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Can Construction Boost Retail Sales?

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At a recent meeting with a client to discuss national remodel plans, it was mentioned that they look forward to the construction process starting because it often led to a boost in sales in those stores.

I paused.

“Did I hear you right? A boost in sales?”

Yes, they confirmed. They often saw a slight increase in sales during the construction process based on the daily reports from the general managers in the stores.

When refreshing an area within their stores or when changing an area to feature a brand, they often have to reconfigure the merchandise that was in that space as well as the space around it. They hypothesized that curious customers flocked to the area because:

  • They wanted to see what was coming and to explore the construction process.

  • They saw the merchandise displayed differently and thought it might be on sale or that the item was going to be discontinued.

  • They never noticed that area of the store before and/or that particular brand and were eager to check it out.

A few other reasons the general managers thought that sales were potentially increasing was customers who didn’t often shop in that store would be attracted by the increased activity, noise, and a sense of curiosity.

Regardless of the reason, we were glad to hear that the construction was beneficial to our client. Do you agree? Do you see construction in your store as a beacon for curiosity seekers to wander in and see what is going on or perhaps make a purchase? Or is it a noisy distraction that discourages them? Somewhere in between? Let us know in the comments.

Matt Frank

Director of Business Development at Fortney & Weygandt, Inc.

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