7 steps to get your product in front of retail buyers

Do you have an innovative product and want to move from e-commerce to retail shelves? We created a guide with 7 steps to get your product in front of retail buyers.

Despite the increase of sales in e-commerce over the past few years, surprisingly just a small percentage of retail sales is made up of e-commerce. Specifically, retail sales from e-commerce represent only 14.5%, according to eMarketer findings. This indicates that more than 85% of retail still occurs in-store.

On top of that, by getting your products to retailers, the benefits are huge. 

For example:

1. The order volumes of your products are significantly larger.
2. You can place your products in new markets and territories.
3. You can place your products in front of new types of buyers.
4. You automatically have huge exposure.

What steps do you need to take to get your product to retail retailers?

1. Is your product ready to get in front of retail buyers?

What a retail buyer initially looks for is your product’s traction and to what extent your product is successful in the market. In this process, retail buyers usually assess the packaging of your products. For example, they check if your packaging has a peg hole to hang it on the store shelf. Also, they compare your pricing with similar products or other solutions they currently offer. Additionally, if your product has all the certifications needed to sell in that specific market, can enhance its image. Another important factor to consider is if you are able to handle large order volumes and if you are able to ship your products to all of their warehouse locations. 

The main goal is not to get your product on the shelves, but what will your company do to help it get off the shelves? You may support this process with marketing activities to create awareness and start building engagement. Marketing activities could be both digital and traditional methods, such as online ads, email campaigns, ads on TV, flyers, etc. Just make sure that you will do some research before contacting the retailer of your interest to understand how many stores they have, what kind of products they sell, what is the pricing of their existing products, etc. 

A valuable tactic that will help you to make the right first impression on your ideal retail buyer is to get feedback from distributors. Retail buyers are overwhelmed and often you do not have the chance to book a meeting directly with them. You are probably going to send them some samples first. Nevertheless, every day they receive dozens of new product samples, so it is essential that you have a product that is both market ready and can stand out from the crowd.

2. What makes your product unique?

Before you start pitching your product, you need to tell a story that can make your brand memorable and stand out from other products in your niche. Usually, retailers want products that provide something new or products that solve a problem.

A product can be made unique by its design, features, brand, or its story. It is important to make sure a product stands out from its competitors by providing something that is different and adds value to the customer’s experience. This can be done by customizing the product, adding unique features, or giving the product an innovative twist. Additionally, unique packaging and branding can help to make a product stand out from its competitors.

In order to understand the extent of your product’s uniqueness, try to define:

• What are the different characteristics of your product in comparison with your competitors
• If you fulfill specialty niches
• If your pricing is lower or higher than your competitors
• If your target market is suitable for your product
• If the margins you offer to retailers are lower or higher than your competitors 

3. Identify the right retailers for your product

The next step to get your product on the retail shelf is to search which retailers are a good fit for your product category. You need to specify what kind of brands the retailer sells and where your products will do well. However, often you can target different types of retailers with the same product. For example, if your product falls under the office supplies category, you can target bookstores, supermarkets, and electronic stores at the same time. You can follow this process: 

-Research your target market: Start by researching your target market to determine who your best customers are. Look at demographics such as age, gender, location, income level, and lifestyle.

-Identify potential stores: Once you have identified who your ideal customers are, look at stores that carry products that are similar to yours. 

-Consider your pricing: is the retailer offering similar products within your price range?

4. Master your retail pitch

Besides your product’s unique and innovative characteristics, the art of storytelling will give an additional boost that can make your product stand out. People love stories and so does the buyer. Thus, you have to make your product’s story attractive. An effective technique is to do some research beforehand to understand who you will be pitching to and if there are specific times of the month or year when they consider adding new products.

If you want to make your pitch more convincing talk about your success:

• Which other retailers carry your product
• How many units have you sold to date
• Your clients’ reviews, success stories, case studies, etc.
• Social media presence (followers, visitors, unique content)
• Production capabilities. If your product would do well on shelves, can easily produce more?
• What kind of people buys your products? Which is your target audience?

5. Can you handle the volume 

Can your product cover the needs of both e-commerce and in-store retail sales? Usually, companies are selling to national retail buyers that have many stores. As a result, it is necessary to have the right production capability. Initially, you need to evaluate your manufacturing process thoroughly and determine whether it makes sense from a logistical and financial point of view. A common mistake you need to avoid is to find yourself in a position where you are not able to supply your e-commerce or a retailer because you have already fulfilled requests from another retailer. Thus, before moving to the next step, try to answer some key questions.

Can you scale up to handle anticipated retail requirements? Remember not being able to deliver on time the requested volume the retailer can send you huge fines and delist your product, which has no chance of getting back in. The biggest problem for a retail buyer is having an empty shelf. Not only are they losing sales but they risk their customers may stop shopping there as a whole if they can’t find the product they want to buy.

6. Are you offering a good margin

This is a difficult topic and it obviously changes for each retailer and each country. We would recommend having a 30-35% margin calculated in the recommended retail price of your product before you approach the retail buyer. Before offering your prices, a fair question to ask them is what margin are they looking for. The percentage may also differ if they are only going to list your product online or directly in stores. In addition, you should take into account, where are they going to place your product and in how many stores. But also, how many units for each store (i.e. 6 or 12 units per store)?

Keep in mind that If you are not paying for a premium shelf space, you can’t expect to have a premium location. Unless your margins are great and you have the hottest product in the market right now. 

7. Find distributors

If you want to get your product in front of retail buyers is hard, especially if you have no presence in that country. National retail buyers may want to work directly with you to get better margins. However, receiving goods from overseas and shipping product returns back abroad is a huge hassle.

Distributors offer the possibility to buy your product and keep it in their warehouse to ship to any retailer directly locally. More importantly, they can introduce you to retail buyers as that is the core position. Distributors know exactly what margins retailers want and how they view products. Therefore, using a local well-presented distributor will give you the added advantage of getting it right the first time in front of retail buyers. Distributors also know exactly what certifications are needed in their market to get your product listed. Moreover, distributors understand how to brand your product locally in their market. 

Finding the right distributor with the best retail connections is not easy, but we have compiled the best consumer electronics distributors from around the world on one platform. If you want to learn more about Tradesnest and how you can find the right distributor for your product you read this article or sign up directly for free on tradesnest.com.