Once the last piece of painter’s tape has been pulled away, it’s time for cleanup. Contractors typically have a good grasp on the products they need for cleanup, but retail customers may need more direction when it comes to purchasing these products.

Retailers can point DIYers in the right direction by educating them on what’s available and how it’s used, and using merchandising that makes it easy for them to find what they need. And, they can take advantage of marketing outlets these retail customers frequently use.

Caddo Paint, which has stores in Shreveport and Bossier City, Louisiana, carries a wide selection of products for post-painting cleanup. Lynn Sprout Jr., purchasing agent for Caddo Paint, says contractors make up 80 percent of the customer base, but the company doesn’t forget about its retail customers, reaching them through merchandising, employee education and marketing.

Making Merchandising Count

Sprout utilizes well-organized merchandising to sell to both contractors and retail customers. Caddo Paint carries a broad selection of products for paint cleanup, including rags, solvents, removers and specialty cleaners, displaying similar items together.

“We merchandise all our cleaning products in one area of the store and group similar products, like rags or solvents, together,” says Sprout. “We stock a lot of these products at the front of the store so they’re easy for contractors to find, but we also organize them in a way that makes it easy for our retail customers to browse and pick up what they need.”

During the pandemic, Sprout has used endcap displays to showcase general household cleaners and protective face masks, but he also uses them to highlight new products or showcase items that fit a theme. For example, every spring, he displays deck cleaners, mildew removers and deck sprayers together.

Educating Employees

When it comes to educating customers on what cleaning products to choose, Sprout says Caddo’s employees rely on their many years of experience working at the store and in the field. They also take part in vendor in-store training when they stock a new product, and will occasionally test those products themselves in the store.

When customers purchase solvents and specialty cleaners, it’s helpful for the employee to have a fundamental knowledge of what each solvent or cleaner does to help customers choose the right one.

Employees can also be a source of information on how to use solvents and cleaners correctly and safely, sharing tips with customers and pointing them to product labels and safety instructions.

“We’ve educated our employees that paint and lacquer thinners are your most basic solvents and can also be used for cleaning. If it’s not paint or lacquer thinner, for the most part, it has a specific purpose,” says Sprout. “Our employees also know what each of those solvents specifically do, and they can share that knowledge with customers as well.”

Offering Online Options

Another way Caddo Paint markets cleaning products to customers is through its online store, a new addition to the website. As communities entered lockdown at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Caddo Paint closed both its locations to in-person shopping for six weeks, only offering curbside pickup during that time.

A few weeks later, when the stores were allowed to open at 25 percent shopper capacity, Sprout heard from customers who were still uncomfortable going inside stores.

That’s when he started working on the business’s e-commerce site to inform DIY customers about what products the store sells, including cleaning items they may not be familiar with.

“We came to the realization our contractors were remembering what products we sold and still placing orders with us over the phone, but our retail customers didn’t know what we carried,” Sprout says.

Adding an e-commerce page to the main website allowed Caddo’s customers to still shop with them even with limited store capacities, Sprout says.

Sprout hopes the new e-commerce page will remain an integral part of his selling strategy now that the stores are back open for in-store shopping, and continue to reach new customers.

“We also made upgrades to the rest of our regular website that match the e-commerce page, so everything is at the same high level to provide customers with information and a place to shop online,” Sprout says. “We also plan to do more promotions of our e-commerce page through our social media channels.”

Finding a place to safely dispose of leftover paint is part of the cleanup process, but can also be a challenge for many painters. PaintCare, a nonprofit organization created by paint manufacturers, operates paint stewardship programs in nine states and the District of Columbia.

The organization encourages consumers and businesses to reuse and recycle leftover paint by setting up paint retailers and other businesses as convenient drop-off sites.

Retailers who participate in the program as a drop-off site see several benefits says Brett Rodgers, director of communications for PaintCare. One benefit is increased foot traffic into the stores.

“While we don’t yet have data to show what the change in store traffic has been after becoming a drop-off site, many of our sites report more people come into stores to drop off paint, creating an opportunity to convert new customers,” Rodgers says.

Another benefit for retailers is additional exposure through the PaintCare program. Every paint store that serves as a drop-off site is listed on the map on the PaintCare website. PaintCare also advertises individual paint stores as part of public education for the program.
Rodgers says many retailers appreciate how the program benefits the environment and provides a convenient service to customers.

“Many stores are part of small communities that might not have a lot of other options, and they like being the ones providing this service,” says Rodgers. Rodgers says PaintCare strives to make it as easy as possible for paint stores to participate in the program.

“Retailers think there will be a lot of extra cost or labor on their part to take part but there isn’t,” Rodgers says. “We provide all the training and marketing materials, supply all the collection bins and haul all the paint away as often as a site needs.”

For more information on PaintCare and how retailers in qualifying states can participate, visit PDRmag.com/paintcare.