Luxury Lexicon 58 terms
Retail terms
The language of the shop floor, client service and the day-to-day running of a boutique.
A
- After-sales service
- Support after a purchase, such as care advice, repairs, alterations and warranty handling.
- Allocation
- Distributing available products among stores, markets or channels according to a plan or demand.
- Assortment planning
- Deciding which products and variants a retailer will offer for a market, store or sales channel.
- Average transaction value
- Sales value divided by the number of transactions during a period.
B
- Back of house
- Work areas and activities away from customers or guests, such as a stockroom, kitchen or service office.
- Back office
- Administrative and operational work that supports customer-facing activity, such as stock records, invoices and reporting.
- Bank holiday
- A bank holiday is an official public holiday in the part of the UK where it is observed.
- Bilingual
- A bilingual job requires or values the ability to use two languages at work.
- Boutique
- A specialist shop, often selling clothing, accessories or products from a particular brand.
- Brand ambassador
- A person who represents a house to the public: a sales title at counters and boutiques, or someone paid to promote the house.
C
- Cash wrap
- The store counter or area where purchases are paid for and usually wrapped or bagged.
- Click and collect
- An order placed online and collected at a physical location; also called buy online, pick up in store (BOPIS).
- Client book
- A record of customers and relevant contact, preference and purchase information used to maintain relationships.
- Clienteling
- Clienteling is the work of building an individual client relationship through personal advice and considered follow-up.
- Concession
- A branded selling area within another retailer’s premises, operated under an agreement with that retailer.
- Concierge
- A hotel employee who books restaurants, tickets and transport for guests and advises them; luxury stores use the title for client hosts.
- Consultative selling
- Consultative selling uses questions and attentive listening to guide a recommendation based on what the customer needs.
- Conversion rate
- Conversion rate is the share of a defined group that completes a specified action, such as making a purchase.
- Counter manager
- A counter manager leads the sales and day-to-day operation of a brand’s counter inside a host retailer.
- CRM
- Customer relationship management: the practices and software used to record customer information and manage contact with customers.
- Cross-selling
- Suggesting an additional product that complements the one a customer is considering or buying.
- Customer segmentation
- Grouping people by relevant characteristics or behaviour to make communication and service more appropriate.
D
- Deadstock
- Deadstock is inventory that remains unsold or material left unused from an earlier production run.
- Direct to consumer
- Selling products directly to the people who use them, rather than through a separate retailer.
E
- Eau de parfum
- A fragrance concentration stronger than eau de toilette and lighter than extrait, at a percentage of perfume oil each house sets.
F
- Flagship
- A store given a prominent role in presenting a brand, often through its location, scale or product range.
- Front of house
- The areas and roles that receive and serve customers or guests directly.
K
- Keyholder
- A store employee authorised to open or close the premises and carry out the associated security procedures.
L
- Loss prevention
- Measures to reduce theft, fraud, damage and other losses involving stock, money or property.
M
- Merchandising
- Planning which products to offer, in what quantities and at what price, and how to present them for sale.
- Mystery shopping
- Assessing a store’s service through trained evaluators who pose as ordinary customers and report against set criteria.
N
- Net Promoter Score
- A customer feedback measure based on how likely people are to recommend an organisation.
O
- Omnichannel
- Coordinating stores, websites and other sales channels so customers can move between them during a purchase or service request.
- Open availability
- Open availability means a person can be scheduled across the days and shifts specified by the employer.
- Open-to-buy
- The remaining inventory purchasing budget for a period, based on planned sales, stock and existing commitments.
- Order fulfilment
- The work of preparing and delivering a customer order, from picking stock to dispatch or collection.
P
- Personal shopper
- A retail adviser who learns a client’s preferences and needs and recommends suitable products.
- PIM
- Product information management: maintaining consistent product details for use across sales channels and other systems.
- Planogram
- A diagram specifying where products should be placed on a fixture or shelf.
- POS
- Point of sale: where a purchase is completed, and the equipment or software used to take payment and record the sale.
- POSM
- Point-of-sale materials: displays and promotional materials used where products are sold.
R
- Replenishment
- Replenishment is the replacement of stock that has sold or been used so the required quantity is available again.
- Rota
- A rota is a schedule that assigns people to particular duties or shifts.
S
- Sales commission
- Sales commission is variable pay earned on sales under the terms of an employer’s pay scheme.
- Sell-out
- In commercial reporting, sales from a retailer to the final customer.
- Sell-through
- Sell-through is the proportion of available stock sold over a stated period.
- Showroom
- A space where products are presented for sale: to trade buyers placing wholesale orders, or to clients in a retail store.
- Shrinkage
- The gap between recorded inventory and stock actually available, caused by factors such as theft, damage or recording errors.
- SKU
- Stock keeping unit: an internal identifier for a particular product variant, such as one size and colour.
- Social selling
- Using social networks to build customer relationships and support sales conversations.
- Stocktaking
- Physically counting stock and checking it against inventory records.
T
- Traffic stopping
- In beauty retail, traffic stopping is the practice of approaching people passing a counter and inviting them to engage with the product.
- Travel retail
- Sales to travellers in locations such as airports; duty-free is a related tax treatment that applies only where conditions are met.
U
- Units per transaction
- The average number of items sold in each transaction.
- Upselling
- Encouraging a customer to choose a higher-priced version, upgrade or option.
V
- VIC
- Very important client: a customer category used by some houses for a high level of personal service; each house sets its own criteria.
- Virtual selling
- Advising and selling to customers remotely through video, messaging or other digital contact.
- Visual merchandising
- Visual merchandising is the arrangement of products and displays to help customers see how a collection fits together.