The Monroe Street Chocolate Walk would have celebrated its 10th anniversary last year, but was one of the countless COVID cancellations. Now that vaccinations are starting to make a return to normalcy possible, stores are beginning to think about how to add the “retailtainment” element back into their marketing.  It’s time for the Monroe Street Merchants Association is consider how we can resume our popular event safely. 

Our first concern is that we follow the guidelines for our city and county regarding pandemic-era gatherings.  At the moment we are limited in the number of customers who can be in a store at one time, so an open invitation to a special event is not an option.

Our second concern is maintaining safety for our staff and customers.  Our shop has decided that masks will be required for the foreseeable future. This means that we don’t want to have customers consuming food or beverages while in the store.  It also wouldn’t be a good idea to hold an event that encourages people to crowd together, just in case someone doesn’t comply with the mask policy.

It seems that there are three good options for special events for retailers this summer:

1. Hold them virtually.  This has been a popular alternative for book readings and talks, drawing an audience from a wider geographic area than would be possible in person.  But it’s not clear how well this works in generating sales, unless you require a purchase (or charge a fee for participation).
2. Take it outside.  Sidewalk sales are a perfect example of an outdoor event that can work well as long as you don’t draw a big crowd at one time. In Wisconsin, the weather can be a bit iffy for outdoor events, but the restrictions on gatherings outside are less than those for indoor events.
3. Stagger the event’s entry time. Limiting the number of participants who enter each hour gives you more control over the size of the crowd, and has been used successfully by zoos, museums and botanic gardens as they reopen to visitors.

I think that for this year’s Monroe Street Chocolate Walk, we’ll probably try a combination of #2 and #3 (virtual chocolate just doesn’t do it!). We will limit that number of tickets sold, compared to previous years, and use Eventbrite to have ticket buyers select a start time.  Participating businesses will get to decide whether they are comfortable having people come inside their shop or restaurant to get their chocolate. The treats will be taken home rather than consumed on the premises.

From a marketing standpoint, it is of course better to have everyone go inside each business.  One of the goals of the Chocolate Walk is to have visitors get to know the variety of locally-owned businesses that make up our neighborhood shopping street. But making some modifications this year will allow us to hold a safe and successful event, and hopefully in the future we can go back to all the traditions of the chocolate extravaganza we started in 2010.

Happy Retailing,

Carol “Orange” Schroeder