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  • Pam Hudson

Resources to Open/Expand a Thrift Store
Resources to Open/Expand a Thrift Store 1200 628 Pam Hudson

Finding resources to open a new thrift store or expand/invigorate an existing operation can be easier than you think. Why do it alone?

A great way to save time, avoid undue risk, obtain expert advice and guidance is to access the SVdP National Thrift Stores website (https://thriftstores.ssvpusa.org/) where you will find a wealth of information from thrift store veterans who are glad to share their knowledge and experience with fellow Vincentians.

It takes more to open a successful thrift store than enthusiasm, hope, and a prayer. As the cliché goes, the devil is in the details.

A successful operation requires a great deal of pre-planning and investigating as well as examining sources that have the content needed. The website provides many of these answers.

The home page features expandable topical sections that include Opening Your Store; Training/Development; Resources; Merchandising; Marketing/E-Commerce, as well as a Contact Us link. Each topic has a dropdown menu that includes detailed operational examples and illustrations that can be downloaded and tweaked for your specific needs.

In addition, Production Training Videos are viewable and downloadable to assist in staff training under the Resources topic.

Video Topics include How to Take Donations; Sorting and Hanging Clothing Station; Accessories, Shoes and Linen; Houseware Pricing; Clothing Pricing; & Furniture.

Using these videos for staff training refreshes and reinforces the expectations for paid employees and volunteers. They are great tools available to your management team.

The Stores website includes detailed examples and workable charts for operational procedures, store layouts, interior and exterior signage requirements, and a variety of other resources available, just to mention a few.

The Members of the Thrift Store Committee offer direct contact options. You can find your region’s store committee member by selecting About Us in the upper right corner of the webpage above. You can also schedule a visit to a National Model Training Store for assistance. Both options provide guidance and expertise of what a successful thrift store does and how it presents our Mission and Goals.

You can contact Jeff Beamguard, Director of Stores Support at the National Office. Jeff’s email is jbeamguard@svdpusa.org or call (720) 775-5376.

——-

We hope you are planning to attend the National Assembly in August in Phoenix, AZ.

The National Stores Committee has planned a GREAT program for you.

On Wednesday, August 14, 2024, the program will include presentations from Dr. Ken Snyder with the SVdP Phoenix Dental Clinic, an update on the 2nd National Store, a Store/Conference testimonial, learn about Recycling Dilemmas, and what is happening at SVdP in Eugene, OR.

Following our daylong program, there will be two opportunities to visit the National Store in Avondale, AZ. Transportation will be provided, but reservations are required due to space limitations.

Workshops are planned for Thursday afternoon. Topics include merchandising and store layouts, making a simple budget, how to increase customer count, how to measure productivity, Point of Sale (POS) and training new employees.

We encourage you to talk to your store managers and leadership about attending the National Assembly. It is a wonderful opportunity to network with and meet others around the country to share best practices.

—-

If you have questions or have a topic for a future Stores Corner article, please email our Director of Stores Support-Jeff Beamguard at jbeamguard@svdpusa.org.

 

  • Pam Hudson

Stores Corner: Donation Partnerships
Stores Corner: Donation Partnerships 1200 628 Pam Hudson

Stores Corner: Donation Partnerships

By Mike McClanahan, Mountain Region: Diocesan Council of Phoenix

Every so often, we review donations coming into our thrift stores. We compare quantity and quality month by month, versus the previous year’s data. After a recent review, we noticed that we were trending in a negative way on thrift store donations, especially in furniture. Numbers were down versus last year’s collections. What’s causing this trend? Is it the economy, inflation and people hanging onto their furniture and clothing longer because of the economy?

How can we improve our current trend?

Then I remembered a former mentor from my corporate retail days, who had great wisdom. One of his favorite sayings was, “think like a customer.” I thought about it and decided to go to the nearest furniture store with some business cards. I talked to the store manager and I was surprised to learn what their customers ask all the time, “Will you take my old furniture once you deliver my new furnishings?” Of course, this furniture store doesn’t and therefore the customer has to either take their stuff to the dump or donate it.  I asked the store manager if I could place St. Vincent de Paul business cards by the register in a little stand-up frame with our pickup flyer with information for their customers. The store manager approved and was thrilled to be able to give to his customers an option for their old furniture.

