Stroll through the charming New England village of Bethel, CT and you’ll very soon catch sight of the cheery store windows arranged by Kim Ramsey, owner of The Toy Room, an independent retailer offering toys and games for infants, girls and boys.
Browsing: economy
The new year dawns, and with it comes a blizzard of emails and web site headlines shouting all sorts of promises and possibilities, all of which can leave one wondering which of them to trust.
Throughout the year, any business will usually experience peaks and troughs due to factors out of its control.
Made in America is making a comeback in the retail industry in spite of the aftermath of the country’s recession.
In a recent study conducted by Consumer Reports, more than 60 percent of people interviewed claimed they would gladly shell out more money for American made products—even if those products cost an average of 10 percent more than products sourced internationally.
As 2015 unfurls before us, Independent Retailer is excited to offer you a comprehensive review of the industry outlook for the year.
To sum kiosk and cart success up in a word, it would be “focus.” While it seems like having easy access to foot traffic would be a huge advantage, running a successful kiosk is a discipline that begins long before the first product is offered for sale. Kiosk owners who are focused in their design, marketing, and product selection stand the best chance of success. Those who are relaxed, thinking that just being in a busy mall environment and offering a bunch of loosely connected “popular” products will guarantee sales, risk failure.
As competition in retail intensifies, the future of the convenience store bottom line is coming into focus: food. Experts and industry advocates say that after decades of selling packaged foods, candy, and maybe the occasional roller hot dog or nacho tray, convenience stores are rapidly breaking new ground in the food service business. They are adding deli counters, salad bars, and even haute cuisine.
Retailers are in full back-to-school mode, and with good reason. More than 50 million students will be going back to school this year, and many will need school supplies, clothes and other items that will be purchased during the summer shopping season. This typically runs from Memorial Day to Labor Day, making it the second busiest shopping event of the year.
Annual sales for men’s grooming products reached $3 billion in 2012, and are projected to grow to $6.1 billion by 2017. For the first time in history, men spent more cash on male-specific toiletries in 2013 than on shaving products. Retailers big and small are taking notice, and are betting big that the trend will only continue to grow.