A friend recently posted a photo on Facebook of this cute card, received free with a purchase from Walgreens.   She also showed the message that accompanied it encouraging her to “share a little gratitude with the people who matter the most.” She said she appreciated the reminder to send more cards to friends and… Read More

A recent New York Times article states that the COVID-19 trend of customers picking up their parcels outside a store may continue beyond the pandemic.  “The popularity of curbside pickup reveals that the future of retail is not just more packages piling up on people’s doorsteps. Beyond satisfying the need for contactless shopping in the… Read More

Amazon has been having a banner year – some of it at the expense of independent retailers, as our COVID-bound customers move more of their shopping online.  And now our giant competitor is about the roll out its biggest promotion of the year, Prime Days, on October 13 and 14.  Whether this is a threat… Read More

Managing your inventory is more important than ever this year. With fewer customers coming through the door, we don’t have as many opportunities to find just the right buyer for slower moving merchandise.  And with less sales income, we need to make sure we don’t have money tied up in older inventory that could be… Read More

What will Halloween be like in 2020? A recent article by the National Retail Federation quoted their annual survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics as showing that “more than 148 million U.S. adults plan to participate in Halloween-related activities. Among those celebrants, safe at-home activities ranked highest: 53 percent plan to decorate their homes,… Read More

A fellow retailer recently asked if we’d like to split an order of custom merchandise intended to promote a political viewpoint she knew we shared.  I gave it some serious thought, but decided to stay with our policy of not using the store to promote a specific candidate.  It is important to me that we… Read More

Back in March, many of us hoped that the pandemic would only be a problem for a few months.  It’s clear now that most of 2020 will be impacted by COVID-19, and perhaps even the first half of 2021.  And while there are some stores doing just fine during this challenging time, most of us… Read More

Sarah Artz, the owner of Good Day Shop, is one of our dynamic young retail neighbors on Monroe Street in Madison, WI. She not only runs a creative studio and retail business, but also produces pop-up event experiences, and develops and sells custom products online. She describes herself as “a connector, doer, why-asker and big… Read More

It’s been almost two weeks since I got word that my husband – and business partner – had suffered a sudden cardiac arrest while biking with friends.  Although Dean is still in the ICU, thankfully it looks like he’ll make a full recovery.  But our mom-and-pop shop is going to be without “pop” for quite a… Read More

It’s always been important to bring in fresh merchandise so that shoppers have a good reason to come into your store frequently.  Even though our shop is limiting customers due to COVID-19, we are still working hard to constantly update our selection.  But without frequent visitors, it’s a challenge to share the excitement of the… Read More