With that win in our pocket, I proceeded to have my team of store managers go to various furniture and appliance stores to see if we could display our pickup information and business cards at their store. My team was pleasantly surprised to see every business embrace this concept and let us display our flyer and cards.

Our furniture donations have turned around in a positive way with this strategy.

Creating a win-win situation is always a great thing. We found a way to improve a negative trend and resolve an issue.

Our mission to support St Vincent de Paul will never end; sometimes it just needs a little innovation.

——-

We hope you are planning to attend the National Assembly in August in Phoenix, AZ.

The National Stores Committee has planned a GREAT program for you.

On Wednesday, August 14, 2024, the program will include presentations from Dr. Ken Snyder with the SVdP Phoenix Dental Clinic, an update on the 2nd National Store, a Store/Conference testimonial, learn about Recycling Dilemmas, and what’s happening at SVdP in Eugene, OR.

Following our daylong program, there will be two opportunities to visit the National Store in Avondale, AZ.  Transportation will be provided, but reservations are required due to space limitations.

Workshops are planned for Thursday afternoon.  Topics include merchandising and store layouts, making a simple budget, how to increase customer count, how to measure productivity, Point of Sale (POS) and training new employees.

We encourage you to talk to your store managers and leadership about attending the National Assembly.  It is a wonderful opportunity to network with and meet others around the country to share best practices.

If you have questions or have a topic for a future Stores Corner article, please email our Director of Stores Support-Jeff Beamguard at jbeamguard@svdpusa.org.

—-

  • Pam Hudson

Donation Partnerships
Donation Partnerships 1200 628 Pam Hudson

Every so often, we review donations coming into our thrift stores. We compare quantity and quality month by month, versus the previous year’s data. After a recent review, we noticed that we were trending in a negative way on thrift store donations, especially in furniture. Numbers were down versus last year’s collections. What’s causing this trend? Is it the economy, inflation and people hanging onto their furniture and clothing longer because of the economy?

How can we improve our current trend?

Then I remembered a former mentor from my corporate retail days, who had great wisdom. One of his favorite sayings was, “think like a customer.” I thought about it and decided to go to the nearest furniture store with some business cards. I talked to the store manager and I was surprised to learn what their customers ask all the time, “Will you take my old furniture once you deliver my new furnishings?” Of course, this furniture store doesn’t and therefore the customer has to either take their stuff to the dump or donate it.  I asked the store manager if I could place St. Vincent de Paul business cards by the register in a little stand-up frame with our pickup flyer with information for their customers. The store manager approved and was thrilled to be able to give to his customers an option for their old furniture.

With that win in our pocket, I proceeded to have my team of store managers go to various furniture and appliance stores to see if we could display our pickup information and business cards at their store. My team was pleasantly surprised to see every business embrace this concept and let us display our flyer and cards.

Our furniture donations have turned around in a positive way with this strategy.

Creating a win-win situation is always a great thing. We found a way to improve a negative trend and resolve an issue.

Our mission to support St Vincent de Paul will never end; sometimes it just needs a little innovation.

——-

We hope you are planning to attend the National Assembly in August in Phoenix, AZ.

The National Stores Committee is actively planning for a great program for you.

In addition to our daylong program on Wednesday, we will have opportunities to visit a store and have workshops planned for Thursday.  Topics may include small and large store issues like merchandising, budgeting, POS, advertising, training, store layouts, budgeting, staffing, volunteers, productivity, vehicle tracking, E-Comm, loyalty cards and voucher processing, vehicle tracking.

We encourage you to talk to your store managers and leadership about attending the National Assembly.  It is a wonderful opportunity to network with and meet others around the country to share best practices.

—-

If you have questions or have a topic for a future Stores Corner article, please email our Director of Stores Support-Jeff Beamguard at jbeamguard@svdpusa.org.

  • Kristen Blacksher

Wage Justice
Wage Justice 1500 1125 Kristen Blacksher

By Lori A. Malcom, Director of Retail Operations
Northeast Region – Council of Boston

Employee wages are one of the store’s largest budgeted expenses. How do you know if you are paying a just wage?

