​By Moe Lastfogel
Director of Sales and Marketing for The Retail Observer

October is here and many of your customers are making preparations for their annual haunted house or spooky front yard. The stores that sell seasonal products have already gotten ready for the holiday season. I have just started to take inventory of all the halloween props I have and am getting ready to visit the local halloween haunts near me for some new ideas and inspirations. I know exactly where to go for the most unique and ghoulish decorations in town and it is likely your customers do as well. My favorite spots are usually smaller shops that I find when I’m on the road but I also source from the usual local retail haunts.

Halloween is the second largest holiday in retail topped only by Christmas. Being a huge halloween fan myself, I’ve seen the seasonal retail business growing immensely over the past decade or so. Retailers are getting more sophisticated and carrying a larger selection of items for the avid collector. The desire for better products has risen causing a larger demand for more choices and better quality. Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes, At Home, Big Lots and even the Dollar Tree have taken advantage of the added revenue numbers as more and more people are taking this holiday to the extreme.

​As entertaining at home continues to be a viable option for families, many independents are profiting from adding on these seasonal items year-round for various holidays. Getting started is as easy as placing small items near the cash registers for impulse sales or making a space for a display in the back of the store. This will not only draw in more traffic but will force customers to walk by general merchandise. The key is not to replicate what can be found in the big box stores. Instead, find a line of unique or novelty items that customers won’t be able to find anywhere else. You will have loyal customers like me coming back year after year to add to their collection, and not just waiting until they need a new refrigerator or a sofa to come in. As your customers’ haunted houses and their desire for better products grow, so can your bottom line.

​Happy Haunting,
Moe Lastfogel
moe@retailobserver.com

As you look to the right of this article you will see a list of buying groups and associations that make up the core of the Kitchen and Bath, Home Furnishings and Consumer Electronics industries. The Retail Observer proudly supports these group associations and actively participates in their tradeshows and industry events throughout the year. The ways independents can get ahead in today’s competitive environment through group associations are limitless! Think about it. We started with only 6,000 paper subscribers 12 years ago and now The Retail Observer is delivered to more than 18,000 locations in North America, has more than 6,500 digital subscribers and is available to over 125,000 people in more than 37 countries through social media sites with more than 35k hits to the website monthly.

That’s proof of how leveraging your membership with these associations can increase your exposure and help your business grow. Using all of the member benefits available to you through your buying groups and associations will no doubt have an impact on your business. But the key is to go beyond just being a member. Here are a few ideas on how to supercharge your partnerships!

• Local magazines and newspapers are always asking organizations for expert commentators or guest articles to fill space in their publications. Why not contact your association’s media relations person and let them know that you or someone on your staff is interested in contributing to a monthly feature or providing quotes for their press releases?
• Does your group have an “Ask the Experts” panel discussion at their tradeshow or member meetings where you could publicly share your knowledge as a dealer? Maybe they have a special booth or speaker presentation that your business could sponsor. Even if they don’t, it wouldn’t hurt to lay your ideas on the table. Co-branding with your buying groups and associations on the local level is another great opportunity.
• Minor league ball games and other community events that are well attended and fit your business model could attract customers for you and new members for them. Buying group and association partnerships have allowed us to reach more readers with an informative monthly magazine. They have also been vital catalysts for the success of the independent dealer. We look forward to hearing about the new opportunities you’ve harnessed through your buying groups and associations.

Happy Retailing,
Moe Lastfogel
moe@retailobserver.com