When you were planning the location for your apparel store, you probably did a lot of homework. You read the latest research on how to make the cashwrap more appealing, what kind of music should be played and at what volume, and what floor layout would work best to engage customers and drive sales.
When you were doing that research, did the fitting rooms come up at all?
For too long, the fitting rooms have been the most neglected area of many stores. Fitting rooms are often an afterthought in the back corner, a place that no one pays much attention to at all. That’s a shame because the fitting room is where the customer makes the final decision on an apparel purchase!
The next time you’re in the store, have a good look at your fitting rooms. Are you making any of the five most common fitting room mistakes? If you are, just remember – identifying problems is the first step towards fixing them!
[xyz-ihs snippet=”TOFU-Try-It-On-Button”]
Stop Making These 5 Fitting Room Mistakes!
If you see any of these mistakes at your store, do what you can to correct them right away!
Fitting Room Mistake #1 – Mirror Shortage
The Fix: Make sure every individual fitting room has at least one mirror, and preferably two or three to allow customers some privacy while they check out their new clothes from all angles.
Fitting Room Mistake #2 – Tiny Spaces
Nobody likes feeling claustrophobic when they are using a fitting room. Can you imagine a man in a big & tall shop trying to maneuver into a suit in a tiny fitting room? While a large-sized fitting room may seem like a waste of space to some, your customers will feel more comfortable and ultimately will want to spend more time considering their purchase, leading to higher sales.
The Fix: Always make there is ample room for your clientele. Some retailers are experimenting with fitting rooms that are large enough for multiple people to allow a party shopping together to stay together. It certainly makes moms shopping with small children happy to be able to keep an eye on them!
Fitting Room Mistake #3 – No Seating
Consider your needs when evaluating the importance of a place to sit in the fitting room. Are there laces on your shoes right now? It’s pretty hard to untie them while standing, isn’t it? That’s just one of the reasons why it’s important to have somewhere to sit in the fitting room.
The Fix: Make sure there is a chair or even a small bench in every fitting room. Customers can then manage the removal of footwear and other personal garments in comfort.
Fitting Room Mistake #4 – Hanger Space
There are still fitting rooms out there with one, lowly hook for hanging clothes. This forces a customer to decide if they should put your store’s clothes on the floor, or their own. Inevitably, this is also a fitting room that has no place to sit. Shoppers can’t even use the chair to hold clothes because that would mean hopping on one foot to untie their shoes!
The Fix: Fitting rooms need multiple places to hang clothes, even if it’s just different hooks. Ideally, there will be one section for their clothes, and one for the clothes they’re about to try on. There will also be a “yes” hook, a “no” hook, and another spot for jackets and purses.
[Tweet “5 Fitting Room Mistakes You’d Better Not Make #fittingroom”]
Fitting Room Mistake #5 – Making Contact
Once again, it’s time to consider your own experiences. You’re in the fitting room and the shirt or the pair of pants you selected is a close fit, but not quite. You want to try the next size up or down, just to be sure. You poke your head out, and the sales associate or fitting room attendant is nowhere to be found!
Do you wander out in ill-fitting clothes to find help, or do you get dressed in your own clothes again and call it a day? Many shoppers choose the latter; it’s incredibly easy for them to put off the entire notion of making a purchase today.
The Fix: Customers simply must be able to get help in the fitting room. This could be from a sales associate they have been working with since they entered the store. However, it’s not always practical to have your sales team hanging out in the fitting room at customers’ beck and call. A call button in the fitting room allows your staff to serve more customers while letting the client trying on clothes get the help they need, when they need it.
[xyz-ihs snippet=”TOFU-Try-It-On-Button”]
CONCLUSION
Once you have a customer in the fitting room, they have made most of their journey towards deciding on a purchase. By addressing common fitting room complaints with simple fixes, you can help turn a maybe into a firm yes!
[xyz-ihs snippet=”Try-It-On-CTA”]
