5 Tips for Setting up your Dollar Store Merchandise Receiving Area

One of the often forgotten portions of every dollarstore is the merchandise receiving area. Yet this relatively small, critical square footage can become the center of so much activity. As dollar store merchandise rolls in the door those who do a good job of planning the layout of the receiving area will appreciate the quick turnaround merchandise takes as it moves into the receiving area, goes through the receiving and pricing process and then is properly displayed on the sales floor. In this article I present 5 tips for setting up your dollar store merchandise receiving area.

Tip #1 - Minimize the space in your dollarstore you dedicate for back stock storage and maximize the space you dedicate to receiving dollar store merchandise. For most dollar store owners establishing space for receiving and back stock occur together. Yet the thought process behind each is slightly different. On the one hand adding even a few extra square feet to the receiving area significantly increase the through put time for merchandise. On the other hand, adding a few extra square feet to your back stock storage area can result in merchandise being left off the sales floor. The result of one is greater dollar store profit. The result of the other is lost sales and profit.

Tip #2 - Include a receiving area with tracks/rollers and a receiving table in your dollar store. Take the time to install the right fixtures for a fast, efficient and safe receiving area. Don’t cut corners by not installing a short set of tracks with rollers unless you have smaller store. This allows for quick, easy handling of boxes and packages. A table or two will also ease the difficulty of sorting mixed items that have been packaged together. Not only will this speed up the process, but it aids in relieving the pain of lifting and moving boxes of dollar store merchandise by hand.

Tip #3 - Include the right tools for your dollarstore receiving area. There’s a long list, but the basics include a dollar store merchandise pricing machine, pricing guns, box cutters, ink pens, permanent marking pens, packing tape, and plastic wrap. You’ll find fast, efficient receiving and pricing will positively impact your dollar store profit as merchandise rolls quickly to the sales floor of your dollar store.

Tip #4 - Purchase stocking carts so dollar store merchandise can immediately go to the sales floor of your store. While on the top of fast and efficient movement of dollar store merchandise, don’t forget to provide merchandise carts to make the process easy on your employees and your shoppers. Stock carts are relatively inexpensive, yet they often hold many boxes filled with thousands of items.

Tip #5 - Leave adequate room to move pallets and boxes around with ease in your dollarstore receiving area. Inevitably there will be deliveries containing dollar store merchandise your customers have been eagerly awaiting. Don’t sacrifice dollar store profit by having a tight receiving area that doesn’t make quickly removing those items possible. By allowing the room to move pallets and boxes with ease you can more effectively manage the entire receiving process for your dollarstore.

To your dollar store success!