting the data to use? Watch for trends:
Dates: Are there any certain times of the month when sales have historically increased? What about the entire year – where were your sluggish periods? What about occasions when you sold significantly more than the average?
Look for any date-related patterns in your order history, and then utilize that knowledge to make future plans to manage your store and inventories better.
Items: Do any products routinely perform better than the competition? What about goods that don’t sell at all? Do customers frequently purchase specific goods in tandem?
You may get the knowledge you need to sell the appropriate items to the right customers by analyzing product sales patterns. It may also guide the layout of your store or online so that items that customers usually buy together are put on display together.
Customers: Do some of your customers prefer different products? Are there any specific times? How often do they visit your store? – questions like these will help you how you can attract these customers to visit your store. Perhaps you could introduce some discounts, offers or distribute coupons.
Reviewing your store’s order history and utilizing that information is immensely helpful for marketing reasons. Once you use your POS to understand sales trends, consider some of the following suggestions:
- Create customized marketing messages: By examining order histories, you may create marketing messages that are incredibly targeted to the people who purchased what and when.
Compared to sending generic emails to your whole customer list, this is more successful. depending on client behaviour and purchases, create segments based on your customer’s activity or purchases. This will help you in sending them the relevant messages that tap their minds and compel them to buy more from you.
- Create customized marketing messages: By examining order histories, you may create marketing messages that are incredibly targeted to the people who purchased what and when.
For example, when the majority of the schools in New Zealand gear up to welcome students for a new academic session in mid-January, you can run an advertisement themed on “school basics”. It will probably gain more momentum than an ad you run for the same items during the other parts of the year.
The same applies to special days – if you know that you have a best-selling product that everyone wants around Mother’s Day, your chances are high of increased sales.
Use Customer Insights To Your Advantage
Order history helps you to gradually improve your customers’ experiences. And on top of that, it’s all about trends: you can check to see how frequently, what, and when a consumer shops with you again.
The experience you build for your customers is what matters the most. When you witness a customer coming more often to your store, it means your effort in building a good experience for them was successful.
Try something like this if you want to give it a shot:
- sending a customized email or SMS to them with a question about if they’re running low on a certain item and a tiny voucher for the one they buy the most frequently.
- offering a free sample or small gift with their subsequent purchase of a product that is comparable to or connected to what they regularly purchase in order to promote a larger sale in the future.
- offering unique or exclusive discounts to “elite consumers.” (They’ll feel appreciated and may decide to upgrade or add something new to their regular purchase.)
Why You Should Analyze Your Order History
When you need to decide how to increase sales, order histories act as a kind of road map. You may base your decisions on factual information and market trends rather than speculating.
Keeping proper inventory is part of that, especially at your busiest times. By keeping shelves stocked, you avoid missing out on sales chances and keep consumers satisfied.
Additionally, identifying what sells effectively can help you in planning promotions to boost sales. On the other hand, you can stop selling the items that take up shelf space yet aren’t well-liked by buyers.
Additionally, your order history improves your marketing by giving you the data you need to develop highly targeted campaigns and advertisements.
Bottom Line
So, this was all about increasing your sales by tracking the order history of your customers. Tracking your customer’ purchases turns out to be highly effective in the long run and gives you a better understanding of the demography you are targeting.
When you know what products your customers buy the most, the quantities they prefer and the price level they are comfortable with, you can develop a valuable shopping experience for them. Also, don’t forget to surprise them with discounts and offers the next time they visit your store – this will make them come more often.
