Using Social Media to Connect with Students

Using Social Media to Connect with Students

Most campus bookstores are already on social media. Far fewer are using it to build a real relationship with students. Many accounts still work like a digital bulletin board: hours, sale announcements, a reminder that rush week is coming. Students scroll right past that kind of content. The stores that stand out treat social as … Continue reading →

Selling to Students During the Holidays

Selling to Students During the Holidays

Students are one of the trickiest holiday audiences a campus bookstore serves. They’re tight on budget, short on time before finals, and they’re rarely the only person involved in the purchase. A parent, grandparent, or alumnus is often the one holding the credit card, while the student is the one holding the wish list. Selling … Continue reading →

Map Your 2027 Inventory

Map Your 2027 Inventory

Most inventory planning still starts from the same place: look at what sold last year, order something close to it, and adjust on the fly once the semester gets underway. That approach works well enough until it doesn’t, until a stockout during welcome week or a pile of unsold gear in March reveals how much … Continue reading →

Holiday Merchandising Display Strategies

Holiday Merchandising Display Strategies

A great holiday display does more than look festive, it actively shapes how a shopper moves through the store and what they end up carrying to the register. For campus bookstores, the holiday season is a rare window when even students who only come in for required textbooks the rest of the year will wander … Continue reading →

Check Out our Holiday Campaign!

Check Out our Holiday Campaign!

The 2026 Douglas Stewart Holiday Campaign is officially back again! Head over to the bakeshop to find this holiday season’s best deals from product promotions, raffle giveaways (U.S. only), and extra exclusive content you won’t find anywhere else. Visiting from Canada? Check out our Canadian website’s Holiday HQ Bakeshop! Stay Connected With Us The best … Continue reading →

Student Holiday Buying Behaviors

Student Holiday Buying Behaviors

Every retailer treats the holidays as a chance to study its customer more closely, and college students deserve that same attention — they just don’t shop like the general holiday crowd. A student’s holiday list, budget, and shopping habits are shaped by things most shoppers don’t deal with: a fixed allowance, a tight circle of … Continue reading →

Holiday Prep Mistakes to Avoid

Holiday Prep Mistakes to Avoid

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 →

Utilize Game Days to Your Store’s Advantage

Utilize Game Days to Your Store’s Advantage

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 →