Hey there,

We wanted to tell you about some good friends of ours over at Forward Convenience Stores. They’ve been around for 95 years in central to Northern Michigan and are known as THE stop when people are heading up north to the woods and water.

In addition to all the Snickers bars and Mountain Dews and Natty Lites they offer, they also sell a lot of apparel and souvenirs to travelers. And I bet you’d never guess who they buy it from…Spoiler alert: it’s us.

But we just wanted to share a few tips and tricks from their merchandising manager, Kelly Hughes, on some things she does to help create a great shopping experience for their customers:

Less is more – Variety is great, but people can become overwhelmed by it. Since space is at a premium, you’re better off picking a few of your favorite things and displaying them in a way that make them really stand out than packing as much stuff in as you can.
Get creative – merchandising is all about having fun and thinking outside the box. Do people fish a lot near you? Work in a tackle box and pole around your favorite fishing t-shirt design. Get a lot of campers in your store? Work in some old gear in your display to catch their attention!
Pair it up – The only thing better than a customer who buys something is a customer who buys two somethings. Find themed items and merchandise them together. Just like that you can sell a hat, shirt, postcard, and mug in one fell swoop.
We want to thank Kelly for providing these great tips and hope it gave you some ideas on what you can do in your store. And the next time you’re in Michigan, be sure to stop by a Forward Convenience Store and be one of those people who buys two somethings.

Yours in memory making,
T.R.