Our lead article, “Multiple Storefronts and Why They Are a Great Idea,” by
Jeniffer Magee, explains the value of creating multiple store entrances to
attract attention, reach shoppers who might not otherwise visit, and achieve
other brand goals. It’s gotten me thinking more generally about entryways.
“Look on every exit as being an entrance somewhere else,” said a character
in Tom Stoppard’s play “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.” It’s a
cautionary quotation, since store entrances are exits by another name, and
“somewhere else” for furniture retailers is often an online or
brick-and-mortar competitor.
Every exit is a re-entrance:: A best practice for furniture
retailers, Magee suggests, is to show shoppers a door that is a re-entrance
to another storefront, a main store entry or another free-standing store
within your home store campus. “Was what you found at one of our entrances
too expensive? Try our clearance center entry. Too cheap? Perhaps our
elegant, free-standing design center has just what you need!”
Another way to help shoppers re-enter and refocus on what’s important, says
Ed Tashjian (page 86), is to realize that people visit furniture stores to
benefit from living more comfortable and satisfying lives. Gala Magriñá
(page 20) takes this idea one step further. She observes that most people
have accepted that spending most of their lives in subpar interior
environments is okay. Her experience is that it doesn’t take too much
coaxing to get most people to realize that improving home environments can
make them healthier, improve their relationships, and maybe become better
versions of themselves. It can be a more differentiating message than
offering a variation of the unbeatable prices, quality and service promises
almost every other furniture retailer touts.
“You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink,” states the Old
English proverb. Likewise, getting shoppers to re-enter to drink repeatedly
is what successful retailers do. Whether customers buy something today or
exit without purchasing, bringing them back is easier if they leave their
data behind. Jeff Horowitz shares ideas for using data (page 50) in
re-marketing campaigns to reach the right people at the right time with the
right messages.
Also in this issue, Pam Danziger explains how Crate & Barrel (page 96)
encourages re-entry by filling product gaps and working to help customers
build on past purchases. Finally, David McMahon (page 38) advises Furniture
World readers not to despair. Same-store sales numbers and other operational
metrics are up for some retailers in 2023. Even in the current economic
climate, taking steps to ensure that every store exit is an entrance back
into your stores will facilitate the best possible results.
Wishing you good retailing,
Russell Bienenstock
Editorial Director/CEO
russ@furninfo.com