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My first daughter was born in 1999 and the second in 2002. It’s a safe assumption that I’ve spent thousands of dollars on those two at Toys R Us.<\/p>\nMy first daughter was born in 1999 and the second in 2002. It’s a safe assumption that I’ve spent thousands of dollars on those two at Toys R Us.<\/p>\n
Now, I daily receive an email from the chain with some variation of the subject line “All Our Stores Are Closing: Up to 30% OFF Storewide!” Who could have imagined a world in which Toys R Us couldn’t survive? Welcome to the Amazon era for retail.<\/p>\n
Already in 2018, retailers ranging from Foot Locker to Abercrombie & Fitch have announced more than 2,000 store closings<\/a>. This post isn’t about the death of retail, though. It’s about how retailers have to adapt in an economy where everything is just a click away on your cellphone.<\/p>\n Francesca Nicasio<\/a> tracks retail trends nationwide with her VendHQ blog, which is one of the most read in the industry<\/a>. This past week, she talked to retailers and outlined 17 ways to drive foot traffic. Essentially, retailers have to up their game. Nicasio’s tips:<\/p>\n We started really researching retail trends recently (alliteration is fun on occasion) when we started working with Poopsie’s in Galena, Illinois<\/a>. Galena is one of several places that President U.S. Grant called home. Grant was working in Galena when the Civil War broke out. He left the city to enlist, and the rest is history. Galena annually celebrates the President’s April birthday, and you can tour Grant’s home throughout the year.<\/p>\n What really makes Galena fun, though, is its flourishing main street. It’s Main Street shopping corridor is listed as one of America’s Best Main On April 20, to kick off the annual Grant birthday celebration weekend, Poopsie’s is celebrating the launch of a redesigned website with new targeted online shopping tools. The new Poopsies.com features:<\/p>\n Turner keeps up on retail trends and how to make her store an experience even among the dozens of quirky shops in Galena. The April 20 Poopsie’s LIVE Day will feature hourly discounts and giveaways in store and online, a scavenger hunt and partnering with a local nonprofit community center to help it raise money for a new building. Each of these are examples cited by Nicasio.<\/p>\n \u201cThe retail business is always changing, and we embrace challenges,\u201d Turner said. \u201cOur online shopping selector and Poopsie\u2019s Live feature will help us create new fans and followers. The fun in retail is trying to figure out what shoppers want and being able to deliver it to them, whether it\u2019s in the store or online.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" My first daughter was born in 1999 and the second…<\/p>\n\n
A fun, funky store in Galena<\/h3>\n
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Streets by Fodor’s Travel Guide<\/a>, Archtecturaldigest.com<\/a>\u00a0and Travelandleisure.com<\/a>. Poopsie’s has been an anchor of that corridor for more than 25 years. Alana Turner bought Poopsie’s in 2010 and she doesn’t see Amazon as the death of Main Street. She sees online shopping as a natural evolution in retail, and only those who adapt survive in evolution.<\/p>\n\n