The day after Thanksgiving has become as sacred to retailers as
any nationally-recognized holiday. The revenue they reap can make
up for an entire year of lackluster sales. With another Black Friday
approaching, the
Enterprise Center's
Retail Resource Network (RRN) wants to
ensure that Philadelphia's commercial corridors get the most they can
out of this holiest of shopping days. This Wednesday (Nov. 17), RRN hosts the
Visual Merchandising Workshop, an annual event to help retailers with
everything from holiday window displays to store layouts, all in the
name of a successful holiday season.
"This workshop touches on the psychology of the shopper," says Retail
Resource Network Director Andy Toy. "How you light your storefront, the
types of colors you use, the way the aisles are laid out. If done right,
it will definitely increase the amount of sales a business can make per
shopper and just get people in the store."
The Retail Resource Network is a division of the Enterprise Center that
helps retail businesses around the city connect with the resources they
need--whether it be funding, consulting or supply chain--to be
successful. Toy says that simple things--not having too many stickers on
your windows, creating wider aisles--can have a great impact on
business. Not only do these workshops seek to help retailers but if the
Enterprise Center can target the Black Friday mobs to one store, their
hope is that traffic to the rest of the commercial corridor would
increase, making it a Happy Holiday for the whole neighborhood.
"If we improve one storefront on a commercial corridor, we will bring
more people to that area," says Toy. "That helps improve business for
all the stores, makes it safer because there are more people on the
street and encourages others to do likewise."
Source: Andy Toy, Retail Resource Network
Writer: John Steele