The latest holiday craze is the Elf on the Shelf, a popular new holiday tradition that’s based on a 2005 children's picture book. The story, which explains how Santa Claus knows who is naughty and who is nice, includes a doll and the mischievous elf’s location is supposed to change each day, providing children with the responsibility of locating its current perch.
The end of the term is always a hectic time for college stores. Last semester, Titan Shops attempted to change that with a promotion that got rental books back in their hands earlier. Their simple, yet effective approach allowed them to ultimately streamline the return process and reduce the stress on their staff.
With new processes, come new challenges; that’s a fact of life. But, many also offer new benefits. That was the case at Indian Hills Community College Bookstore this term. The store, which has always relied on paper requisition forms for faculty book orders, transitioned to online faculty adoptions through MBS Systems inSite for the first time during their 2013 winter quarter.
Out with the old, and in with the new. That’s the approach Ben Jastorff, manager of Trojan Center Bookstore at Dakota State University, adopted when he recently accepted the position at the store. Jastorff wanted to clear out inventory, some of which had been in the store for nearly two years, to make room for the updated apparel he had ordered.
Our industry has heard about the digital revolution for years; how e-books will overtake print and the textbooks on our shelves will become a thing of the past. Although, we’ve certainly seen a growing number of students taking advantage of digital content, the percentage has remained minimal, leaving the majority of stores wondering if this major shift will ever come.
You never know what will strike a chord with your students, so sometimes the best place to start is with your staff. In fact, that’s what Western Oregon University Bookstore did with their most recent promotion. Web Specialist and Head Cashier Mara Hoaglin was sharing her interests with coworkers one day, and was surprised to learn that her manager was also a big fan of the British TV show, Doctor Who. The store’s gift buyer quickly chimed in with the fact that she had access to Dr. Who merchandise, and the idea snowballed from there.
In recent years, the rising cost of textbooks has caught the attention of everyone from government agencies to the media. But, college stores have been taking action against the issue for years, ensuring they offer the lowest prices possible to their students. Columbus State Community College, located in Columbus, Ohio, has been at the forefront of the movement, doing all that they can to provide the best value; and they have faculty, students, administration and, of course, bookstore staff members, involved in the effort.
The best way to get students to buy textbooks in your store is to ensure that you have competitively priced titles. But, in order to achieve that goal, your store needs to receive timely adoptions from faculty members, so you can pursue the most cost effective options early. As a result, many stores are looking at new ways to communicate with their faculty about this important topic, and The University Store at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Georgia happens to be one of them.
It’s one of the scariest holidays we celebrate, but Halloween can turn out to be a sweet event for college stores who create promotions centered on the yearly event. This year, Washington and Lee University Store decided do just that with a Halloween Spooktacular!
College store across the country promote breast cancer awareness and some use our marketing plan to give them a leg up on the effort.
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