Merchant Method Retail Trends

5 Steps to Sell Slow-Moving Stock

10/17/2017

Here’s the thing to keep in mind about slow-moving stock — not every item you bring into your store or that you sell is going to be a winner.

Unfortunately, this is a reality of merchandising and selling.

Some items are top-sellers, star performers. Others are slow-sellers, dogs. Blame it on the human condition. Despite retail art and retail science, there’s no accounting for taste. Even within your narrowly-defined customer demographic.

5 Things Everyone Needs to Know About Retail and Manufacturing

10/10/2017

Photography by Janette Casolary

Last week over 100 people gathered to listen as a group of talented professionals and committed volunteers shared their views on what everyone needs to know about retail and manufacturing.

We attracted leaders from many other fields — tech entrepreneurs, educators, multi-passionate creatives, attorneys, restaurateurs… you get the idea. We were also lucky enough to hear from like-minded professionals in retail — shop owners, designers, professional craftspersons, and many more.

After gathering feedback, synthesizing the conversations, and pulling together the insights and resources from our presenters, five things jumped out to me as principles everyone needs to know about retail and manufacturing.

Merchant Method Double Feature

9/29/2017

As we count down the days to Seattle Startup Week, the content-rich presentations and discussions aren't the only things on my mind.

Though it's been quiet here I've been answering interview questions all summer long. I still don't like talking about myself but I do enjoy talking about my first love: shopping!

Each interview felt like a business retreat, an opportunity to revisit the places, products, processes, and people that inspire me and my work. I also got better acquainted with some of my favorite brands like Shopify, Vend, Big Cartel, and Dôr.

This week two of these interviews published back-to-back. Though one's about me (I did mention I don't like talking about myself, right?), they both have you, dear Merchant, at heart.

Click on a headline to read along:

Behind the Counter: Chris Guillot, Merchant Method (Dôr Technologies)

Don't forget to join me for Seattle Startup Week. I'd love to introduce you to the talented, passionate folks from Dôr. Joanna Rutter is joining me in a conversation about the state of the retail industry. Sean Lakind is sharing much needed information about the importance of understanding how weather impacts your store foot traffic and what to do about it.

Serial Events: How to Build Community and Customer Loyalty (Shopify)

I'm thrilled that our community event series has been featured by Shopify three times! This month I sat down with writer Alexandra Sheehan to explore what makes serial events sticky and why you should get your hands "dirty."

Creating Community (and Loyal Customers)

8/22/2017

Being well-connected can mean different things. For some, it means having influential and powerful friends. For others, it might mean having a large number of casual contacts. As independent retailers, our focus should be on finding our tribe and doing what we can to connect with them authentically.

However you choose to connect with others, when you can create and nurture your community, you will build more loyal personal and professional connections. This is the fundamental value of customer relationship management (CRM), which is focused on automation and software tools for enterprise businesses. Unfortunately, those tools are cost prohibitive for many small businesses.

So, in the absence of a robust CRM system, how do small businesses create community, loyalty, and repeat customers?

Ensuring a Successful Holiday Season

8/15/2017

Raise your hand, Merchant, if you’re already thinking about November and December. There remain plenty of summer days and nights to enjoy but we both know that now is the time to plan your most successful holiday season yet.

This holiday season will be full of inspired and creative merchandising as well as customer-friendly price points, but only if we do our work now. The best of the best beloved shopping experiences, those with execution tactics that appear just right and that produce effortless customer experiences, are born from great effort followed up by disciplined execution.

Craving a New Direction

8/8/2017

As creative entrepreneurs—that’s you, that’s me—we recharge our creativity with more creative endeavors. It’s important to keep this in mind, to honor this aspect of ourselves, and to connect with others who need and support this practice.

Selling the Job

8/1/2017

Interviewing is a two-way street. Candidates are selling themselves and you, as the hiring manager, are selling the role, your leadership capacity, the company culture, and the value of the brand. Interviewers are being interviewed by candidates. They study your words and your actions. How you make them feel is an important part of the recruiting and hiring process.

In this week’s episode I share how to sell the job while you’re interviewing potential employees! Have a listen as I speak to the seller inside you.

Making Your Most Important Hire

7/17/2017

My forte is working on experimental retail projects. I love using my skills in innovative ways, stretching and growing along the way. Most of these projects have gone well, but not all of them. Looking back, in the projects that fizzled, I was trying to do too many things that were out of my wheelhouse. By focusing a bit more on my strengths and getting a little complementary help, those ventures could have accelerated faster.

In this week’s episode I share how to make your most important hire as the leader of an entrepreneurial venture—yourself! Have a listen as I speak to the recruiter and hiring manager inside you.

Most Likely to Become a Teacher

7/10/2017

Retail Shift Podcast Episode Mostly Likely to Become a Teacher | Visit merchantmethod.com

When I graduated high school I was voted Most Likely to Become a Teacher. Back then it seemed like a bad prediction. I was bound for business school and focused on becoming an entrepreneur and a retailer. It took me years to realize that the most beloved retailers (of all sizes) are just that—teachers.

In this week’s episode I share how my skills as a teacher and as a retailer are interdependent. Have a listen as I speak to the teacher inside you.

Try, Try Again

6/26/2017

Securing my first professional role in corporate retail was no easy task. After one, two, three failed attempts I came to learn that there are multiple ways to get what you want. In this week’s podcast episode I share my first job-seeking process and what I learned about going after what you want.

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