retailconnection

The holiday season gives campus bookstores a real shot at revenue that has nothing to do with textbooks — but only if the prep work happens before the rush, not during it. Every year, retailers make the same avoidable mistakes: trusting inventory numbers that are already wrong, under-staffing the floor with under-trained help, and holding … Continue reading →

Game day fills campus with exactly the kind of energy most retailers spend a marketing budget trying to manufacture: excitement, school pride, and a crowd that’s already in a spending mood. For a campus bookstore, the challenge isn’t generating interest — it’s showing up in the right way to capture it. That means thinking beyond … Continue reading →

Holiday shopping used to be something students did when they went home for break, largely out of the campus bookstore’s reach. That’s changed. Today’s students discover gifts on their phones, expect to buy them wherever they happen to be standing, and bring very specific values and budgets to the decision. For campus bookstore managers building … Continue reading →

For most retailers, football season is background noise. For a campus bookstore, it’s a second peak season almost as important as move-in — a recurring, predictable surge of fans, alumni, and families who show up every home Saturday ready to spend on spirit gear. The stores that treat game days as a real retail channel, … Continue reading →

Most training programs fail for the same reason: they treat learning as a one-time event instead of an ongoing habit. New hires sit through a long orientation, nod along, and then forget half of it by their second shift. The retailers and businesses that build genuinely capable teams have moved away from that model entirely, … Continue reading →

Move-in day is stressful enough without adding extra stressors to the list. The best campus bookstores have figured out that their job during move-in isn’t just to sell textbooks — it’s to remove friction for students and families who are already juggling a hundred other things. Here are three ways bookstores are doing exactly that. … Continue reading →

Move-in week is equal parts chaos and opportunity. Parents are hauling mini-fridges up stairwells, first-years are wide-eyed and overwhelmed, and for a few short days, the entire campus population funnels through a handful of buildings — one of which is usually the bookstore. The question isn’t whether people will come. They will. The question is … Continue reading →

Attention grabbing displays are one of the most powerful tools any retailer has at their disposal. They center a shopper’s vision, communicate ideas, reinforce brand identity, encourage impulse purchases, and simplify the shopping experience all at the same time. Find out how you can build high-impact displays in your store today. Prioritize eye level placement … Continue reading →

Excess inventory can be a huge pain point for campus bookstores. Today, we’re sharing some neat tips and strategies you can use to sell-through your old inventory and free up space for new products. Offer discounts and clearance sales A quick, tried-and-true method of selling excess inventory is to offer deep discounts. Everybody loves a … Continue reading →

Forecasting demand for the upcoming fall semester is an important task for any college bookstore. Learn how you can go about forecasting demand in this week’s blog. Community Colleges are Growing The first thing to note when forecasting fall demand is that demand will be different for community colleges and 4-year institutions. For the past … Continue reading →