Let's face it: it's a tough time for retailers. Even though the holiday season is upon us, store owners are struggling for ways to stand out. As the New York Times recently reported, some have resorted to some unusual tactics.
-Seventh Goddess, a lingerie boutique in Albuquerque, N.M., has been the site of several special events. Owner Deborah Reese opted out of supplementing her advertising budget, instead pouring the funds into in-store promotional activities. She recently hosted a Sex and the City pajama party with a manicurist and aesthetician on-site, and a party for men will take place shortly. (The male-centric fete will feature models in the store's styles.) Seventh Goddess will also have an erotic poetry reading on Valentine's Day. Reese said she sold "dozens of pajamas" at the Sex and the City party and hundreds of bras and panties at a men's event last year. "Events are cheap publicity," Reese told the Times. "People who ordinarily wouldn't come, come. You just have to spring for the munchies and drinks."
-Mary Hughes, the owner of Mary's Futons in San Rafael, Calif., established a series of comedy nights. Attendees recline on the futons to watch the performers, and many patrons return to the store to seek out that soft surface where they rested the night before. Hughes sells tickets, the proceeds of which go to the comedians and the show's producer, and also sells raffle tickets and snacks.
-Kimberly Smith-Johnson, a former comic store owner, put on monthly art shows. Nonetheless, her store couldn't drum up enough business to stay open.
Experts interviewed by the Times warn that just putting on the event isn't enough. Not only does it need to be more than a way to lure people into a store, but it's important to contact local bloggers and media, create fliers and calendars to hand out in store, and purchase concessions for the expected crowd.
"Events have been the best marketing tool, but they have to be genuine," Smith-Johnson, the erstwhile comic store owner, advised the Times. "It has to be about the artist and the event, not about bottom-line sales. People will pick up on the tone if it's not."
Source: New York Times
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