Empty space is an enemy of small town retail stores. Empty shelves and empty space make customers think you don’t have much to sell. They already think you don’t have much because that’s the stereotype of small town stores. You can combat this perception easily: fill all empty space, floor to ceiling. Secret: You…
Setting business hours is a big mess. In our Survey of Rural Challenges, small business owners told us that trying to be open later hours with no success was their number one challenge, two years in a row. When Deb Brown and I did our Q&A session on The Future of Retail, several people asked…
We want our downtowns and our retail stores to be welcoming for all kinds of customers. We’re especially interested in bringing young families downtown for shopping and for special events. To do that, we have to think from their perspective about what keeps them from coming downtown. Their answers might surprise you. Jennifer Carlson…
People are happily using smart voice assistants more than ever. You know their names: Alexa, Siri, Google, Cortana. It’s so easy (and fun!) to just say what you want, and your magical assistant orders it for you. Then it shows up at your doorstep, and you’re living in the future! This isn’t great for…
Despite the headlines, what we are witnessing is not the death of all retail. Retail is splitting in two. This time, small retailers are the big winners. Future of Retail Webinar Deb Brown and I are making this Future of Retail the subject of our next webinar at SaveYour.Town. We’ll talk about the underlying consumer trend driving this…
Both times we’ve run the Survey of Rural Challenges, small town business owners have picked the same top challenge: adapting to being open later hours. That means I’m always on the lookout for ideas that work to help bring more people downtown and are also successful at generating business for local stores. Cindy shared…
Reader Dave Tucci sent in this terrific question that you may identify with: Here in our small town Unionville, Ontario, Canada, (pop 9000) we have a free concert night every Thursday night from 7:30 to 9pm. We have awesome cover bands like Elton Rohn, Hotel California, Absolute Journey and many more. We draw crowds…
I was walking through a retail hardware store and greenhouse in rural Kansas. The owner and I talked about the amazing selection he could keep in such a small town. He spent a little time lamenting all the things he used to be able to offer, but can’t anymore. Then we started brainstorming ideas…
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