Ideas, information and industry news for collegiate retailers

“Print is dead.”

“Digital will never last.”

Everyone has an opinion about the print vs. digital debate. Facts and figures can be quoted for both sides, making a compelling argument for each. The cost of print can be too much for students to shoulder. Retention is harder to achieve with digital. Back and forth, the argument can go on forever because the truth is neither platform is inherently bad or good. Both have unique pros and cons that make the decision about which one to choose nearly impossible.

As spring rolls in, course material adoptions come back to the forefront of concerns. Finding ways to communicate the importance of early adoptions to faculty can be a challenge. Are you doing enough? Are you doing too much? Students, faculty and college stores benefit from working together. Finding that happy medium where the faculty is informed enough to understand the importance to the student and the store, but does not feel harassed about the subject requires finesse. Here are four best practices when building professional relationships that will create a lasting rapport.

Students continuously cycle through campus, but is one group of students really that different than the next? According to generational research, yes. Each generation has different expectations, goals, preferences and views of the world. Gen Z is no exception. Even down to social media habits, this group distinguishes themselves from their millennial predecessors. Understanding Gen Z’s relationship with social media and retail will help you improve the way your store uses social media to connect with the students on your campus.   

Major social media platforms, from Facebook to Snapchat, are looking at ways to attract business advertisers. While Facebook has been offering advertising solutions for years, Snapchat is new to the game. Both companies, however, have recently made announcements about new opportunities for businesses on their platform. Here’s what you need to know.

The demand for an education that is affordable, accessible and personalized is driving innovation and creating new opportunities for students to save money on the course materials vital to their collegiate success. Publisher rentals are the latest industry solution that emerged from student-driven conversations about the effect of course materials on their educational experience.

After combing through the dark, dusty, digital corners of the internet, I have compiled a list of do’s and don’ts for turning your Snapchat account into a must follow for students, alumni, and faculty and staff.

A customer walks into your store, eyes glued to their phone. Barely acknowledging the employee’s greeting, they wander through the store briefly before leaving without making a purchase. This is common in retail. Consumers are distracted, and it is hard to get their attention. That’s where smart beacons can change the store’s interaction with the customer, making the experience better for both.

You are five minutes late to meet a friend, but you also have to pick up a couple things before the store closes. You rush inside the store, hoping to get in and out quickly. Immediately you are greeted by rows of overstuffed shelves with more merchandise that you can take in at a glance. You scan the store looking for someone to help you or a sign pointing you in the way you need to go. You only see flashy, red sale signage and uninterested faces. Already late, you squeeze your way through the aisles searching for the few things that you needed to pick up. Your phone rings. It’s your friend asking where you are. You shove the items you managed to find onto the shelves and leave because you don’t have time to deal with it right now.

A growing number of students are choosing not to purchase their course materials because of the cost associated with them. The practice causes the problems one would expect: more student stress as their grades take a hit, teacher frustration at students not being prepared and a lot of finger-pointing from everyone. The students blame the bookstore and the school. The bookstore could have had better prices on inventory if the faculty had their adoptions in on time. The faculty, in turn, are unaware of how their role can impact the cost to the student. Few people outside of the college store understand the whole process beginning to end — but everyone has an opinion. People want more cost-savings options. After new, used and digital course materials, what’s left? Rental.

A student stares down at rows of books, perplexed, eyebrows drawn together as she squints at the shelf tags between the constant stream of other students shuffling by. To her left, another student stands with his friends trying to look up the books he needs online.