Overpaying for a position is just that, overpaying, the cost for which is quantifiable. If you know what the wage should be.

Underpaying a position can be even more costly. High turnover rates have a negative effect on the bottom line, as well as employee morale. So, what should you do?

First you need to understand that for most of our non-exempt positions, minimum wage is not meant to be a living wage for our employees. Minimum wage fluctuates throughout the USA. States adjust the federal minimum wage ($7.25 per hour) for cost-of-living considerations within the states however, many states use the federal minimum wage for their state. This can make determining where you stand with your wages very daunting.

Thankfully, there are resources if you are open to the objective data they provide.

Recently the Council of Boston subcontracted a comprehensive wage survey of all positions and targeted the mid-range for all positions.

Job descriptions including job duties, responsibilities and accountability were produced, and submitted to the contractor. The contractor used a very comprehensive and detailed approach, including national, regional, and local employment databases.

The result was a compensation report for each job description. In our case, we were a little more than 10% under the midrange, overall.

Some positions were close to the midrange, where others were under.

This was quite a revelation. We used this tool to make recommended changes to our wage scale, and budgeted increases beginning October 1, 2023.

Our employees have been very gracious, and the atmosphere is incredibly positive. We have reduced our unfilled positions by 75% and our employee turnover has almost disappeared.

The cost for this wage survey was $6,000 for sixty-six employees, which may seem like a lot to spend, but it has been an extremely helpful tool for us.

Although some best practices can be regional, this one applies to all regions regardless of the demographics surveyed.

—–

We hope you are planning to attend the National Assembly in August in Phoenix, AZ.  The National Stores Committee is actively planning for a great program for you.

In addition to our daylong program on Wednesday, we will have opportunities to visit a store and have workshops planned for Thursday.

Topics may include small and large store issues like merchandising, budgeting, POS, advertising, training, store layouts, budgeting, staffing, volunteers, productivity, vehicle tracking, E-Comm, loyalty cards and voucher processing, vehicle tracking.

We encourage you to talk to your store managers and leadership about attending the National Assembly. It is a wonderful opportunity to network with and meet others around the country to share best practices.

  • Kristen Blacksher

3 Ways to Build a Dream Team and Keep Rockstar Employees
3 Ways to Build a Dream Team and Keep Rockstar Employees 1080 1080 Kristen Blacksher
By Brooke Trick-Senior Director of Retail Operations
North Central Region – District Council of Madison

Hiring and retention are hurdles for many organizations as we navigate this modern work environment. Businesses are becoming more creative in how they hire and retain employees. Employees’ views and expectations of the work environment are shifting. Burnout and dissatisfaction at work are high. As employers, we need to change course to a more people-centric work culture.

Here are three ways to keep your employees engaged, increase morale and improve loyalty while adding to your bottom line:

1. Maintain competitive salaries and wages

  • Evaluate your local market every 2 – 3 years and adjust the pay schedule to ensure your employees feel valued and are fairly compensated.
  • Know the cost of living in your area and surrounding communities. Employees’ wages should cover their basic living expenses so that they themselves do not need to use your charitable services.
  • Factor in an employee’s experience, skills, performance, tenor, reliability and productivity in salary and wage discussions.
  • Be transparent with your salary structure. Employees should know and understand their earning potential and growth opportunities. If employees do not see attainable promotions or advancements, they will look elsewhere.

2. Keep open lines of communication

  • Provide regular performance feedback and set clear expectations.
  • Employees crave feedback! They want to do an excellent job and know that they are appreciated. Regular performance reviews allow managers to outline employees’ opportunities for growth and development.
  •  Welcome employees into discussions and decision-making processes.
  • Team building and collaboration give employees the opportunity to be heard — one of the most powerful motivational forces in human nature! When employees don’t feel like they’re being heard they may feel resentment, withdraw from work or disconnect from coworkers. Employees who are actively involved in their organization have an increased sense of belonging and a more positive view of their workplace.

