A great retail experience can change how a customer perceives a store and its brand. However, in a campus store, the impact of a student’s experience with your store extends beyond the walls and brand of your store. It also changes how students view your entire campus.
The retail industry isn’t stagnant. Trends come and go, and as technology progresses forward, customer expectations can also evolve. Which trends are most important for college stores right now? Let’s look at five retail trends that could have the biggest impact on your college store before the end of this year.
As you know, over the course of the term, many students have probably forgotten which books they bought and which books they rented from the college store. Sending students consistent and frequent communication about rental returns can help your store get more books back.
Increasing in-store traffic and web traffic are essential to expanding the store’s market share and reintroducing students to the benefits of shopping locally. So, how can your store effectively expand its reach now and in the future?
Soon, students will return to campus for a new term. Now is a good time to start preparing your spring term student messaging to remind students about the services available to them through the campus store. We have collected a few ideas to help you get started.
Simplify your college store marketing this year with a marketing calendar that reminds you of important dates and helps plan store events. We have prepared a customizable marketing template to help you get started. Remember to add the dates that are specific to your store and campus.
College stores can benefit from using social media to market to students. However, finding the time each day, week and month to fully maintain your social media pages can be a challenge. One way college store managers can maintain a robust social media presence without taking on a lot of extra work is to recruit student help.
How can college stores enhance customers’ eCommerce experience? By offering shoppers filter options and recommendations, it is easier for site visitors to choose the best merchandise for them. At the MBS Spring Forums Systems Training event, college stores learned about MBS’ website tools that can help make merchandise stand out.
There is nothing quite like receiving a thoughtful gift that lets you know someone is thinking about you. However, finding that perfect gift isn’t easy. One way the college store can help the campus community is by giving customers the option to order a pre-bundled care package.
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?
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