We recently spoke with the owner of Full Compass Systems (retailers of professional audi/video equipment) and she told us that her staff gets as much as four hours of product training a week, all year round.  You can imagine how knowledgable these sales associates are about every item they sell.  Got a question?  They’ll have… Read More

Christmas is just two months away, so it’s time to make a list — and check it twice — so that you can succeed in creating some special seasonal spirit for your customers.  Although shopping in December can be stressful, the original touches that independent businesses and local shopping areas add to the season often… Read More

Hiring great employees is essential to retail success. Our sales associates are the key to providing excellent customer service, and efficient “back of house” staff members are mandatory for the smooth operation of the store.  Although salary is not the only factor in attracting and retaining good employees, you want to make sure that your… Read More

I don’t read Playboy, but I found myself standing in front of this display in the airport wondering if I should try a copy.  Why? Because it would only have cost me 60¢.  Someone at Playboy (perhaps Hugh Hefner himself) had decided that 60¢ was my threshold for buying something I really didn’t want or… Read More

How do you know when an idea has run its course? Whether you are looking at your store’s basic concept, a major line or category, or even an individual item — it is valuable to know when it is time (to really mix my piscine metaphors) to cut bait.  Jumping the shark, or continuing beyond… Read More

American Express has chosen Shop Small as the theme for November 26, this year’s Small Business Saturday. Last year’s premiere event, held on the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend, was a huge success.  Over 1 million people “joined the movement”, largely through American Express’s use of social media such as Facebook.  And better yet, participating stores… Read More

Walking down a shopping street in Scandinavia, you immediately get a sense of what is in each shop — because a sampling of merchandise is often displayed outside on carts and racks in front of the store.  This proved to also be true at Milwaukee’s Discovery World, where a display of green and blue snakes… Read More

I’m not above “borrowing” a good idea from a mass merchandiser, and here is one that I just saw in Target. Instead of offering $5 off on an item, the store offered a $5 Target gift card — with the idea, I’m sure, that I would come back soon to spend it.  A local appliance… Read More

The most impersonal shopping experience in America may well be the dollar store, where there is no need to even ask the price of any item. And yet there is a “dollar store” in Copenhagen called Søstrene Grene where customers are made to feel like the owners are old friends — even though the persona… Read More

We’ve just come back from two weeks of traveling, which made me think about why tourists make such great customers:  they are relaxed about spending money, they’re excited about seeing things for the first time, and they consider shopping to be part of the travel experience.  Are you doing all you  can to capture this… Read More