Is Your Store Ready For Spring?

Spring has sprung in many parts of the country–and where it hasn’t, it will soon. The weather is getting warmer and your customers are ready to do some spring cleaning and tackle the outdoor projects they’ve been thinking about over the winter. Is your store ready for this busy season?

Below, find a few tips to help prepare for spring.

Spring Cleaning

Do some spring cleaning of your own. Walk through your store and see what could use an extra cleaning. The floors should be cleaned regularly, and you should make sure all doors and windows are free of smudges. Dust off your shelves and other fixtures, change any lightbulbs that have burned out, and touch up paint as needed. Give the checkout areas a wipe down and deep clean the bathrooms. Next, head out to your parking lot and make sure there’s no trash or other litter in the area.

Inventory Updates

Look through your inventory. Clean up any categories that have been neglected, and rotate and refresh different displays and endcaps. Now is a good time to try a new product or niche you’ve been considering. Make sure you are stocked up on your most popular springtime products. Check that all stickers and prices are correct and that all products are in their correct places. Replace any worn, torn or incorrect signage.

Key Categories

Take a look at your most popular categories for the spring selling season. Here’s a quick checklist:

Lawn and Garden

• Are you all stocked up on grass seed, fertilizer, plants, shrubs and flowers?
• If you have a small engine repair shop, have you started advertising those services?
• Have you set up colorful lawn and garden displays?
• Do you have a variety of available plants that are well-suited to your local climate?
• Do you have handouts you can provide your customers to teach them how to care for their new plants?

Outdoor Living

• Have you put together a grilling display to showcase the different brands of grills you offer, as well as the accessories that can go with each?
• Have you planned for any events that can offer food cooked on those grills as a way to help promote your grill selection?
• Have you set up vignettes that highlight the different types of outdoor furniture and accessories that you offer?

Cleaning Products

• Have you stocked up on buckets, mops, all-purpose cleaners and other related products?
• Do you have different-sized storage containers (and other organizational products) neatly merchandised in this section?