Profitable Retail Practises - Yes or No?

We had an interesting retail experience today that got me thinking about what I sell in my business.

We were out looking for a new bed at one of the "big box" retailers in our local area. There was a 4 piece package that had been drastically reduced and was a great price at $1699.00 but the package did not include a dressing table.

We asked the retailer if a dressing table could be included with their current deal to become a 5 piece package and was told that this could not be done - and if we wanted to buy the dressing table, it would cost us a further $1299.00!!!!

We thanked the retailer for their time and left the store, because we were not the least bit interested in spending almost $3000.00 on a new bedroom suite.

Across the road from this retailer was a smaller furniture store, so we wandered across to see what they had on offer in the way of beds and bedroom suites.

At this store there were nowhere near as many beds to choose from, however, every bed on offer could be bought as part of a 4 or 5 piece package, all at greatly reduced prices compared to if you bought each piece of furniture separately.

We found a lovely 5 piece bedroom suite, that included a dressing table, for almost $1000.00 cheaper than their "big box" competitor across the road - needless to say, this retailer got the sale.

This whole experience got me thinking about what goes through business owner's minds when trying to sell to potential customers.

I am confident that even at the reduced price, the "big box" retailer would be making a profit on the 4 piece package, so it amazes me that they were unwilling to even consider putting a 5 piece package together for people who may be looking for a bedroom suite that included a dressing table.

On the other hand, the smaller retailer had taken the time to think about what their customer may want - so the chances of them making a sale had greatly increased when potential customers walked through their door.

Is there anything that you currently sell within your business that you could "tweak" slightly to greatly increase the chance of someone buying it?