Smart Retailer was started as Country Sampler's Country Business in 1993 as an offshoot of the
company's consumer publication, Country
Sampler. The founder of the company, Mark Nickel, was the managing editor
of a trade publication and traveled with his wife to craft fairs to sell her
merchandise. After several of these trips, Nickel came up with the idea of Country Sampler as a way for crafters
and artisans to advertise their products and sell merchandise to people across
the country. From there, Nickel started Country
Sampler’s Country Business as a trade publication to serve the artists and
crafters who wanted to conduct business wholesale.
Over the
years, we continually heard from more and more storeowners who said, "I'm not
country, but I absolutely love your publication. It provides all sorts of resources
and good advice for small retailers like me."
We realized
that independent retailers were clamoring for more business advice and
resources and ideas to help them grow, and we could provide that to them.
In 2012, we
rebranded our magazine from Country
Sampler's Country Business to Smart
Retailer with the goal that we would provide solid business advice to
independent gift and decor retailers of any genre. We revamped our website,
added e-newsletters, partnered with other businesses, held seminars and created
events that were all designed to help the independent retailer improve his or
her business.
Tell me a bit about your background and
retail?
Surprisingly,
my background is all in publishing. Other than working at McDonald's for
several years as a teen, I've never worked in retail. However, through the past
13 years of working on this publication, talking with retailers and vendors and
researching information, I've picked up quite a bit about retail. Plus, I've
been involved in various positions that involved such business skills as
customer service, marketing, accounting, etc.—skills that are just as critical
to retailers as they are to any small business.
What is your vision of where retail is
going?
For local
retailers, retail is all about building relationships with the community. In
today's market there are way too many places where you can buy similar
products. People can go into a gas station convenience store and buy a birthday
card or a fashion scarf. Many hardware stores, beauty salons and spa dealers
carry products that were traditionally only found in gift stores.
Merchandise
can be bought online from a store across the country. With product being that
prevalent, the independent retailer needs to draw customers to his or her shop
by means other than product alone.
That's where the relationship building
comes in. Simply put, people like to do business with people they like, and
as a retailer, if you can build your business where people want to buy from you
because they feel that connection to you, then you are much farther ahead than
other retailers. Building that connection means being personable in all your
marketing campaigns, going above and beyond what other businesses do,
partnering with your community or other businesses. You want your shop to come
immediately to mind when someone says, "I need to buy a gift for Aunt
Sally."
The retail
world at large is going to continue to evolve into various channels. Consumers
want to be able to buy through whatever means is easiest to them.
That could
mean shopping in person at a storefront, shopping online through a traditional
website, shopping through Facebook or other social media sites, placing an
order through a smartphone, hiring a personal shopper that comes to you, etc.
Retailers
need to be aware of how consumers go through their day, how they interact with
their friends and family, and what is important to them. Today, many people do
most of their interacting through Facebook or conduct much of their life via
their phone, and time is important to them. When these people want to buy
something, they want to buy it now and they want to do it through the means
they are doing all their business – via their phone or their Facebook account.
Retailers
need to remember that although they might not be into Facebook that much, that
doesn't mean their customers aren't. And so they need to develop means to reach
these people through different technology even if it isn't something they would
use themselves.
What do you think are the most important trends
that retailers should keep an eye on?
Trends in
retailing fall a lot into what I said above about technology. Retailers need to
be aware of what is out there and how it is being used, even if their customer
base is not quite ready for that technology.
A good
example is mobile marketing. Mobile marketing is going to continue to grow and
become huge, because as I mentioned before, people live and breathe on their
cell phones. A retailer may say, "but my customers aren't really into
mobile marketing," or "I don't think my customers would welcome text
message promotions." Well, they may not now, but there's a good chance
they will in the next couple of years. Retailers need to know about these
up-and-coming marketing avenues or what's new in retail technology and keep an
eye on them. Then, when their customers are ready, they can jump on it without
having to spend precious time becoming acclimated to how it works.
Two
important trends right now are the surge in buying local and purchasing
made-in-America goods. These trends are a definite result of the drawn-out
recession, but they are an important trend for retailers everywhere.
