After a really slow end to October and a slow start to November, possibly because everyone spent their money on Battle for Zendikar earlier in the month, as some other stores who also had slow sales suggested, or due to anticipation of the release of Fallout 4 (the website Pornhub reported a 10% drop in traffic the day Fallout 4 released and you know it is serious if people cut back on their pornography viewing), sales picked up significantly this week. At least here though, the releases of the Superman/Wonder Woman HeroClix and Amazing Spider-Man Dice Masters sets from WizKids and the November Paizo releases for Pathfinder were met with a collective "Eh" from my customers, though I have heard of strong sales for Superman/Wonder Woman elsewhere.
Stores now are, or should be, preparing for the holiday shopping season which, despite the best efforts of the mass merchants who started putting out Christmas items before Halloween, still kicks off Thanksgiving weekend, with Black Friday and Small Business Saturday, though it appears that American Express, the main force behind Small Business Saturday, has shown much less interest in the event this year. We only received one email reminding us about it, compared to the barrage of emails we received in past years and I have not heard of any other stores planning to make a major event of it. They are either focusing on Black Friday, or if they carry comics and signed up, Local Comic Shop Day.
We prepared this weekend by doing two things. No, no Christmas decorations up yet. I may be old-fashioned but I still believe Christmas décor goes up after Thanksgiving. Instead, we did the following:
- Stole an idea from Family Fun Hobbies and Gnome Games and created Christmas Surprise Gift Envelopes. Starting Thanksgiving afternoon (we will open from 4 to 9 p.m. with boardgaming and ham and turkey for those customers that stop by), until they run out, any customer buying $30 or more will receive a sealed envelope containing a ticket entitling them to a small gift from the store. However, they have to bring the envelope, still sealed, back to the store on December 6th and open it in front of a staff member to receive the gift. This accomplishes two things. First, since our average sale is around $24, it encourages customers to up their purchase to receive the envelope; and second, it brings them back into the store a second time before Christmas on a Sunday, typically a slower day during the holiday season. Family Fun Hobbies has used this promotion for several years with quite a bit of success.
- Moved our clock to a side room. It may not seem like a big thing but take a look around the next mall store, discounter or even restaurant you visit. One thing you won’t see is a clock. There’s a reason for that. Those stores do not want customers paying attention to the time, since, if you do not notice the time, you are more likely to stay longer in the store and the longer you stay in the store, the more likely you are to buy. That is why the very nice clocks that Wizards of the Coast has given us over the years are all in side rooms or the back gaming area. Yes, people can check the time on their cell phones but most people forget about doing so while shopping and the research says the longer you can keep someone in your store, the more likely they are to spend money.
The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff of ICv2.com.
