If you think that carrying a variety of floor covering options is cross merchandising, think again. However, if you stock allied products for cleaning floor coverings, you're on a better track. If you carry area rugs to complement your primary floor covering lines, you're doing better yet. And if you carry home-furnishing accessories, you can probably skip this article because you're undoubtedly king of the hill in your marketplace!
As I have often mentioned in my seminars on showroom management, retailers need to court the customer. Offering one-stop shopping is a good step in that direction, but you can add more profit dollars by cross merchandising your floor covering products with other merchandise that the customer may need.