Facebook fans are having fun with “25 Random Things” lists, and it’s high time that shopkeepers got in on the action. So here are 25 random — and not so random — things you may not know about retailing.  Feel free to add your own in the Comments section below!

 1. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the total sales for the U.S. Retail Industry in 2007 (including food service and automotive) was $4.48 trillion 

2. Retail ranks #1 among all businesses in employing people over 65

3. The busiest shopping day of the year may now be the day after Christmas

4. Shoplifting costs retailers about $13 billlion a year

5. That is actually less than the $19 billion estimated for employee theft

6. A small business in the US is usually defined as having less than 100 employees, but in Australia less than 20 and in Europe it’s less than 50

7. Every dollar spent at a locally owned business recirculates in our community six times more than with non-local companies.

8. About 15.5 million people worked in the retail industry in 2007, according to the U.S. Department of Labor

9. Recommended advertising budgets for independent retailers usually fall in the range of 3% to 7% of sales

10. Your web site has a potential viewership of 77.5 million households, which represents a 68% market penetration (over half of which have high speed connections)

11. Long before computers had software, housewares retailers divided their merchandise into softgoods and hardware

12. In North American English, small or micro businesses that are family-owned are sometimes called Mom and Pop businesses

13. Cash registers were originally called the “Incorruptable Cashier,” because a bell rang every time the drawer was open, preventing quiet theft

14. The Mall of America is the largest in the US, with 520 stores, but the largest in the world  the South China Mall with over 1,500 retail businesses

15. One statistic shows consumers spend approximately 76.4 minutes per mall visit and go to 1.3 mall stores per visit 

16. Black Friday — the day after Thanksgiving — is called that because it is when the bottom line for retailers supposedly starts showing a profit

17. Although it sounds like something you’d have your car mechanic check, the Acid-Test Ratio is actually a retail math formula: Current Assets – Inventory ÷ Current Liabilities

18. Many retail failures today are due to the store’s debt structure and the financial world’s credit crisis rather than a lack of sales. 

19. “Blue laws,” possibly named for the paper they were printed on, make it illegal to sell certain products on Sundays.  Tradition has it that the ice cream sundae got its start as a way to get around the blue law prohibiting selling ice cream sodas on Sunday in Evanston, IL 

20. Of all the goods consumers feel they can do without in this economy, luxury handbags and specialty shop apparel are at the top of the list

21. Retailing is one of the most creative fields you can go into, combining sales, buying, visual merchandising, customer service and management

22. There are small retailers in every country, and you can support one with a micro loanof just $25  through KIVA (we do)

23. Women especially value the sensory and social outlet of shopping in a real store

24. Our banker once remarked that gift retailing is even more seasonal than farming

25. Like many small farmers, I’ve often thought I’d be willing to work a part-time job elsewhere if I had to in order to keep my shop going, because I love what I do  

 

I would welcome you joining the new Facebook Page for Specialty Shop Retailing!

 

Happy Retailing,

Carol “Orange” Schroeder