RetailBizBlog

Yesterday, I spent some time walking the mall.  I was specifically looking at the visual execution of stores in the mall.  While, I was overall pretty impressed with the elevated level of appearance standards from the last time I did this exercise, I still saw several things otherwise great looking stores missed. Mannequins - These are the most important displays in your store.  Not only should the mannequin be in good condition, but it should be dressed in such a way, that a customer would want to have the same look.  Mannequins can drive your store sales by also including accessories to add to the detail and complete the look.  I was disheartened to see mannequins that were in store windows, with broken pieces!  I also saw clothes that appeared "flat".  They looked as if they were unfolded and then just draped over the mannequin.  As you adjust your own clothes after putting them on to look right, you should treat your mannequin the same. ...

When Fortune Magazine posted this year's top 100 companies to work for, a common thread between all of those companies is a culture that employees feel connected with.  Whether it comes from connecting as a family, supporting local communities or charities, or supporting the health and wellness of their people, the employees of those companies are very happy.  What I find interesting, is that most companies I talk to (that did not make the list) also talk about how amazing their "culture" is. If you listen closely to the employees, the difference starts to become obvious.  Those who work for top voted companies, will talk about their leaders as if they are people they know personally.  They will talk about things that they have actually done or been a part of.  Those who work for companies that don't make the list will talk about how their company has a strong foundation and leadership, good values in their mission statement, and they will list the great t...

Try this - take at least 5 people (no max limit, the more the better) and tell them to stand in a circle and look at the ceiling.  Instruct them that counting is cheating, and that they should start to raise their hands when they think one minute has passed.  Typically, you will start to see hands going up around the 30sec mark, and in most instances, all hands will be up by the 50sec mark.  Now, do the same thing, but instruct the people to look at one another and engage in casual conversation.  You may have one person being very conscious of the drill, but in most cases, the entire group will go way past the one minute mark without raising their hands. I first saw this drill used in the restaurant industry to illustrate that when a waiter says to a table "I'll be with you in just a minute", that that minute can have two very different perspectives.  I have used it several times since then to illustrate the power of conversation.  In traditional retail s...

This time of year is perfect for getting your stores back into "Grand Opening" shape.  Many stores have actual spring cleaning checklists to help them get through this time.  Here are the top 10 easy misses that keep your stores from looking their best (no particular order) 1. Get a Ladder! - Light fixtures, wall units, ceiling vents etc.  Customers don't look up, and usually neither do you, which is why there is WAY more dust up there then you really want to see!!  Getting rid of this dust and keeping the vents clean can actually minimize your buildup throughout the year!  Don't forget to re-aim your lights after cleaning them!! 2. Get LOW! - Floor boards, especially in corners can get caked with grime that gets pushed against them all year while you mop.  3. Get MOVIN'! - Move ALL the store fixtures.  Dust buildup, uncleaned spills, and sometimes it will even show how dirty the rest of the floor is! 4. The Fixtures - Rarely do the fixt...

When I started in retail, I signed a time sheet that was printed on a dot-matrix printer, and the word thermal in a retail store only referred to undergarments.  Now, innovation and technology are paving the road for the future of retail.  Customers have proven, that there will always be a place for malls and stores despite the rapidly increasing ease to exist and shop online.  History has shown, that out of recession comes innovation.  Who would have predicted so much of that innovation would be around the internet and mobile devices?! Even when I started writing this blog, it was about rebuilding and establishing a positive customer connection.  Since then, the idea of that connection has evolved, and some companies are clearly still wondering "Where are we going now?!"  Again, when I started in retail, it was all about customer service, and going above and beyond was highly encouraged. Or, in other words, we were giving to our customers.  That and...

Open-ended questions, effective listening, sales approach, entrepreneur, "outside the box", visual appeal, loss prevention, customer base, foundation of change....these are all overused retail phrases that need to simply go away! Training, or to put it simply, the information you give an employee to do their job well, is too diluted.  Other than hands on training to teach a specific skill, most of your training should appeal to common sense.  People go through hours and hours of customer service training, only to be churned out as another robot simply repeating their training to everyone that walks in the door.  The customer experience (another overused buzzword) has evolved into building a much stronger human connection. Hire people (not workers) that can have a conversation, that can smile, and that genuinely seem to appreciate your brand.  Then your training turns into simply nurturing their pre-existing personality traits.  Give them essential product an...

Accurate signage has long been a way to ensure that you are able to communicate to your customers even in the event you don't have an opportunity for a personal connection.  If done right, the signage can not only draw attention to great deals, but can often even transcend a language barrier.  That is why signage has long held the nickname "silent salespeople". This kind of marketing is extremely powerful, and can make or break any business.  This kind of marketing must be both delivered appropriately, and communicated just as effectively.  There are really 3 basic categories of sale a store will run through - 1. Full Price - New seasonal launch, most goods are full price. 2. Promotional - Usually shortly into new season as sales start to indicate which goods are meeting forecasts.  Items are then placed on a temporary (Promotional) sale price to accelerate sales.  3. Liquidation - End of season.  Deep discounts are offered to rapidly move through un...

"Payroll is tight...we have to cut hours!!" How many times a day are managers saying this?  It has been so drilled into our heads that payroll is the most controllable expense, that it has become just a way of life to be under the assumption that "we are cutting hours".  What if I told you that you don't have to cut hours (necessarily)? We need to stop looking at payroll like it is an expense we are trying to control, and start looking at it like an investment that we can manage.  Most companies look for an "entrepreneurial spirit" in their leaders, which is ironic when they take their leaders strongest tool (the schedule) and constrict it to a point that it becomes a weekly robotic action.  Most managers have felt forced to constrict their schedules to such a point, that the only thought that goes into writing it, is making sure there is someone there to open and close the store.  Your schedule is your biggest tool for success! Look at it that way...