3. Invest in workplace happiness and employee wellness

  • Have a supportive management team that encourages open communication and transparency. Hold weekly departmental meetings where you can update employees and hear feedback.
  • Offer opportunities for professional development and career growth within the organization.
  • Recognize and celebrate employees’ achievements in a variety of ways: in-person, individually, and in front of their peers. Some ways to celebrate an employee’s achievement are highlighting an “Employee of the Month,” acknowledging work anniversaries, or having an incentive program for when sale/production goals are met and/or exceeded.
  • Provide mental health resources and quality resources to employees. Consider hosting workshops for departments or groups that will help foster teamwork and create a positive work culture.
  • Organize events or projects that promote employee participation and camaraderie. Have a company picnic or celebration once a year where everyone involved in the organization gets the opportunity to talk with one another. Include staff in a group project like a special advertisement or other public facing information.

When you have open communication, include employees in work processes, and show that you care for employees’ well-being, you cultivate a work environment that not only attracts and retains top talent but creates a committed workforce to help drive business.

THANK YOU to those who attended the Mid-Year meeting in St. Louis, MO. We hope you are planning to join us in August when we gather for the National Meeting in Phoenix, AZ!

If you have a topic that you would like addressed in a future Stores Corner article, please e-mail our Director of Stores Support Jeff Beamguard.

  • Kristen Blacksher

04-04-24 Questions and Answers
04-04-24 Questions and Answers 1200 628 Kristen Blacksher

Q: Do all new programs of a Conference have to be approved by the Council, or can a Conference Board approve new programs, without the approval of Council? I ask this question because in the Governance: Council and Board handbook it reads, “No program should be allowed to start without Board approval. This includes both those started by Vincentians and those started by employees.”

A: For most Conferences (those using Bylaws document 1), the Board of Directors of the Council (if no formal Board of Directors exists, then the Council itself) is the governing body and should give formal approval of new programs within the Council. The term “Board” is sometimes used informally among Conference members to refer to the slate of officers. Conferences generally do not have Boards. The handbook does not use the word that way. The handbook refers formally to the Board of Directors.

For some Conferences that are separately incorporated (those using Bylaws document 2 or document 10), the Conference is the governing body and does not require Council approval for its programs. The bylaws define the governance responsibilities.

Q: Are employees of St. Vincent Thrift Stores allowed to be voting members at the local Conference?

A: Thrift store employees are not allowed to vote at Conference meetings unless the store employee is also an active member of the Conference. They are not to vote on issues that may affect their jobs.

Español

P: ¿Todos los programas nuevos de una Conferencia tienen que ser aprobados por el Consejo o puede la Mesa Directiva de la Conferencia aprobar nuevos programas, sin la aprobación del Consejo?
Hago esta pregunta porque en el Manual de Gobernanza: Mesa Directiva del Consejo se lee: “No se debe permitir que ningún programa comience sin la aprobación de la Mesa Directiva. Esto incluye tanto a los iniciados por los Vicentinos como a los iniciados por los empleados”.

R: Para la mayoría de las Conferencias (aquellas que utilizan el documento 1 de los Estatutos), la Mesa Directiva del Consejo (si no existe una Mesa Directiva formal, entonces el Consejo mismo) es el órgano de gobierno y debe dar la aprobación formal de los nuevos programas dentro del Consejo. El término “Mesa Directiva” se utiliza a veces de manera informal entre los miembros de la Conferencia para referirse a la lista de funcionarios. Por lo general, las Conferencias no tienen Mesas Directivas formales. El Manual no usa la palabra de esa manera. El Manual se refiere a la Mesa Directiva Formal.

Para algunas Conferencias que se incorporan por separado (aquellas que utilizan el documento 2 o el documento 10 de los Estatutos), la Conferencia es el órgano rector y no requiere la aprobación del Consejo para sus programas. Los Estatutos definen las responsabilidades de gobernanza.

P: ¿Se les permite a los empleados de las tiendas de segunda mano de San Vicente ser miembros con derecho a voto en la Conferencia local?

R: Los empleados de las tiendas de segunda mano no pueden votar en las reuniones de la Conferencia a menos que el empleado de la tienda también sea un miembro activo de la Conferencia. No deben votar sobre temas que puedan afectar sus trabajos.

