There’s a lot on students’ minds. Right now, the businesses that can provide them with the easy and convenient options they are looking for can win their business. We have selected three ways college stores are going above and beyond to provide students with better, more convenient service.
Spring and summer buyback were challenging for college stores. Stores needed a plan that would ensure student and staff health and safety and follow local, state and federal guidelines as they constantly evolved. Peninsula College Bookstore looked at the resources available to them and decided to offer students buyback quotes through virtual video chats.
For the Washington and Lee University Store, detailed reporting is a must. They partnered with MBS Store Technology Solutions for their collegiate retail system in 2015 and found that the stronger, more detailed reporting better served their business intelligence needs.
When you walk into a department store and see a clearance rack, you probably check it out. The same is true for online shopping. When that Instagram ad catches your eye or you are simply in the mood to shop online, you still want a great deal. A dedicated clearance page on your site highlights the merchandise you need to move, makes it easy for customers to find a great deal and will inspire customers to visit your site more often.
The UMBC Bookstore’s Yum Shoppe has always been a student favorite. Bookstore Director Erin McGonigle remembers being a Yum Shoppe addict when she was a student. For the UMBC community, it truly is the convenience store with more. So, what do they do to inspire such student, alumni and community loyalty?
Every college store knows how important on-time faculty adoptions are. On-time adoptions can help lower costs for the store and the students. Adoptions also ensure the store has adequate time to source the materials it will need for the upcoming term and improve student buyback rates. However, there can be a disconnect between the campus store and faculty when it comes to faculty adoptions. In 2010, Utah State University changed how it handles faculty adoptions and it now averages a 94% on-time faculty adoptions rate.
On-time faculty adoptions can have a significant impact on college stores and students. They help you get more low-cost course materials and offer students better buyback rates. However, in these uncertain times, faculty may once again delay selecting course materials for the next term because they aren’t sure whether their classes will be online, in person or a combination. So, how can MBS inSite help streamline the faculty adoption process and fulfill your wantlist?
Social media can help drive store traffic (both in-store and online), and it can even be an additional revenue stream for your college store. That’s why it is worth devoting time to strengthen your social media presence and maximize student engagement. We recently sat down with Salisbury University Bookstore’s Merchandiser Bryan Hailey and Merchandiser Emily Davis to discuss their store’s approach to social media marketing.
What does your college store website tell shoppers about your store? As the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the world, eCommerce sites became the only connection to customers for many retail stores. More so than ever before, your store website is a vitally important revenue source.
Preparing for the fall term was not an easy feat. Shocker Stores Director Andi Stipp at Wichita State University has been working since the COVID-19 outbreak to make contingency plans. When her school announced they would return to campus for fall, Ms. Stipp knew the next step her store needed to take was to minimize in-store rush traffic as much as possible.
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