I love unusual words that are unique to retailing, and “shelf talker” definitely falls into that category.   We know that we can’t possibly tell every customer all we want them to know about a product, and the idea of a “shelf talker” sign is that it gives the shopper the story behind an item.  It might “talk” about the designer or craftsperson who created a line, or about unusual and creative uses for the products.  Specialty shop retailers with exceptional customer service sometimes make small copies of these signs to tuck into the gift box when an item is purchased.

Last week I had the privilege of speaking to the merchants of downtown Racine, Wisconsin (located right on Lake Michigan, just south of Milwaukee).  The next morning I visited several of the shops in the downtown area before stopping by the Danish section of town to bring a fresh "kringle" to take back to my staff. If you don’t know what kringle is, you’re missing something!

Sisters Regan and Dana Goodsell had been to my talk, together with their father Scott, and it was a treat to get to see their store, the Elegant Pauper.  They’re doing lots of things right, including posting on their storefront a big banner stating that they were named the Best New Business and Best Gift Shop.  They also have an attractive web site, www.shopelegantpauper.com, as you would expect from innovative young merchants.

But the feature of their store that impressed me the most was their use of four or five 7” Zenith portable DVD players as active “shelf talkers.” These units have a swivel screen that allows you to put in a continuous-play DVD, with or without the volume turned up, and fold the rest of the unit back so it looks like a moving framed picture.   The Elegant Pauper was using these units to explain the origins of a line of fair trade jewelry, to demonstrate the wonders of flower tea, and to entertain customers’ children while promoting a toy line.

Creative vendors would do well to provide retailers with DVDs about their products that repeat automatically in a short loop, and can be viewed by customers with little or no sound accompanying them.  One vendor that is already doing this is Wingscapes, the makers of an item called the BirdCam.  They realize that consumers may not understand how the motion-activated BirdCam captures photos, and video with sound, from a birdfeeder or birdbath.  So they not only provide retailers with a DVD, but also offer a free DVD player with the first order.  Hopefully more suppliers will follow suit, so that we can all use DVD shelf talkers, when appropriate, to help tell our customers why they should buy.

Happy Retailing,

Carol “Orange” Schroeder