According to the National Retail Federation, 20 to 40 percent of yearly sales for small and mid-sized retailers take place within the last two months of the year.1 The holidays are right around the corner and customers are ready to spend big. Campus stores can leverage their audience by advertising themselves as a one stop … Continue reading
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Mission Statements: How to Make Your Store Stand Out
Your store, marketing, staff, and products are always communicating. Although your store and your products cannot actually talk to your customers, they can communicate a message just as well as your marketing and staff. “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.” These lyrics to George Harrison’s song “Any Road” … Continue reading
Listen More, Talk Less: How to Implement Active Listening in Retail
“Sincere salespeople listen to customers and uncover their pains so they can provide a fitting solution.”1 While speaking to a customer you should listen more than you speak. The main agenda in sales is to have customers buy your product. The buying process is not about your wants and needs, it’s about the customers. Sales … Continue reading
Love it or Hate it: The Pros and Cons of Self-Checkout Kiosks
We are seeing more and more retailers integrate self-checkouts into their store environment. It took a while for customers to familiarize themselves with self-checkouts and now they are here to stay. Are self-checkout kiosks right for your store? Pros: Self-Checkout stations take up less space. Resellers know all too well that retail space is money, … Continue reading
How To Find Your Perfect Employee: 3 Tricks To Get It Right
Having great customer service is a major selling point for brick and mortar stores. The key to having great customer service goes beyond training; you need well trained staff that are able to represent your store well. College stores are often plagued with high turnover making the finding, hiring, and training of staff that much … Continue reading
How to Reach Millennials and Why They Are Careful Shoppers
The 80 million millennials have a bad rap for being indecisive, but millennials are not indecisive—they simply take their time when making purchases. In order to make the perfect decision, they will crowd-source purchasing decisions waiting for a social response. Millennials went as far to report that until they read user-generated reviews or engaged with … Continue reading
The Power of Influence: Targeting Millennial Shoppers
Millennials’ purchasing power will soon surpass every other generation, however, for many retailers their purchasing decisions are still a mystery. Millennials are tech savvy and financially cautious folk. They are worried about student debt, yet look for the latest and greatest tech trend. Millennials take pride in their individuality and are quick to point out … Continue reading
The Rules of Technology in Retail
Technology trends are rewriting the rules of retail. More stores are advancing the in-store experience to meet the demands of the younger generation while creating tools to maximize customer service. Retail technology blends physical and virtual experiences, keeping millennial customers engaged with the brand and increases business. It is harder for college stores to experiment … Continue reading
5 Tips to Help Your Store Go Omnichannel
According to omnichannel expert Andy Katz-Mayfield, omni-channel is “less about creating another channel to sell a product, it’s about providing a really great experience.” You have heard us talk about the importance of optimizing the customer experience for brick and mortar stores before, but what does that look like? 1. Start off by increasing your … Continue reading
The Do’s and Don’ts of Mobile Marketing in College Retail
Mobile is taking the retail world by storm, its gaining popularity ranges from one-click payments to POS systems to in-store shopping assistants. This provides retailers with an extra touch point to drive sales, however like any marketing it takes planning. With 61% of retailers believing mobile devices are a key driver of sales growth1 it’s … Continue reading
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