High-dollar Impulse Items Boost Lobby Sales
Distributor says 'Man cannot live by trees alone'

By Tracy Charuhas

Since carwash customers are usually of the in-and-out, buy-a-fragrance-tree-and-leave variety, the thought of selling "high-priced" impulse items in a lobby may frighten some. But wary carwash owners should take comfort in the fact that operators across the country are successfully selling pricier items and improving the bottom line.

The definition of a high-priced item is subjective and will vary among operators. Some say it starts at $8 while others consider items $15 and over high-dollar impulse. Both dollar amounts exceed the prices most commonly seen in carwash lobbies of the past.

Pat Alford, co-owner of Benny's Car Washes in Baton Rouge, LA, has been offering high-dollar gift items in the lobby for several years. Benny's largest location on Essen Lane includes a 1,500 square foot lobby--900 square feet of which is occupied by gift items. Alford, who has a degree in merchandising, offers several higher-end items including Frameology-brand picture frames for $15 to $30 and novelty pillows for $8.95.

Alford says the gift center's carwash location makes all the difference in the success of the gift line.

"If I only had a gift shop (no carwash) and had to pay overhead it wouldn't work," Alford says. "But the carwash pays for utilities. The lobby area is there so if you have the space you haven't got much to lose by putting gift items in."

But Alford cautions that not every high-priced item will sell in all carwashes. Item selection is critical, she says.

"Anything from $5 to $10 can move really well. Anything over $10 or $15 is going to move slower. They'll move, though, if the customer knows the product," she says.

The location of the carwash is another factor operators need to consider when adding high-dollar items to their offering. The Essen Lane carwash, located near a hospital, is in an upper-income area. While Alford puts high-dollar items in both locations, she tries them at the Essen Lane location first.

Ten percent of Benny's auto-related items are over $15, while 15 percent of Benny's gift items are over $15, Alford says.

High-dollar impulse items may be new to some operators but Ron Levy, owner of Ron Levy Co. Lobby Works, Marietta, GA, has been offering high-priced impulse items to his customers for about five years. Items include cell phone accessories, upscale license plates, stainless steel coffee mugs, high-end key chains, CD cases and more.

"I think we're our own worst enemy if we think that people won't buy [high-end merchandise]," Levy says. "We're raising the dollar per car average simply by offering these items."

Know your demographics

Stainless steel coffee mugs and CD accessories help operators raise their dollar-per-car average.

While the chances of moving higher-priced items in an upper-income area is greater, Levy says operators in blue-collar areas shouldn't give up on the idea of selling higher-end merchandise.

"We sell luxury items like the phone items in blue collar areas simply because everyone has a cell phone today. They need the cases and the chargers and other items, just like in an upper-income area," Levy says.

Gene Student, owner of Superior Auto Extras, Van Nuys, CA, also recognizes the importance of demographics when selling higher-priced items. Superior Auto Extras sells products such as cellular phone accessories, high-end license frames, natural sound CDs and high-end CD cases.

"The demographics [of an upper-income area] are such that people have more money to spend, so your ticket averages are going to be better," Student says. "But even in areas where the dollars are a littler scarcer--they'll spend $15 on the right item."

Student says operators need to "upgrade the hook" and try to lure customers away from the $2.99 items and get them to buy $7.99, $9.99 and higher items.

Operators should also offer customers high-end products within a category, he says. These items may be under $10 but within a particular category they may be considered pricier. For instance, Superior Auto Extras offers high-end air fresheners that sell for $5.99, $6.99 and $10.99.

"Everybody is used to paying $1.19 for an air freshener--but we've really raised that ticket average up to $5, $6 and $7. That's the key," Student says.

What to sell

While Levy believes that car and cell phone accessories are some of the best high-priced items to sell in a carwash lobby, he says that many operators are having success selling gift items.

"Some carwash owners will do some things like ceramics and other gift items. I even know an operator in Michigan who sells stained glass. These types of items work well for a lot of carwashes but you have to keep in mind that's it's highly specialized," Levy says.

Lance Ellis, owner of Sparks Carwash in Sparks, NV says his carwash lobby resembles a Cost Plus store. Gift items for sale include picture frames, candles, plush animals, ceramic pieces and more. Sparks also has a lawn and garden area with merchandise such as weather vanes and birdhouses. Ellis is in the process of setting up a cooking section complete with copper pots, utensils and other kitchen accessories. The carwash lobby also includes a custom frame department. Ellis and two other employees are trained picture framers.

One of Spark's biggest sellers are bird houses, which range in price from $12.95 to $50. Ellis says people are willing to pay more for the birdhouses because they are high-quality items.

Another hot seller is puzzles, priced from $12 to $15. Ellis says their success was a surprise to him and says he can hardly keep them in stock.

"Some operators won't go for anything but the auto accessories but we still are doing well with the gift items," Ellis says.

Carwash owners who only want to sell auto accessories will find that even those products alone can boost their dollar-per-car ratio. Items such as car mats, orthopedic pillows, compasses, stainless steel mugs, license plate holders, leather steering wheel covers and upscale license plates are good sellers, Levy says.

But selling these items doesn't mean operators should forget about low-priced items such as air fresheners.

"Man cannot live by trees alone," Levy says. "But air fresheners as a category are very big--33 percent of sales according to one survey. If you can mix a 99 cent tree with a $9.95 CD case, you can easily achieve more per car in the lobby," he says.

But having higher-priced items in stock won't guarantee sales. Display is an important part of making high-dollar impulse items sell in the carwash lobby.

Ellis says there are several key elements to merchandising a gift section--one of the most important of these is rotating merchandise.

"We move our merchandise around and we're always bringing something new in," Ellis says. "If something doesn't move we don't keep it around very long. We mark it 50 percent off and get it out of there."

Levy says customers need to have a wide selection of merchandise and the items should be easy for them to find.

"When items are prominently displayed and you have a good selection, that's when you're going to sell. But if [the selection] is skimpy and you're missing some colors or styles or the rack is half empty, sales are going to diminish," Levy says.

Share this article: Email, Slashdot, Digg, Del.icio.us, Yahoo!MyWeb, Windows Live Favorites, Furl
Add this article feed to: RSS, My Yahoo, Newsgator, Bloglines

Read Comments [0]