  • Jill Pioter

How Can Facebook and Instagram Help My Thrift Store?
How Can Facebook and Instagram Help My Thrift Store? 1200 628 Jill Pioter

By Bryan Engel, Director of Operations
Diocesan Council of Pittsburgh, Eastern Region

If your Marketing budget is on the lower end (or nonexistent), you may not feel like there are any opportunities to promote your stores. What can you do if you cannot afford billboards, radio, TV, or even newspapers? Have you tried free social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram? For thrift stores, these platforms offer opportunities to connect with customers, showcase products, and ultimately drive sales. Let’s explore the benefits of social media marketing (particularly on Facebook and Instagram) for thrift stores:

1. Increased Visibility and Brand Awareness (free)

Social media platforms boast billions of active users worldwide, providing thrift stores with an expansive audience to showcase their unique offerings. By maintaining an active presence on Facebook and Instagram, thrift stores can increase their visibility and reach a larger audience beyond their physical location. Consistent posting, engaging content, and strategic use of hashtags can help boost brand awareness and attract potential customers to your store. What is consistent posting? At least three posts per week — at most, 3 – 4 posts per day.

2. Showcase Unique Inventory (free)

The great thing about the inventory  in your store is that you only have ONE of that item. Use Facebook and Instagram to create FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out). If someone wanted to buy an item that they missed out on, they will be checking their feeds more regularly for the deals and inventory that you have to offer. So, make sure that you are posting those rare finds.

3. Targeted Advertising (paid)

One of the most powerful features of social media marketing is the ability to target specific demographics based on interests, location, and behavior. Thrift stores can leverage this feature to tailor their advertising efforts and reach audiences most likely to be interested in their products. By refining targeting parameters, thrift stores can ensure their marketing efforts are reaching the right audience, maximizing the return on investment.

For our Mattress ad in Pittsburgh, we targeted: 10-mile radius from each store,
less than $50k income, and looking to purchase a mattress or box spring within the next year.
For the store’s ad, we targeted specific zip codes around each store.

4. Engage with Customers and Build Community (free)

Social media platforms foster two-way communication, allowing thrift stores to engage directly with customers and build a sense of community around their brand. Responding to comments, messages, and tags promptly demonstrates excellent customer service and encourages meaningful interactions. Building a loyal online community not only drives repeat business but also generates word-of-mouth referrals as satisfied customers share their experiences with others.

5. Drive Traffic to Physical Store Locations and E-commerce Platforms (free)

While social media provides a platform for showcasing products, its ultimate goal for thrift stores is to drive traffic to physical store locations or e-commerce platforms. Incorporating location tags, store hours, and directions into posts makes it easier for customers to find and visit the store.

If you need help with writing your ads or promoting your stores, I suggest Chat GPT or an outside agency. In Pittsburgh, I use Chat GPT (a free and paid service … I use the free version) to write or give me ideas on the best way to reach customers or write a message. You can also search your local area for advertising options. Overall, there are a lot of advertising opportunities out there. If you are not doing it now, you need to find the time to start. Social media is a FREE option that will benefit your stores immediately.

Hopefully you or another SVdP Council/Conference/Store member will be attending the Mid-Year Meeting in St. Louis, MO in March. Please consider attending the Stores Meeting on Wednesday.  Agenda here.

  • Jill Pioter

Thrift Store Staffing Models & Engagement
Thrift Store Staffing Models & Engagement 1200 628 Jill Pioter

By John Thelen, Mideast Region – Diocese of Lansing

Throughout the country, there are three SVdP Thrift Store Staffing Models. Stores are either staffed by paid employees, staffed by volunteers, or some combination of the two. Whichever staffing model is used, a key factor in a store’s success is staff engagement. If staff/volunteers are not invested in the work of our great mission, the store will not reach its full potential.

It is important for staff/volunteers to be aware of our mission. Why do we do what we do? Let us be honest, sorting socks and underwear is not a very glamorous job. However, when you know why you are doing what you are doing, it makes the most tedious jobs tolerable.

What might help keep your staff/volunteers engaged? Make sure they are aware of your store’s mission. What do you do with your store proceeds after expenses are paid? In addition to providing employment/volunteer opportunities, do you help our Neighbors in Need with clothing, furniture, and household items? Does your store have a food pantry or assist Neighbors with rent, utilities, prescriptions, car repairs, etc.? Make sure everyone is aware of the types of assistance your store provides.

