Subscribe Now!

Events Calendar

Online Product Catalogs

Manufacturers Directory

Product Update Pages

eBabyShop newsletter

Baby Shop Flipbook

What’s Secial About Your Specialty Store?

As an independent storeowner, you are by definition, a specialty storeowner. You have chosen to carve out a niche in the retail market, focusing on a particular type of merchandise. This is a positive move, particularly in today’s retail climate, where the landscape is filled with many big operators whose stores are mediocre, at best. You have many opportunities to capitalize on this advantage, and as a result, create a unique and interesting shopping experience for your customer.

While concentrating on one specific category of merchandise, you can really define your customer. Think of the possibilities…Say, for example, you have a maternity clothing store. You know that your customer is female and will probably range in age from 20-40. She either works or is a stay at home mom. She will need to replace her regular clothing with maternity clothing, likely purchasing the same categories of merchandise that she wears when she isn’t pregnant. If this is her first pregnancy, she needs to basically create an entirely new wardrobe, not just fill in with a few items for the new season as she might ordinarily do. Her maternity wardrobe will be a major investment, and by shopping at your store that is filled with nothing but maternity clothes, she will be well serviced, and you will benefit.

Niche Retailers
Niche retailers become the “experts” in the field, and should plan their assortments accordingly. Customers come to depend on specialty storeowners to comb the markets for the newest and most interesting items available in the marketplace. Nothing is more satisfying for a customer than to find something in a boutique that isn’t available in the big national chains, where piles of the same item appear on the racks. Many small manufacturers sell only to specialty retailers, because they don’t want the hassles of dealing with the “big boys.” Additionally, smaller retailers can make and act on buying decisions often in a timelier manner, because there are not multiple layers of management that sometimes need to weigh-in on inventory issues.

Specialty stores can offer other benefits for the customer, as well. Many creative entrepreneurs locate their businesses in unconventional spaces like old houses, former factories and warehouses. These places make for interesting, and sometimes unusual, merchandising opportunities. Using furniture pieces such as chairs and couches to display some of your inventory also are a nice change from basic racks. These unusual venues are often considered “fun” places to shop because they offer a different experience for the customer. Even independent stores located in major malls can take on their own personality by mixing up the display pieces and using unusual color combinations on the walls and floors.

In addition to the unique shopping environment, specialty stores can differentiate themselves by offering world-class customer service. Customers seek out stores that offer additional services such as complimentary gift-wrapping, alterations, special orders, trunk shows, and informed people to assist them. Regular training sessions for your associates are essential to give your store a leg up over your large store competitors. Creating a fun working environment for your employees will positively impact their interaction with customers-satisfied employees will be willing to go that extra mile to make a customer happy.

Specialty Store Retailers
Specialty store retailers can be more creative with their marketing techniques. One effective and cost efficient way, is to use customers as models. I know of one store that highlights a customer model on their website each month. As a thank - you, they reward the customer with a generous gift certificate to use in their store. Try to get involved in community organizations and offer to present a fashion show, using their members as models. Team up with a complementary store, and cross promote each other’s businesses-for example, a children’s store with a maternity store. Personalizing a newsletter with pictures of the staff or including a favorite recipe of the owner’s are other ways to make your operation more personal in the eyes of your customer. Of course, having a website to send out the latest news about your buying trips or store promotions is a low cost marketing tool.

Being a specialty store owner has its challenges, but also it affords one the opportunities to make your customer’s shopping experience fun and unique. Take the time to make your store a welcoming and a special place to shop.

Editorial provided by Nancy Proman. Nancy owned Maternal Instincts, a maternity clothing retailer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and is a partner in Dynamic Experiences Group, a retail consulting business.