By: Tabatha Bender, Redemption Plus
We had several customers opt-in for a refresh of their redemption areas prior to Spring Break season. It’s a great way to make sure you have high-value products in your redemption area that drive game play and enhance customer experience.
But now on the tail-end of Spring Break season, how do the spaces compare to what they looked like before the break rush? Gone are the days of neatly themed sections and tightly aligned product spacing. “Just 30 days ago it looked great,” dismayed voices have said over the phone. 😩
Instead of becoming a victim of the “30-Day Decline,” we want to empower you to get back to the basics of product theme and display management to restore the glory. To overcome the decline, you must understand how it happens:
1 | Changing of the guard.
For many of you, there are several employees who work the redemption counter over the course of a month. Not all are going to be “into” retail merchandising and redemption management. Sometimes they’re just filling in for another employee at the last minute.
A couple nights of different employees running the counter and suddenly things start looking a little off. We recommend creating a simple checklist for employees to look at when starting a shift. It should sum up how to manage the space. Here’s an example:
  • All hanging toys need to be pulled to the front of the peg at the top of each hour.
  • If something sells out, move half the items next to it onto the empty peg. Be sure the toy you are replacing it with has a similar ticket amount.
  • The redemption area is divided into sections. Each section is themed. Please keep toys within their themes. See the plan-o-gram by the counter if you need help.
Something as simple as a 3-point checklist and a plan-o-gram will go a long way in helping staff understand the look you’re trying to maintain during a busy night.
2 | Re-ordering outside of a category.
Guests visiting your redemption area are going to naturally process their choices by category, which is why it’s important to merchandise accordingly. Creating sections of your wall with similar items will not only help manage your product assortment but will also help guests make decisions quicker.
To avoid the 30-Day Decline, when you are trying to fill an empty spot in your redemption space, here are two tips to help you maintain high-quality merchandising and product theme management: category and size. Yes, ticket values count, but picking items based purely on ticket values is an ingredient to the dreaded decline.
For example, if you were to run out of the Giant Flamingo Pool Float, you could replace it with the Giant Balloon Animal Float. Replacing the float with a NERF Gun, for example, wouldn’t make as much sense – even if you had an extra one around.
3 | Spacing gets really weird.
You may notice throughout the month the pegs get further and further apart. This typically occurs when you have staff members who are replacing items that aren’t of similar size and just trying to make it work on the fly. They get an A for improvising, but it’s not quite cutting it long-term. Post a plan-o-gram somewhere where they can see it as an example of what your wall is supposed to look like. Even if the items have changed, there’s a road map present to help them get “back to the basics” of good retail merchandising.
Moral of the story:
The 30-Day Decline seems to happen in the blink of the eye. You wear a lot of hats and can’t be everywhere all time. We get it. But during a busy season, it’s imperative to empower your staff with all the know-how to ensure a redemption wall that works just as hard as you do.