Another way to increase engagement is regularly (monthly) sharing pertinent statistics that staff/volunteers might find interesting, including the total number of donations received, total number of requests for assistance, and gross sales for the month. Maybe list the statistics you would like to share by month, showing every month of the fiscal year for comparison purposes.

Celebrate your successes. You can always find a reason to provide some type of treat to your staff/volunteers.  If you hit a high month in donations or sales, put a sign in the break room and pick up Klondike Bars and tell staff/volunteers to help themselves from the freezer. Be sure to have enough to cover all shifts for a particular week. Maybe grill hot dogs/brats and provide chips when the weather is conducive to grilling. Most people like pizza — let staff know you will be providing pizza to say ‘Thank You’ for all they do to support our mission. Maybe have an annual Christmas Dinner after work and invite staff/volunteers and guests. Share a brief program letting everyone know the impact they are making to help our Neighbors in Need.

If your staffing model does not currently include volunteers, think about reaching out to your parish members to make them aware of volunteer opportunities. Personally invite parishioners to a group gathering at your store to let them know the types of volunteer activities you have available. If you are not sure who to ask, start the process by going through your parish pictorial directory. This will help recognize people that you think might be interested in supporting our SVdP mission. Another volunteer recruitment option is a short bulletin notice in neighboring parish bulletins. You might consider sending it to other denominations to collaborate with the churches in your community.

Volunteers are great advocates to tell our story in the community. If your volunteers feel engaged, they will tell/invite others to become involved. When they are engaged, they feel more committed to showing up for their shift(s). Make sure your volunteer shifts are manageable lengths of time and encourage your volunteers to take a break partway through their shift to converse and build relationships with other volunteers. Once they get to know one another, they look forward to coming in.

Provide snacks in the break room. Maybe offer individual bags of snacks, chips, crackers, fruit snacks, peanuts, pop, coffee & water.

If you have a large number of active/regular volunteers, make sure the volunteers know what they are scheduled to do when they arrive. Either post a schedule or have someone assigned to let them know what you would like them to do for their shift. To know who will be there on a particular day, create a schedule for the day/shift, so you are aware of your workforce for each shift. If volunteers know they will not be able to come on a particular shift, have a monthly wall calendar where they can note if they will not be coming for a particular shift.

Volunteers & staff can be great advocates to tell your story in the community.

Hopefully you or another SVdP Council/Conference/Store member will be attending the Mid-Year Meeting in St. Louis, MO in March. Please consider attending the Stores Meeting on Wednesday.  An agenda is included in this article. New this year will be a Stores Committee table in the Vendor area on Wednesday and Thursday. Please stop by to meet and talk with some of the Store Committee members.

If you have a topic that you would like addressed in a future Stores Corner article, please e-mail Jeff Beamguard, Director of Stores Support.

  • Jill Pioter

Pricing Strategies for SVdP Thrift Stores, Part 3
Pricing Strategies for SVdP Thrift Stores, Part 3 1500 1125 Jill Pioter

A Discussion by Dave Barringer
National Chief Executive Officer

PART THREE
Knowing What Actually Works
(catch up on Part One and Part Two)

How Do We Know What Works?

Which pricing strategies and tools work best for your store? Here is what you must do to get to this answer.

