Home Accents Today welcomes new Retail Advisory Board
This month we welcome a new group of retailers to Home Accents Today's Retail Advisory Board and offer a big round of applause to our outgoing board members, whose insights, feedback and story ideas during the past few years were surpassed only by the great conversation shared during our market luncheons.
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Retailers benefit from ethnic design and merchandising strategies
In April, I blogged about a finding from WSL Strategic Retail's 11th biannual study, How America Shops. Since WSL's 10th study, the amount spent by African-American women on home decor has increased by 6% compared to decreases of 21% for Caucasian women and 30% for Hispanic women. WSL Senior Consultant Shilpa Rosenberry advised retailers to take note of the growing spending demographic.
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New legislation seeks to lower credit card processing fees
A subcommittee of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee recently began considering legislation that would control the rising interchange fees credit card companies charge to merchants who accept plastic from their customers. Titled the Credit Card Fair Fee Act of 2008 (H.R. 5546), the bill was introduced by Rep.
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Connecting design services to retail sales spurs sales tax questions
Several North Carolina interior design firms recently received past due notices from the state's Department of Revenue for sales taxes they failed to collect on their design and consultation services over the course of several years. Collecting sales tax from their customers on the purchase of furnishings, fabrics, draperies and other items — referred to by most state taxing authorities a...
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Planning for the tax rebate retail event
A $40 billion dollar shot of potential consumer spending in the form of tax rebates is about to be injected into the U.S. economy. And even though the economically stimulating checks aren't due to begin mailing for another month; stores have been busy for weeks planning special sales, promotions and in-store check-cashing services.
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Delivering that special something
For most home decor retailers and design boutiques, the ability to provide “something special” through customization and convenience is just as important as a well-edited merchandise selection. And for that, we can credit something that looks like this: a well-informed, time-strapped consumer who seeks meaning and authenticity in things and experiences.
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Delivering that special something
For most home decor retailers and design boutiques, the ability to provide “something special” through customization and convenience is just as important as a well-edited merchandise selection. And for that, we can credit something that looks like this: a well-informed, time-strapped consumer who seeks meaning and authenticity in things and experiences.
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Taking stock of shrinkage
For Atlanta retailers Deirdre Staab and Shelly Dozier-McKee, February is inventory month. One Saturday night after closing, a team of about 10 people from Regis Inventory Specialists will arrive at their store, the Scarlet Tassel, where they'll scan, count and enter data along with six store employees.
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What's out, what's in?
This month, home accent retailers share some insight about their merchandise — what's selling in stores and what's not. The retailers who contributed to this list are as diverse as their picks and pans, representing a variety of different styles, price points, geographic areas and operational practices.
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Profiting from propitious partnerships
Take a look at retailer Lynni Megginson's column on page 102 and you'll see why she's a Home Accents Today Retail Star as well as a member of our magazine's Retail Advisory Board. Ever mindful of a good marketing opportunity, Lynni, owner of L&M Designs of Gaithersburg, Md., discusses the value of building and forging business partnerships with people and companies outside your area of expe...
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Lower holiday spending challenges retailers to tweak and trim
Retailers have just started what may prove to be one of the most challenging holiday seasons in years. The National Retail Federation has predicted this year's holiday retail sales will rise just 4%, below the 10-year average of 4.8%. “Retailers are in for a somewhat challenging holiday season as consumers are faced with numerous economic obstacles,” said NRF Chief Economist Rosalin...
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Furniture bank association helps families in need, the environment and the business
"A major obstacle consumers face when contemplating the purchase of new furniture is what to do with their old furniture. It's a proven headache that causes them to procrastinate or, worse, spend those dollars on a high definition television." So says Don Lawrence of the non-profit National Furniture Bank Association, an umbrella organization of furniture banks across the country that puts used...
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New technologies help retailers become green
Environmental stewardship is on the minds of many, some more than others. That was one of the things that became clear early on while gathering information for this issue's green feature. While we were on the subject I asked a few retailers about which steps, if any, they were taking in their own stores to recycle and save energy.
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Event marketing provides edge for stores, vendors
Trunk shows, wine tastings, product demonstrations, fund-raising sales, free samples, table-setting parties ... more and more home furnishings vendors are taking their marketing efforts out of the showroom and on the retail road to drive sales in their customers' stores. Last year, OneCoast Sales Manager Barb Toback assembled an in-store events guide for her sales team that included not only ve...
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Setting the home stage can boost sales, drive design business for retailers
If you're familiar with the growing popularity of home staging as a way to boost the marketability of a residential property and you're a home furnishings retailer with a design business, then you've probably entertained at least a few thoughts about adding home staging to your menu of services. A partnership announced late last month at the International Association of Home Staging Professiona...
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Promoting the product: Retailers reveal what works at market
The question posed to Home Accents Today's Designer Insight panelists this month is about store "yucks" — common decorating or merchandising mistakes that might prompt customers to shorten their visit, or turn right around and walk out of the store. The designers' responses indicate a healthy respect for the subjectivity of taste, and give evidence of the sharp eye each has developed for ...
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Retail outlook: Analysts discuss trends, challenges, strategies for 2015
Last month in Chicago, analysts at TNS Retail Forward's Strategic Outlook Conference discussed how changing demographics will soon challenge retailers and suppliers to rethink the way they do business. Lois Huff, senior vice president for the research and consulting firm, was one of several analysts who described the impact of the aging and emerging shopper segments leading up to the year 2015 ...
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Retailers, designers, vendors sound off on knock-offs
In an industry that depends heavily on creative design, the lines between original and classic often become blurred as products are "refashioned," updated or repurposed to satisfy consumer demand. On the inside back page of our February issue, the members of Home Accents Today's designer panel shared their opinions on this subject, ranging from what Rick Janecek sees as a growing "desensitizati...
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Profiting from the perfect music mix
When you're in the business of selling a lifestyle, music can play a big role in developing a brand, creating a mood and attracting certain customers. Paul Thompson, VP of merchandising for OneCoast, begins his retailer merchandising seminars with the topic, stressing the importance of the music mix.
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