11 Key Strategies To Increase Your Market Basket Size And Grow Sales

The term “market basket “(or shopping basket) is perhaps one of the most important terms in retail. The market basket includes all of the items Shoppers purchase on each shopping trip. The reason this matters so much is that health conscious natural organic shoppers spend more than regular shoppers.  For example, a shopper purchasing organic bread is most likely also purchase a variety of other organic products including organic spread, organic produce, organic yogurt, etc.  This equates to sustainable category growth and more profit for the retailer.

Retailers and brands continually strive to understand consumer buying habits including the average list of items found in customer’s shopping baskets during each visit. This allows retailers to customize product assortment, in-store merchandising, marketing strategies, promotions, and pricing to better meet consumer needs.  This customization improves the shopper's experience and increases shopper loyalty.

Increasing market basket growth

How does this work? Retailers work hard to capture every sale that runs through the register.  This gives them greater insight into consumer shopping preferences so they can better meet consumer needs and have a competitive advantage against other retailers in their market.

Say for example your monthly shopping budget is $400.  That means that you have $400 a month to purchase all the items on your shopping list.  The goal of every retailer is to get you to fulfill your shopping list in their store and not shop their competition.

Today’s consumers are savvier than ever before. They shop at a variety of retailers, cherry-picking them for the best deals. This is due largely to advertised promotions, apps, pricing, selection and service. Convenience is a huge factor for most shoppers.  They make lists and typically pre-plan their shopping trips based on published sales and deals.

Retailers can't be experts in every category and every item they sell.  This is where brands have an opportunity to differentiate themselves from their competition.  Savvy retailers will reward brands who partner with them to help them drive sustainable growth.  This creates a great opportunity for brands to help guide retailers providing them with strategies and solutions to maximize customer satisfaction, consumer loyalty, sales, and profits.  This is how you stand out in a crowded category!

11 important strategies to increase market basket size

1. Stock the right product assortment
   • Sell top items in the market as well as niche items to attract new customers and appeal to existing customers.
2. Provide superior customer service
   • Exceed customer expectations by highlighting the key reasons customers should shop your store exclusively and how they can get all the things on their shopping list.
3. Build incremental displays that increase excitement, attract attention, and increase product awareness.
   • Incremental merchandising is a great way to build excitement product awareness and drive sales
4. Offer competitive everyday pricing
   • Competitively price popular items. Make up your margin on specialty or unique items not available at the competition
5. Take a leadership role in trending categories
   • Develop a reputation for being innovative
6. Use promotional strategies that drive excitement
   • Add variety to improve your promotional strategies
7. Leverage promotions with strong national brands to drive their loyal customers to shop your store
   • This will increase your exposure to more potential shoppers
8. Build a lasting relationship with your customers
   • Becoming social media savvy can help with this
9. Adopt solid business building strategies through true category management
   • These are the industry best-practice strategies used by the big brands
10. Adopt a loyalty program that encourages repeat business
    • Customer engagement is key.  Get to know your customers and work hard to meet their needs
11. Get involved in your community
    • Shoppers appreciate brands and retailers that give back – especially when it impacts their local community