  1. Know the store’s mission. Some thrift stores are designed to make the most money possible and then use the profits to fund other SVDP programs that have no funding on their own. Other stores are designed with a specific charitable intent to give away a lot of goods, but they still need to make some profit to pay the bills and stay in business. Both are fine, but you can’t do both at the same time! Your Board of Directors and leadership need to know clearly how stores fit into the overall SVDP program. Pricing strategy follows.
  2. Know our customers. In part due to the above, everything from your store location to pricing needs to be based on your anticipated customers. If you are giving away so much, maybe your store is in a poor area of the city and prices need to be lower. Usually, however, our best customers are middle-income shoppers who have many choices where to spend their retail dollars. The store therefore needs to be where these shoppers live and shop other retailers, and prices can be set higher and still be affordable. A common, historical, view of thrift stores is that these are stores where poor people shop. Most current thrift stores are designed for middle-income people both to donate and shop, with profits going to assist the poor.
  3. Test, test, test! The beauty of pricing is that you can change it. Consider a new pricing strategy in just one of our multiple stores, or in just one department if you have only one store. Check staff and customer observations and reactions. Certainly, check the differences in sales and profits. You will likely need at least one month, maybe several for some ideas, to see if a new program is working effectively.
  4. Pro testing tip: Test only one thing at a time. For example, don’t run a new advertising campaign at the same time as new price points. Which one brought more people to the store? Which one created more sales? It can be hard to tell. The more you isolate any factor, the easier it is to measure. By the way, advertising brings people to the store, while pricing, customer service and enough goods on the shelves create more sales. Advertising often gets too much credit for sales, when it should only be measured for store traffic. But that’s another article…
  5. Use the POS! A Point of Sale (POS) system is a tremendous resource in evaluating pricing strategies. Using categories, price points, units sold vs. processed etc., gives you a great deal of useful information that can help you evaluate pricing change effectiveness over time and department/category. Sometimes what feels like success, such as increased store activity, is disproven by cold, hard facts when it comes to profitability.

Conclusion

Effective thrift store pricing can be designed to create shopper excitement, drive additional sales, and maintain needed profits. It must be designed with the end in mind – your goals for the store program amidst the rest of the Society’s goals. Pricing must be considered in the context of the neighborhood economy, the competition, and the availability of continuous product flow. Finally, pricing strategy and execution can be, and must be evaluated to ensure that “you get what others are paying for” in funds for the Society’s mission and activities. In the end, we are not retailers. We are used goods collectors and resellers working to advance our mission. Effective pricing leaves no potential dollars on the table that we could be using to serve people in need. Please do not be afraid to raise prices. After all, your costs probably have risen, and you need to cover these costs just as any other retailer. However, please do be somewhat afraid to lower your prices. The first cents taken off are always your profit!

If you have a topic that you would like addressed in a future Stores Corner article, please e-mail Jeff Beamguard, National Director of Stores Support.

  • Jill Pioter

Pricing Strategies for SVdP Thrift Stores, Part 2
Pricing Strategies for SVdP Thrift Stores, Part 2 1512 2016 Jill Pioter

A Discussion by Dave Barringer
National Chief Executive Officer

PART TWO
Different Pricing Concepts to Explore
(catch up on Part One here)

There are many ways to determine a pricing strategy, each with advantages and disadvantages for our thrift business. Here are the most common that may be worth your time and experimentation to try at one or more stores.

Two things to keep in mind: One, pricing is always temporary. Even dollar stores have items that are no longer a dollar. A unit price can rise and fall based on many factors, some quite temporary. Don’t be afraid to try a new higher price, for example, that fails if it does not deliver the desired results. Second, remember our base price was established earlier. Every tweak to your pricing strategy may create sales movement, but your costs in most cases are still the same. You may want to intentionally price below the profit line for a limited time or for limited products, but consistent pricing below this line will kill your business. Likewise, when you change the cost, you need to at least consider a pricing change to accommodate it and maintain the profit component. We can only absorb so much and stay afloat.

Discounting

Shoppers get excited with a sale! Different items on sale at different times keep up a good level of excitement and keep shoppers returning to the store. We need, however, to manage the process so that these sales are effective in our overall pricing and sales strategies. So, why put things on sale?

Overstocks

If we get so many items donated that we can’t store/warehouse them, or we have so many of the same product, consider discounting them to get them out the door. They might be a good candidate for BOGO (buy one, get one) for limited time. If the items are seasonal, such as shorts or Christmas items, sales can be an effective way to get them sold while demand is high. You make up the profits through quantities sold. However, again, if you are selling below our profit line, no quantity will help — you only lose more money with each item sold!

Loss Leading

Retailers place an artificially low price on certain items to drive store traffic increases. Through ads, word of mouth and in-store signage, a too-good-to-be-true price can bring in more shoppers. We see this most commonly for Black Friday sales in attempt to get people into the store and then to buy other things at more profitable prices. Thrift stores can use this strategy, usually by category (“All glassware 50% off this week!”) because we don’t have enough of a single item to make it work. However, you could consider using inexpensively purchased goods, or a large quantity of goods donated by a retailer or manufacturer, to make this work. Pricing, however, must be synched up with promotion and processing to make this work correctly.

