How to adapt when what you’re selling is stuff.
More and more people are shifting the way they celebrate the holidays, including simplifying and focusing less on stuff and more on joy. People want a holiday wrapped in meaning, not just more stuff. How can your business adapt – especially if you sell stuff? Think outside the (gift) box.
Accessibility is the New Ownership
As a generation, millennials increasingly desire access to stuff to use when they need it, but without the hassle of storing and maintaining it. This is also percolating throughout our culture as new models of the sharing economy emerge. Do you have items you could rent? Rentals aren’t just for gear like bikes, kayaks and skis. Successful companies like Rent the Runaway do exactly that – rent high end dresses and accessories women can rent for an event they want to dress up for. Do you have any items that could be rented for short term use? Are there items that would complement your current business that you could offer for rent?
Make Memories, Not Garbage
Can you remember what you got as gifts last year? Chances are, if you got a unique experience, that’s what you recall first. If your business offers any kind of experience, be sure to let your customers know about that via your advertising and communication outreach efforts, then make it easy for them to purchase. If your shop offers goods, can you offer a tailored service or special event? A clothing store could offer personalized outfit makeovers, a gallery could facilitate a meet the artist event, a home goods store could offer a design consultation. What services could you offer that would be a unique gift for the right person?
Gift Cards For Everyone
Whether you offer experiences, services, rentals or goods – you can increase your holiday income by offering gift cards for sale on your website. Online gift cards open up opportunities for far away family members to buy gift cards for their families right here in Central Oregon, getting them exactly what they want or need. If you don’t, you’re losing out to big box stores. If you do this already, be sure to let your customers know so they can tell their families, and then highlight it on your website and email communications to your existing customer base. If you haven’t done this yet, a quick Google search turns up a variety of companies that make customized gift cards. Make it your business New Years’ Resolution and make it happen in 2015.
The Rethink Waste Project is a program of The Environmental Center to help our community prevent and reduce waste, and increase recycling and composting.
Learn more at www.RethinkWasteProject.org
