4 New Year’s Resolutions Your Liquor Store Can Achieve with the Guidance of a Liquor License Consultant

The beginning of the new year is the perfect time to for private liquor store owners in BC to set business goals and implement actions to achieve those goals. With the guidance of an experienced liquor license consultant, such as Thrive Liquor & Cannabis Advisors, you can set resolutions for the year to streamline your operation and increase profitability. Optimizing inventory, auditing your store layout’s effectiveness, addressing employee acquisition and retention concerns, and making compliance watertight are four areas to consider.

1) Optimize Inventory

Managing inventory is crucial for all liquor stores. Our liquor license consultants can analyze sales trends, identify winners and losers in your inventory and curate a mix of SKUs that increase sales and reduce waste. An inventory audit will ensure that you are spending money on inventory that makes you money, instead of collecting dust on shelves and in storage areas.

2) Optimize Liquor Store Layout

A well-designed store layout not only enhances the customer experience, it encourages higher sales. Thrive Advisors starts by auditing traffic flow patterns, shelving and fridge configurations, displays, promotions and in-store signage. We’ll create an actionable plan and help you implement that plan.

Read the Science Direct article “Retail facility layout considering shopper path” by the Department of Engineering, University of Louisville, for insight into how layout and flow patterns can positively effect sales. The article concludes that “A retail store’s layout has a direct impact on the path followed by the shopper to purchase items per their planned purchase list”. The article adds that “Higher visibility of products often leads to higher impulse revenue generation for the retailer.“

For an overview of commonly-used layouts, read our article “Liquor Store Layouts are Vital to Retail Liquor Success”.

3) Hire the Right Employees & Increase Retention

For several years (since the early days of the COVID pandemic), employee acquisition and retention have been a major concern for retail businesses, including liquor stores. If your store has high employee turnover and you’re having difficulty finding experienced and motivated sales associates, it’s probably time for an employee acquisition and retention audit. High employee turnover can bloat operational expenses, not to mention waste a manager’s valuable time while negatively affecting the customer experience. Our consultants can write effective job descriptions that attract the right employees, vet candidates, streamline your onboarding process, and suggest ways to increase job satisfaction.

4) Implement Compliance Training

Compliance is non-negotiable for British Columbia’s Licensee Retail Stores. Your staff must understand and follow ID-checking and Serving It Right protocols, follow compliance checklists, and stay up-to-date on changing regulations. Thrive Advisors provides tailored training sessions that keep your team informed and protect your liquor license.

Talk to Liquor License Consultant Today!

Thrive Liquor & Cannabis Advisors can optimize your liquor store operations, helping you compete and succeed in a competitive marketplace. Whether you require liquor license application support, operational guidance, or employee acquisition, we roll up our sleeves and do the heavy lifting so you can do what you do best – run your liquor store.