Seasonal Sales

We know that some periods of the year bring us fewer or more shoppers. Every thrift store sees more customers between September and December, because we enjoy back-to-school, Halloween, and Christmas purchases. In some areas, weather dictates the selling season. With this knowledge, you can adjust your pricing strategy. Consider lower prices during down customer periods. First, it attracts more and repeat customers. Second, you may make less on each item but sell more items, keeping your profit per transaction closer to normal.

Value-Based Pricing

We get the history of mankind donated to our Stores program! Therefore, when we recognize an antique or collectible, we can price it closer to its real-world value instead of keeping it priced with all of the other similar but not rare items. For example, you may price all those baseball cards at twenty-five cents, but that Mantle rookie card worth $50,000 in the collectibles marketplace deserves a higher price (and probably gets pulled for an online sale). We want customers to find treasures, but when we see an obvious item of great value — jewelry, watches, art, fur coats, signed items, rare books, whatever — we owe it to our mission to get as much value as we can from it.

Good-Better-Best vs. Unit Pricing

Within the thrift industry, there are two schools of pricing thought. The Unit Pricing strategy says that every shirt is priced the same as every other shirt. A Good-Better-Best strategy says that we can divide shirts into two or more categories, each with its own price, depending on the perceived value. This value may be considered due to manufacturer/store brand or fashion or materials. Each strategy can work, but we need to look at the big picture. Unit pricing creates more speed in the processing area because fewer decisions need to be made, and all the labels look the same. If filling the racks consistently and fully is a challenge, you can’t slow down processing to make these decisions for the sake of what often amounts to small gains. Recognize too that customers will argue over which shirt belongs in each category — beauty (and proper price) is in the eye of the beholder.

Rotation Pricing

A popular and effective store strategy is to place all goods for sale into a rotation system. This means that each week, the piece changes downward from full price through various points to an ultimate clearance price. Why? Because we know from more than 100 years and thousands of stores in this business two important truths. One, overall you will only sell about 50 percent of what you collect. Two, 75% of what you will sell is sold within the first two weeks on sale, and 50% in the first three days!  Therefore, full price is appropriate for the first week or two, followed in the third week by a discount, and then the fourth week is a price that only needs to be higher than what you will get from its salvage sale, such as a dollar a unit or by-the-bag price. This system maximizes realized profit values, and the customer decides what price they want to pay. They can pay full price when they first see it, or risk having someone else snap it up while they wait for a discount. With our usually one-of-a-kind items, this system works!

An alternative to the Rotation Pricing system is still to put everything on a rotation basis, but to wait until the last week or even only a few days of the item’s shelf life and then heavily discount it with no intermediate prices.

Clearance Sales

Some stores believe in a once monthly clearance sale, where everything in the store (okay, maybe a few exceptions such as antiques or furniture) is either a set very low price (“Everything a dollar!”) or set percentage (“Today only, everything 90% off!”) or full retail price. While this creates short-term excitement, it is risky. Are you training customers to only come in once a month? Are you accused of over-pricing goods at the beginning so that the clearance price just looks better? And most importantly, again, your costs have not changed, so will this strategy still cover them adequately and make the needed profit? With this system, you willingly sacrifice the profit from the items in their first and second weeks on sale because everything, even the freshest inventory, gets caught up in the same clearance sale.

Trickle or Tsunami Pricing

Having a long-range pricing strategy can help reduce customer ill will. A price increase of 40 percent across all items and all at one time might create shopper riots! But smaller increases, different per category and with a little at a time, is normal business in every other store in which they shop. We benefit as well from most items being unique, so shoppers don’t compare from one shopping trip to another quite so much. Know where you need to go and have a plan to get there that mediates sticker shock.

NEXT TIME: Part Three – Knowing What Actually Works

If you have a topic that you would like addressed in a future Stores Corner article, please contact Jeff Beamguard, National Director of Stores Support.

 

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