RETAILING continued
Now you may not even need to ask whether they would like to add a pair. They have already experienced why they need them, and there is a collection waiting in a small fishbowl at the cash register. Every Major Gear Purchase Is an Opportunity When someone buys a major piece of equipment, think about the small accessories that make that gear easier, safer, more organized, or simply more enjoyable to use. A mask creates an opportunity for defog or a strap cover. Fins and booties lead naturally to fin socks or spring straps. A BCD may call for identification tags, clips, or carabiners. A computer brings up screen protection, wrist straps, batteries, or a case. This is not about piling on another item. It is about improving the diver’s experience. Organize Around Tasks, Not Just Products If a store or brand offers products with a known need, make it easy for customers to solve that need in one place. Why should they go to another store or worry about an online shipment arriving on time? Create product zones around tasks and gear. A mirror area can support hair management, hoods, hats, and sunglasses. A travel section can bring together packing items, dry bags, luggage tags, and small essentials. A Save-a-Dive area can make repairs and backup items feel like a logical kit rather than unrelated pieces scattered throughout the store. Educate customers before a trip to try on their gear, think about how their kit becomes a functional, logical, cohesive unit, practice deployment, and learn the muscle memory of where their gear is located. And use your vendors. A willing vendor may be able to educate you and your customers in-store, on Zoom, or by FaceTime on how products are designed to be worn and used. Create an Experience You can also turn merchandising into an event. Host a packing night. Ask customers to bring their favorite travel hacks. Create a hair-management session. Build compact waterproof travel survival/repair kits together. Invite customers to share where they are traveling next, or add pins to a world map showing where they have been. Continuity throughout the store and training rooms matters, too. If your customers love the Pirate Life, lean into it. Use themed displays, treasure chests, maps, compass graphics, or an “adventurer’s outpost” to fuel the spirit of ex- ploration. Make organization and convenience part of what you sell.
Where Should Impulse Items and Support Accessories Be Placed? To keep them top of mind and combat overwhelm, place them near the zones where customers will need them. At the register, try a clear fishbowl or Treasure Chest . Customers love the thrill of rummaging for hidden gems. One of the greatest sales opportunities happens while a customer is waiting at the cash register . They naturally look around and notice additional items. Ask any major retailer, or simply observe your own habits in a checkout line. Near Selling Zones, use display chains, bamboo rods, curtain rods, slatwall hang rods, or other dimensional displays that put accessories next to the products they support. Better yet, let the customer experience the solution. In the wetsuit, bootie, and fin area, hand the customer a pair of socks. Make it part of the fitting process, much like putting on socks when trying on shoes. The dread of struggling to pull on fins may quickly turn into, “Wow, that made this easier.”
30 SCUBA DIVING INDUSTRY
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