So Witt has created a store that aims to feel like a home. She serves food and snacks, and helps shoppers put outfits together. She’s invited other local businesses to sell in her store, giving her customers something else to consider if they don’t feel like buying clothes.
As small and independent retailers begin the holiday shopping season, they’re finding ways to give shoppers a reason to spend with them, not at the big stores like Target, Walmart and not with Amazon and other online merchants. For many store owners, the answer is to give customers a unique experience, one that’s more personal and emotional than at the big boxes, and to provide services that outweigh the convenience of ordering from online sellers. The steps they take can be obvious, like offering special holiday merchandise, or they can be subtle, like changing signs in stores or the look of a website.
Aware that customers might prefer shopping on Amazon because they don’t have to leave the house, Witt has added a shopping service. She and her staff take a customer’s gift list and finds items that fit.
“If we do not have it, we will still source items from other retailers for them,” Witt says.
Many toy retailers create a unique experience for shoppers by allowing them, even younger ones, to play with the merchandise. At Finnegan’s Toys and Gifts, there are age and size appropriate tables and chairs so children and adults can engage with the toys and the store itself, says Karen Leppmann, owner of the Portland, Oregon, shop.
This story is from the November 29, 2019 edition of AppleMagazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the November 29, 2019 edition of AppleMagazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
EUROPEAN UNION QUESTIONS TIKTOK ON NEW APP THAT PAYS USERS FOR WATCHING
European Union regulators said this week they're seeking details from TikTok on a new app from the video sharing platform that pays users to watch videos.
UBER AND LYFT DELAY THEIR PLANS TO LEAVE MINNEAPOLIS AFTER OFFICIALS PUSH BACK DRIVER PAY PLAN
The ride-hailing companies Uber and Lyft said they will delay their planned exit from Minneapolis after city officials decided to push back the start of a driver pay raise by two months.
FACED WITH POSSIBLY PAYING FOR NEWS, GOOGLE REMOVES LINKS TO CALIFORNIA NEWS SITES FOR SOME USERS
Google began removing California news websites from some people's search results, a test that acted as a threat should the state Legislature pass a law requiring the search giant to pay media companies for linking to their content.
NASA IS SEEKING A FASTER AND CHEAPER WAY TO BRING MARS SAMPLES TO EARTH
NASA's plan to bring samples from Mars back to Earth is on hold until there's a faster, cheaper way, space agency officials said.
TESLA TO ASK SHAREHOLDERS TO REINSTATE $55 BILLION PAY PACKAGE FOR MUSK REJECTED BY DELAWARE JUDGE
Tesla will ask shareholders to reinstate a compensation package for CEO Elon Musk potentially worth $55 billion that was rejected by a judge in Delaware this year and to move the electric car maker's corporate home from Delaware to Texas.
MASSACHUSETTS OFFICIAL WARNS AI SYSTEMS SUBJECT TO CONSUMER PROTECTION.ANTI-BIAS LAWS
Developers, suppliers, and users of artificial intelligence must comply with existing state consumer protection, anti-discrimination, and data privacy laws, the Massachusetts attorney general cautioned this week.
NISSAN SAYS IT WILL MAKE NEXT-GENERATION EV BATTERIES BY EARLY 2029
Nissan expects to mass produce electric vehicles powered by advanced next-generation batteries by early 2029, the company said this week during a media tour of an unfinished pilot plant.
BIDEN ADMINISTRATION AGREES TO PROVIDE $6.4 BILLION TO SAMSUNG FOR MAKING COMPUTER CHIPS IN TEXAS
The Biden administration has reached an agreement to provide up to $6.4 billion in direct funding for Samsung Electronics to develop a computer chip manufacturing and research cluster in Texas.
ONLY 26% OF AMERICANS SAY THEY GET AT LEAST EIGHT HOURS OF SLEEP, NEW GALLUP POLL SAYS
If you’re feeling — YAWN — sleepy or tired while you read this and wish you could get some more shut-eye, you’re not alone.
APPLE CEO SAYS COMPANY WILL 'LOOK AT' MANUFACTURING IN INDONESIA
\"We talked about the president's desire to see manufacturing in the country, and it's something that we will look at,\" Cook told reporters after the meeting.