Retail Spring Cleaning Checklist

April 4, 2016

If you own, manage, or work at a retail business then you probably already know that spring cleaning doesn't just apply to our homes anymore, and that a thorough spring cleaning of a retail store is an important key to success. Spring cleaning in the retail business is especially important in a variety of ways, namely in terms of aesthetic appeal to the customer, and the overall efficiency of day-to-today business. In other words, don't underestimate how strongly a well-organized and clean business can impact the success of a company and its employees! Since spring cleaning plays such a vital role for businesses in the retail community, it is important to have a well thought out approach when it comes to taking on this task, and while each retail business is unique in their layout and merchandizing content, the same basic steps apply to most retail businesses as far as performing a quality spring cleaning is concerned. So to help you get a jump-start on this year's spring cleaning for your retail business, we have compiled a list of steps below of some of the best spring-cleaning tips!

Start with the major task of cleaning and organizing the stock room: Since the stock room is the primary location for the bulk of a store's merchandise, as well as an area that is rummaged through constantly, it only makes sense that you begin the process of spring cleaning for your retail business here.A disorganized stock room can impact the efficiency of your retail business by increasing the amount of time it takes to move merchandise to and from the floor, which eventually translates into dollars lost for your business. Therefore, it is paramount to take advantage of spring-cleaning time at least once a year by performing a strategic and thorough stock room cleaning.
1. Begin with the initial cleaning and de-cluttering of the stock room, which includes sanitizing and disinfecting all of the necessary areas using the appropriate cleaning solutions and materials (i.e., high traffic areas, the various tools and merchandise used frequently by employees, counter tops, etc.)
2. Once the stock room is clean, you can begin the process of organizing all of the contents of the room in an orderly and logical way. Try and layout a scheme of exactly where you want everything to go before you begin moving things around, ideally according to a system based on how often certain merchandise is accessed, as well as where the merchandised is located in the store. Essentially, the point is to make the things you use the most often the most easy to access.
3. Additionally, a thorough spring-cleaning of a retail stockroom is not complete without a labeling system, so as to have a way for all employees to be able to completely identify all merchandise and related materials.
If you aren't using it and it's not necessary, don't hesitate to throw it away! Mistakes made by retail businesses both large and small, is a tendency to let old materials and outdated paperwork in need of disposal or shredding, to pile up and take up precious storage space.The accumulation of clutter, especially when most of it can be thrown away or put in some long-term storage facility, is problematic for retail businesses because the poor use of space is always something a successful company should avoid.
If you haven't already, invest in a quality shelving units for your business to really get the most out of the potential storage space in your business: As previously mentioned, since space is such a valuable resource for retail businesses, it is absolutely essential to be able to maximize any and all vertical space that a building yields, and one way of taking advantage of the most space is through the use of industrial shelving units, capable of withstanding all the weight of any merchandise you may have in your stockroom, and elsewhere.
Update and organize your record storage: The way you keep and maintain your paper and electronic records is just as important as the ways you in which you organize your merchandise, and that is why spring cleaning for retail businesses must include adequate attention paid to record keeping management.

Jumpstart your spring cleaning routine with industrial shelving from SVS, give us a call today!