Main Street Matters By Michelle Owens - Executive Director, Tybee Island Development Authority/Main Street
Bye Bye Mallwart
You’ll never find my husband sitting on that red husband bench
outside of Seaside Sisters boutique.
To him that might as well be called the sissy bench. He didn’t rise to
the rank of Commander in the U.S. Submarine Force for nothing. True to
his alpha nature, he’s willing to lead the charge down aisles of colorful,
sparkly merchandise – touching, sniffing and chatting his way to the
cash register. While he appreciates the two-day delivery benefits of online
shopping, he’d prefer to brave an in person shopping expedition.
In fact, one weekend not so long ago, he grabbed his car keys and
headed for the door, saying he had to run to the hardware store. When
I asked what he needed to get, his shameless response was, “I don’t
know yet.” He just needed to go figure it out in the midst of nails, paint
and the smell of sawdust.
He and his ilk are the very reason why brick and mortar shopping,
despite dire predictions, will never go away. People will always crave
the social interaction, sensory stimulation and sense of accomplishment
that comes from shopping in a store. The better the store can make the
experience, the more likely people will navigate away from online retail
toward a local shop.
I recently attended a webinar on Main Street retail trends, which
touted “experiential retail,” as the secret to success for traditional retail
establishments. This is when a store offers other activities in addition
to selling, and shoppers do things at the store in addition to buying
merchandise. The retailer is offering consumers an enjoyable experience
along with their shopping excursion. This experience distinguishes the
store from others and gives shoppers a reason to return again and again.
Any store, no matter what they sell, can add a special experience.
You might not think buying a winter coat is a fun experience, but
one outerwear shop, mentioned in the webinar, added a cold room so
customers could experience how the product performed without waiting
for the first winter storm. Now they’re snowed under with business from
people who want to frolic in fake frosty weather.
One of my favorite craft stores, My Favorite Things©, is headquartered
in sleepy Eustis, Florida. Early on the founders realized the 20,000
residents in Eustis were not enough to keep them in business selling
papercrafting supplies, so they set about creating a unique experience.
The family that founded this store grew from a tiny, rented space to
owning their building – a historic, two-story brick building that serves as
a downtown Eustis cornerstone. It’s a treat to visit the historic storefront.
They mix retail and warehousing under their roof. Customers who visit
the store get a peek at the rows and rows of merchandise waiting to be
shipped out. That’s pretty cool to see if you’re a craft geek. They serve
as a community gathering spot, hosting sell out classes by well-known
crafters at the store. People like me drive from miles around to attend
these classes, and we’re so charged up on the experience we end up
charging up our credit cards with more merchandise that we hope will
draw out the experience once we get home!
Their online sales have earned them a global customer base and a
strong online community of fans all over the world. When you buy online,
your package arrives with a jelly bean and a handwritten note signed by
28 TYBEE BEACHCOMBER | JULY 2020
the person who packed your order. People get upset when the jelly bean
is left out of the order.
My Favorite Things has mastered experiential retail, and is a textbook
case of how small businesses can survive in these tough times.
Experiential retail is perfectly suited to a Main Street, where businesses
tend to be locally owned and more flexible. The big box, multi-national
chains are less able to adapt to this experiential retail trend in a timely
fashion, and thus they’re purging stores or going belly up.
In these uncertain times, shop owners have to play a mental game of
Pimp My Store, asking themselves how they expand their shops beyond
the expected, reach out to far away fans and customers, and make
customers want and need to visit the physical location. What unique and
enjoyable experience can you offer your clientele that the big box and the
online store can’t undercut?
That brings me back to why you won’t find my husband on the
sissy bench. He was more than happy to accompany me into Seaside
Sisters that day when I went to a book signing by Mary Kay Andrews,
a bestselling author who happens to be one of my favorites. There was
free wine, home-baked goods, and a friendly welcome by Joey, the shop
dog.
You can’t get that by shopping at Mega Mallwart or Mallwart.com.
/Mallwart.com