Visual merchandising has come a long way from the early days, when the invention of plate glass inspired shopkeepers to use their new, large windows to show one of every item in the store. Today’s windows, especially those by the chain Anthropologie, go to the opposite extreme — featuring only one or two pieces of… Read More

‘Show appreciation to those who make your business possible: your employees.’  This is the lead-off slogan for a 2013 campaign entitled A Thankful Life being spearheaded by the Seattle-based gift and stationery vendor Compendium. The company’s goal is to inspire the writing of 1 million thank you notes, and they suggest that you start by… Read More

Good news for American manufacturing (and American jobs): Trendwatching predicts that “again made here” will be one of the top 10 Trends for 2013. They quote a recent statistic from Perception Research which shows that “Four out of five US shoppers notice "Made in the USA" claims and labels, and are more likely to purchase… Read More

As you head off to the gift shows in January, you will be looking for new products that will get your customers excited and in a buying mood.  Hopefully the steadily recovering economy will mean lots of product introductions by existing suppliers, and perhaps even some new vendors. Even if you have enough lines to… Read More

What is a flash sale?  A poll in the current issue of Gifts and Decorative Accessories magazine shows that 21% of the suppliers surveyed by Brandwise (from an anonymous representative sample of companies) sell through an online flash sale site.  And yet many of us are not familiar with this phenomenon, and how it impacts… Read More

With Christmas Day only about two weeks away, Santa is not the only one who should be making a list!  It’s time to re-evaluate your inventory on hand, and also to take notes for next year.  Happily much of our major buying for the holidays takes place at the winter gift shows, before we’ve forgotten… Read More

Smart Phones = Smart Staff? We all see our customers using their phones while shopping to get more information about a product, to find out which color Aunt Mary likes best, and even sometimes (much to our dismay) to order the item they’re looking at from an online source.  But how do we feel about… Read More

We all need more Facebook fans — especially since Facebook is now showing us how many (or how few) people see each posting.  Even if your business has over 1,100 likes, your reach may be less than 70 people.  I know, because the statistics from our shop’s Facebook page over the past week show a… Read More

Shopkeepers often take only two factors into account when setting prices: the wholesale cost of the item and the freight charges.  Many independent retailers don’t even even factor in their landing costs, preferring to take straight keystone markup (doubling the wholesale cost) because that is customary. Despite studies showing that it is hard to make… Read More

More Lessons from Zingerman’s How do you provide the absolute best in customer service? Paul Saginaw of Zingtrain was recently in Madison for a seminar sponsored by Dane Buy Local, and had many helpful ideas. He and his partner Art Weinzweig oversee the family of Zingerman’s enterprises in Ann Arbor, MI, which now numbers eight… Read More