Ideas, information and industry news for collegiate retailers

It’s no secret students aren’t thrilled with the amount they receive back on textbooks in comparison to what they spend at the beginning of the semester. More services pop up online that promise better buyback rates every year. With increasing competition, make sure your store doesn’t fall behind on promoting this spring’s buyback with these six ideas on how to increase student traffic.

As food insecurity and homelessness among college students grow, the once parodied image of the starving student eating everything in sight ceases to be a laughing matter. Higher education for many is the pursuit of a better life. Along the journey toward that idealized destination, some students will face near-impossible hardships: surviving on one — if that — meal a day, finding a safe place to sleep each night and struggling to make it through each day until graduation. Without assistance, some will be forced to drop out.

Buyback will be here before you know it. Do you have plan? How will you get the word out to students about where and when they can sell back their books? Do you have an incentive for them to choose your store rather than the competition? If these questions have filled you with anxiety, have no fear. We have gathered some easily-implemented ideas your store can use to ensure your buyback is a success.

The end of the semester is a busy time for college stores. Finding time to promote buyback and balance the rest of your responsibilities is a challenge. There are only so many hours in a day and so many directions you can be pulled. That’s why it is important to find easy-to-use solutions that save time, inform students and streamline your diverse duties. MBS Systems inSite offers an easy way for students to receive a personalized, automated buyback reminder that tells them the value of their book.

Using your college store’s system is an essential part of day-to-day operations. Make sure you and your employees stay up to date with the latest developments and capabilities of MBS Systems. Join us in Columbia, Missouri, this April for our free training forum!

Generation Z students have set themselves apart from millennials and Gen X in more ways than just their comfort-level with technology. The young, pragmatic generation’s attitude about education and debt is changing the educational landscape. Here’s what you need to know.

Retail markets have peaks and valleys in customer traffic. Turning the slower months into growth for your college store can be the difference between an average year and a great year. However, this is easier said than done. Start with developing a plan for the slower months. Sometimes the tried-and-true events work best. People know what to expect and how everything works. That same familiarity, though, can be an antithesis of excitement. This year, embrace change and do something you have never done before.

Whether you are speaking to faculty, students or alumni, email can increase engagement and drive your desired outcome. However, you need an effective strategy to ensure your emails are opened. The time of day, the day of the week, length of your subject line, whether the message is rich or plain text, all contribute to the likelihood of your message being opened. Today, we’re going to go over the best practices you can easily implement to boost your email engagement.

Course materials play a pivotal role in student success. Whether or not students have their materials by the start of class can have a significant impact on their ability to keep up with the course. It also affects how teachers are able to do their job. How have the recent changes in the educational landscape influenced course materials and students’ expectations?

We talk a lot about customer service because we believe that relationships are an important part of business. Anyone can talk a good game for a short period of time when they want something, but day in and day out dedication is rare. Real connections between businesses take more than an email or single sales call, and that’s what MBS Wholesale provides. When we welcome a new partner school they become part of our family — their success is our success.