Anyone who’s worked in retail knows that awkward moment when you’re supposed to suggest additional items to a customer, and it always makes you feel a little sleazy. That’s because the interaction often feels forced, the customer usually looks uncomfortable, and nobody really enjoys the experience.

Yet successful stores manage to increase their sales without making their staff sound like robots reading from a script, or constantly asking them to go for the larger size or add a thousand accessories to their purchase. Believe it or not, many retail businesses invest millions into figuring out customer psychology. But if you don’t have those resources, don’t worry. Some principles can be applied with care.

The Silent Art of Retail: Non-Verbal Tricks That Make Us Spend More 

Lucky for you, most customers appreciate discovering items that complement their purchases – they just don’t like feeling pushed into buying them. That means the best upselling happens so smoothly that customers don’t even realize they’re being sold to. They simply feel like they’re making smart, informed choices about products they actually want.

Let’s explore how that happens in more detail.

Strategic Store Layouts

The way products are arranged can do more selling than any sales pitch ever could. This is why supermarkets often rearrange their aisles, so you don’t get too used to everything.

Placing complementary items near each other – like phone cases next to charging cables, or shoes next to socks – makes additional purchases feel natural and more likely.

Some stores even use heat mapping to track customer movement patterns, helping them position products where they’re most likely to catch attention, or rotating displays to draw engagement.

Visual Merchandising Magic

Displays that tell a story or show products in use often sell themselves, which is why product sellers often pay retailers for more space.

For example, setting up a complete outfit rather than just hanging individual pieces is a good example (thanks Mr. Mannequin!).

Showing a fully decorated table setting instead of separate dinnerware items, helps customers think about how products work together.

Such visual suggestions plant seeds in customers’ minds about additional items they might need or want, without anyone having to say a word – is it really that hard to pick up a couple new plates if you’re already opting for some bowls?

It’s even more effective when seasonal changes inspire natural updates to these displays.

Training For Subtle Suggestions

The best retail staff know how to gently showcase product suggestions into natural conversation. Instead of the annoying “would you like fries with that” approach, they might share genuine experiences with complementary products or point out features customers might not have considered – this requires appropriate training.

For example, mentioning how a particular cleaning product works especially well with a certain type of surface, or an art shop clerk discussing why and how various pencil thicknesses can give different effects. This kind of authentic, helpful assistance builds trust while gently encouraging additional sales, allowing you to lead them to your retail POS system without it feeling forced.

By applying these one (or all) of these ideas, you can likely create a more natural upselling environment in your retail space, and benefit as a result. It takes some time to nail, but knowing these principles in advance helps you avoid mistakes and sell more products!

Ciao,
Miss Kemya