Savvy Store Solutions
Veteran retailer Carol Schroeder shares her experience and perspective on the ups and downs of being a gift retailer.
Belly Up to the Counter
There is a new player in the customer loyalty game, and games are in fact part of the appeal to consumers. The program is called the Belly Card, and the company's goal is to reinvent customer loyalty rewards through gamification and digital check-ins. Belly is based on an in-store iPad, supplied by the company, that is used to validate paying customers at the point of sale. Part of the appeal of... Read More
Comments (0)Sister Day
One of the most innovative shops in Denmark in Søstrene Grene, which translates as "The Branch Sisters." I've written before about how they make use of the mostly fictional personae of Clara and Anna throughout their store to make what is in essence a discount-price shopping experience feel very personal. Once a year Søstrene Grene takes this idea a step further and sponsors a "Sist... Read More
Comments (1)Taking a Page from a Lookbook
A lookbook is a collection of photographs used to show off the work of a particular photographer or model -- or to profile a certain style or clothing line. While the term lookbook originally meant an actual book used to show the designer's "look" for the current season, today it doesn't have to be a book. Their online form, especially in the fashion world, is often a blog rich in phot... Read More
Comments (0)Easy Evening Events
Looking for a new promotion for your store as part of your shopping district or town? For the price of some wine and cheese, as well as a bit of promotion, you can easily stage an evening event that will hopefully bring shoppers in after hours.This concept is usually applied to a Gallery Night, a promotion so popular that some communities hold one once a month. In Brattleboro, Vermont, for examp... Read More
Comments (0)Should We Be Flattered?
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, I suppose as independent retailers we should be pleased that Target is rolling out a new concept called The Shops at Target on May 5. They even took out six pages of advertising in O: The Oprah Magazine to promote this innovative idea. (Would anyone like to take a guess at what that cost?)In its short video about this concept, Target explains that T... Read More
Comments (0)Being the Boss
"People ask the difference between a leader and a boss. The leader leads, and the boss drives." This quote, attributed to Theodore Roosevelt, gets to the heart of what can make a boss either well respected or disliked. Are you a leader who inspires your staff to do well, or a boss whose very presence drags down staff morale?A recent article in Inc. magazine by Jeff Haden delineated the 5... Read More
Comments (0)A Unique Selling Proposition
If your customers need ESP to determine the USP in your ads or signs (as in this fun example from New Zealand), then you are not doing a good job of conveying your message. Keeping things simple makes it easy for consumers to understand what you sell -- and why they should buy it from you.USP stands for unique selling proposition, and the concept was invented by Rosser Reeves of the Ted Bates & C... Read More
Comments (3)Made You Look!
If your first inclination when merchandise isn't selling is to mark it down, you may not be doing your bottom line any favors. Try changing the location of the items in your display first to see if that will help spur some interest. After all, the term visual merchandising is based on the premiss that the eye appeal of well-displayed goods makes an important contribution to how well they sell.Cu... Read More
Comments (0)Exclusively Yours
"Please write about stores asking their rep for exclusivity," a sales representative asked me recently. "It just isn't reasonable that one shop should demand to be the only one in their area carrying a line that has thousands of items."In many other types of business, exclusivity means an agreement not to buy a certain product or service from any other resource. But in retaili... Read More
Comments (1)Facebook’s New Look
Your shop's Facebook page is getting a makeover later this month, whether you want it to or not. It would be a good idea to plan ahead so that you're already updated the new design by the March 30 deadline. If you don't make the change, Facebook will do it for you (which is not the best way to optimize your page).The new design is similar to the Timeline feature available to individuals for thei... Read More
Comments (0)I'm an Independent Retailer
Carol is traveling this week, so in lieu of a regular blog post, we present a little "Meme" that she created:... Read More
Comments (0)Cutting Coupons
Coupon usage has been steadily increasing over the past few years, mostly thanks to the poor economy. There was a time that coupons were predicted to disappear due to lagging newspaper sales, but according to the 2012 NCH Coupon Facts, these offers actually increased by 26% last year over 2007 figures, with 3.5 billion redeemed in 2011. They even have their own reality show, Extreme Couponing.Of... Read More
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