Independent retailers are always looking for innovative ways to expand their revenue. At the end of the day, the bottom line is all they have to indicate if they were successful or not. The latest solution is less about the products for sale, and more about the tool customers use to carry products while they're still in the store.

Retail shopping baskets provide a variety of advertising options that will allow retailers to get some extra mileage out of money they've already spent. Most plastic retail shopping baskets have a blank section of solid plastic on each side. Store owners could put that real estate to use, advertising specials in their own store or advertising someone else's business.

While many stores have begun putting ads in shopping carts, the retail shopping baskets are still an untapped opportunity. Here are a few suggestions for getting the most out of your plastic shopping baskets:

Talk to the neighbors: Try to approach neighboring retailers who are non-competitors and see if they would be interested in advertising on the retail shopping baskets. Promote the program as an effective means for attracting customers who are already in the area. It could be just the opportunity they've been looking for to promote their business.

Point-of-Sale Ads: Use the ad space to promote your own products, and special sales. As customers are browsing your store, they will see these messages on their own plastic shopping basket, as well a

s on the baskets of other shoppers. This will ensure multiple exposures to the message and will help the ad get through to customers, improve the likelihood of success with the product or sale that is being advertised.

Mix it Up: One particular problem with advertising is that people get desensitized to it over time. So it is important to change up the message and appearance of the ad now and then. Recruit multiple advertisers and put them in rotation on the retail shopping baskets. This will keep the messages fresh, and will give the ads a stronger impact.

Part of being successful in retail is being innovative and trying something new. This could be the opportunity to step outside the box and hit a home run. Plastic shopping basket ads are really just the tip of the iceberg. So look around. See opportunities to excel, and go for it.

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