Store owners that do carry American-made goods need to promote them and help
their customers understand why that is a better product. Likewise, any
independent retailer can become involved in the buy-local movement. Back to
what I said before, people like to buy from people they make a connection with,
and if a retailer can make a connection with their consumer base because they are
a locally owned company that lives right there in the same town as their
customers, that builds that connection.
What are your predictions for retail in the
next few years?
Retail will
definitely pick up.
Holiday
sales figures for 2012 were up, which is good for everyone, and many of the
retailers I talked to have said they experienced fourth-quarter sales that were
double or even triple that of the year before. Some store owners even said last
year was their best holiday season yet. But retailers have to be aware that
they can't be everything to everyone. They need to find their niche and provide
the best they can for that niche – whether it is a certain type of product or a
specialized service.
I think
consumers are returning to a European grocery-shopping mentality, where they go
to one store to buy bread, another store to buy meat and another to get fresh
fruit. People are moving away from getting all their goods in one major
shopping trip at a humongous big-box store. They are picking and choosing where
to spend their money. They are going to a local shoe store for their shoes and
a boutique for their clothes and a specialty shop for their favorite hand soap
or body cream. Plus, consumers want to treat themselves. That mentality hasn't
gone away. Even in the recession, people still found ways to spend on products
they really wanted. They might have cut costs on their paper products or
groceries, but they still spent money on that fabulous lipstick shade or
wonderfully scented candle.
What is your take on the resources becoming
available to retailers? (technology, apps, mobile, etc)
Today there
are many more resources available to retailers than many of them can even
imagine!
There are
specialized apps for their phones or tablets that can help them conduct
business on the fly. Business owners can use cloud technology for their
inventory, accounting and sales records and not have to invest in major
software. And technological tools abound that help them boost their marketing
beyond what they could do just on their own. In reality, many retailers already
have software or technology for which they don't even use half of the
functions.
They should
research what their current technology does and look into all the other options
to see what truly works for their business.
Small
business owners wear many hats. Some hats they wear beautifully; others are
just never quite the right fit. It makes sense for business owners to use the
technology available to do the tasks that might not be their forte so they can
free up their time to work on aspects of their business in which they
excel.
What is your favorite aspect of Smart Retail magazine? There are a lot
of resources and it is geared towards being very helpful?
My absolute
favorite part of working on Smart Retailer
is the interaction I have with our readers. I love when I can talk to them at trade
shows, hear about their businesses, offer tips or insights on our Facebook page
and help them grow and realize their dreams.
My second
favorite part of working on the magazine is the enjoyment I find in publishing
in general. I love to work on the magazine and then see the freshly printed
copy hit my desk. It's a thrill to look through every time. As far as what
specific section of the magazine I like the best, it would have to be our
display ideas. Our stylist/designer, Nancy Borsodi, is very talented and she
constantly comes up with creative ways of showcasing merchandise. Retailers are
always looking for new display ideas and we love to bring spark their imagination
with our ideas.
What are your thoughts on the economy and
how a retailer can overcome it?
The economy
has certainly gone through a much tougher time than anyone expected. The
reality is we are never going to go back to the heydays of the earlier years.
We are now operating in a New Normal. That means that shifts in shopping habits
that consumers adopted during the recession are here to stay.
Yes, people
are price conscious. However, they also value what is important to them. So if
a busy consumer places a high value on his or her time and a retailer can show
how his or her product or services can help save that person time, the consumer
will be happy to pay the price. If a person values a unique fashion look and
doesn't want to wear the same clothes as everyone else, then the boutique owner
who carries truly one-of-a-kind items will help that person stand out in a
crowd. As a result, that customer will shell out the money for that look.
Retailers
need to discover what they can offer that is truly different than everyone
else. You can't go through business with blinders on. You need to know exactly
what your competitors are doing, what your customers are looking for and what
you can offer that can't be found elsewhere. Yes, it takes work, but if you
want to succeed, you can't just sit back and expect the money to roll in. Those
days are past.
