The Friday following Thanksgiving is generally the worst food-shopping day of the year for supermarkets across the country. If not the lowest sales day of the year, it’s certainly in the top five! Accordingly, many retailers “give up” on sales for the long weekend following Thanksgiving. Many even cancel their weekly ad Thanksgiving week. Is this a good strategy or a self-fulfilling prophecy?

As your loyal, core customers age, it becomes more critical to really understand younger customers. The children of the Baby Boomers, often referred to as “Gen Y” or “Millenials”, are being courted by national chains. And as the first group of Millenials turns 30 this year, it’s past time to pay attention to these 80 million potential customers.

Special events, eye-catching displays and seasonally themed promotions that create a fun and unique shopping experience for customers of all ages. Here are three fall-inspired ideas to help you make the most of the upcoming fall season:

We believe that “customer experience” is critical, and “getting it right” is obviously key. Like first impressions, you only get one chance to get experience right. Research has shown that experience motivates consumers to action, action that either leads to repurchase or retreat – to another brand, store, etc. Consumers will continue to choose among a wide array of channels that provide the most compelling experiences relevant for a given occasion. Experiences need not be limited only to highly differentiated specialty retailers (e.g., Whole Foods Market, Central Market, Wegman’s). For many consumers Trader Joe’s and Costco deliver very compelling experiences relevant to pantry stocking and entertaining occasions. Five dimensions of compelling customer experience are: 1. Authenticity – Authentic experiences need not be sophisticated or elaborate, but they must be believable. Authentic retail experiences encourage unscripted employee/consumer interaction and frank exchange of opinions, beliefs and ideas. 2. Community – Consumers want to feel as if they are part of an experience which extends beyond the level of basic economic transaction. Ideally, consumers desire that their retailers are a reflection of their local way of life in their communities. Consumers want to believe that they are as vested in this experience as [...]

I’d like you to take just 10 minutes to take note of something you probably don’t pay much attention to, but that your customers notice every time they shop your store. Look at what is hanging from the ceiling and the walls of your store, and ask yourself, “What does this say to our customers about our brand?”

Most retail businesses in America believe that they offer good customer service, but in reality, the opposite is probably more accurate. Why? With the daily demands of performing repetitive tasks in a highly productive environment, employees are often oblivious to customers and their needs.