QuickTips Index

How to Handle Product Recalls
If a recall is issued, a comprehensive plan that reaches the entire distribution chain to consumers who have the product is put into action. Advance notice of the recalled products will then be passed to participating retailers. This retailer's guide to recalls explains how to handle product recalls at the store level.

Create a Beat Yesterday Book for Comp Sales
A Beat Yesterday Book will come in handy for retailers wanting to track their sales. Retailers shuffle a lot of paperwork. There are Balance Sheets, Profit and Loss statements, Sales & Use forms and more to keep track of a business' financial health. But ask a retailer how their business is doing and many times he or she will have to call their accountant for the answer.

Create Your Own Beat Yesterday Book
The Beat Yesterday Book is simply a journal of the daily sales for a retail store. Having the figures at a glance can prepare the retailer for what may lie ahead. The following form can be reprinted or copied and adjusted to fit a retailers needs. Just make 12 copies of the Monthly Sales form and fill in the Net Sales each day at closing.

Customer Comment Cards
A carefully planned and well-written customer comment card allows the customer to express their opinion and provide valuable feedback. This form of store evaluation not only helps measure customer satisfaction, but also shows the retailer what areas of operation may need additional resources.

SBA ARC Loan Program
Need a bail out? Retailers and other small businesses experiencing financial troubles due to the slow economy may be eligible for a new SBA guarantee loan program, America's Recovery Capital.

Going Green: Tips for Retailers
Retailers who think going green is just another fad or marketing ploy should think again. Consumers are becoming more aware of their overall impact on our communities. Here are some ways retailers can reduce, reuse and recycle for improved social-responsibility.

Store Meetings for Retailers
The best way to disseminate important information to retail store employees is by holding a store meeting. Some retailers have mandatory monthly meetings and others wait until special events or circumstances arise which may warrant a store meeting. Read these tips before your next store meeting.

Shoplifting Policies and Procedures
It is important to plan policies and procedures for shoplifting early in the business planning. We hope it will never happen in our store but in the event it does, retailers and their staff should be prepared to handle the situation. Take the following questions into consideration when writing your shoplifting policies and procedures.

Benefits of Product Knowledge
Knowledge is power and for retailers, product knowledge can mean more sales. It is difficult to effectively sell to a consumer if we cannot show how a particular product will address a shopper’s needs. Read on to learn some of the benefits of knowing the products you sell.

Staff Meeting Topics: Cutting Back
As consumers, we are all are facing soaring grocery bills and painful pump prices. So what do we do? We stop eating out, combine errands and learn to live with less. We cut back. The same goes for retailers

Staff Meeting Topics: Shoplifting
Soaring prices, staff cutbacks, mounting debt and stagnate wages are all signs of our declining economy. As the economy slows, retailers can expect shoplifting and theft to rise.

Staff Meeting Topics: Refunds and Returns
Can your staff spot fraudulent refunds? Do they know how to turn a return into a sale? If you aren't 100% sure of the answer to either question then consider making refunds the topic of the next store meeting.

Staff Meeting Topics: Basic Safety
The key to accident prevention in retail begins with awareness of basic safety. It's also a great topic for the next staff meeting!

Emergency Supplies for the Retail Store
In order to protect the health, safety and well-being of employees and retailers should prepare, review, and revise their emergency plans and evacuation procedures. Here is a basic list of recommended emergency supplies.

Power Failure in Your Store
We all hope we're never faced with having to operate a retail store without electricity, but acts of nature, mechanical problems and other emergency situations could result in power failure at your store. So what do you do when the lights go out during store hours? Start by preparing a power loss procedure before it happens. Read on to learn how.

Disguising the Daily Deposit
As you head to the bank to take the daily deposit, does it feel like all eyes are on you and the money? Here's a tip from an experienced retailer for disguising the deposit.

Motivating New Associates
Retail training expert, Bob Richardson, offers the following tips for motivating new associates.

Removing Sticky Shelf Labels
Some retailers now place shelf labels in plastic clips and easily adjust these when prices or other details change. If your store is still using adhesive labels on shelving or shelf strips, you know how hard it is to remove these every time a new goes up. Here's how.

Cleaning Up Liquid Spills
Did you spend almost an hour mopping up a liquid spill? This little retailing tip could have saved you a lot of time. Find out how to easily and quickly clean up slippery spills.

Sticky Money
Have you ever placed a brand new stack of dollar bills in the cash register and then spent the entire afternoon cursing their sticky little existence? Here's how to unstick crisp, new paper money.

Valentine's Day Displays for Unromantic Products
No matter what type of products you sell, you can create an attractive display. Certain products will naturally lend themselves to a great display opportunity. If your product line doesn't seem very romantic, don't despair. Try the following when building a Valentine's Day display.

How to Identify Shoplifters
In order to stop a shoplifter, retailers must first be familiar with the categories of shoplifters, common shoplifting methods, and know what to look for in customers who exhibit strange behavior. Learn how to spot a shoplifter.

What Size Building or Store I Need?
What size store do you need? When planning your retail store, the amount of selling space will be one of the most important factors in selecting a location. It is also one of the most difficult to determine. Here's how to determine how many square feet of selling space your business needs.

Sales Tax Holidays
Many states across the nation have adopted some form of tax-free holiday. The sales tax holidays are designed to offer relief to taxpayers by providing a temporary sales tax exemption on certain goods during a specific time period.

Petty Cash and the Cash Drawer
How much money should my retail business keep in the cash drawer? The question of petty cash should be addressed during the business planning stage, while creating internal procedures. The amount of money a retailer should keep on hand will vary by the volume of sales, the ability to safely store the money and the type of payments the retailer receives from customers. It may take a few weeks actually dealing with the public before you can determine exactly how much petty cash to have on hand.