Ideas, information and industry news for collegiate retailers

Whether they like it or not, students are most likely going to need their textbooks if they want to be as successful as possible in their pursuit of higher education. But with the costs of both tuition and course materials rising exponentially above the rate of inflation, are students able to afford to be successful? According to figures from the United States Department of Labor and CollegeBoard.org, from 1986 to 2014, overall inflation rose by 115%, but tuition and fees increased by 365% and college textbooks have gone up by 82% in just the last 10 years.

When the Flyer Spirit Store at the University of Dayton decided it was time to open up a new space, they didn’t have to look far.

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Like many stores, the Randolph-Macon Campus Store had a loyalty program. Students earned points on applicable purchases, which they could use to go online within a year of earning the points to create an order for gift cards, in $5 increments. The store would then create the gift certificate in-store on its POS, which they'd either mail to students or send the students an email letting them to know they could pick it up themselves. Those gift cards also had a one-year shelf life before expiring.

Have you ever thought about what you'd include in your store if you could buy and install whatever you'd like? Maybe you'd start with a security upgrade, or perhaps you'd want a brand new POS - it's up to you! If you haven't, check out this list and see if there's anything you might want to add to that wish list of yours. Check out our list. 

Today’s textbook market is more competitive. College stores now competes with thousands of online sellers, from Amazon to individual sellers. This gives the student shopper hundreds — if not thousands — of options for acquiring their course materials, as well as the means to easily compare prices. One way for stores to compete is by augmenting their traditionally-obtained inventory with sourcing through the marketplace. To learn more about how new avenues of sourcing can benefit your store, check out this Q&A from President of MBS Textbook Exchange LLC David Henderson. 

Creating fun ways for students to interact with your store early on in their college experience is crucial to your long-term success. If you can establish a positive relationship from the jump, then you very well may have earned a loyal customer for the next four years, if not even further.

Few things can be as big of a deal as remodeling your store. It gives stores the opportunity to expand, offer new services and even rebrand, as well as create a general air of excitement among students and alumni who want to see the new store once it's complete. A remodel could even significantly boost sales.

Unfortunately, it can also be a big headache. Even if you time your store's renovation with subsequent construction on campus like a new student union, a complete remodel is a very expensive and time-consuming venture. Furthermore, it can interfere with your business to have entire sections of your store closed off for weeks at a time while building teams work.

Do you worry your store looks stale but you don't have the money, time or resources to do a full-scale remodel? Don't worry, you can freshen up your store's look every few years if you need to, without breaking the bank. Use these tips to give your store a face lift, on a budget.

Summer’s nearing, and the days are getting longer… and longer… and longer. Soon they’ll hit their peak, with the longest day of the year, and people will want to take advantage of each and every hour of summer they can get.

In their combined 40+ years of experience, De Azna College Bookstore Director Kelly Swanson and Foothill College Bookstore Director Romy Paule have seen a lot of change in the industry.