Tuesday, December 25, 2018

Are Store Passe?


This article asking if the sales person is dying as a job category caught my eye, that and the discussion of the growth of the concept of “retailtainment” as the direction in which retailing will move.

If you have read the linked article, there are a couple of points with which I would take issue:
1)      The author grossly overstates the importance of online retailing to the overall retail sector. Although it has grown rapidly, online retailing still accounts for only about 10% of sales in the entire retail sector.

2)      The retail sector typically ramps up hiring for the holiday season in September through November then lays off a lot of those hires after Christmas, so an 89,000 person decline in retail sales people may not be that out of line for the period October to now.

Retailing remains important though with 1 out of every 10 people in the US employed in retailing and it is still where most people get their first job and learn valuable skills, such as interacting and working with other staff members and the public, time management and personal  responsibility , that will serve them, if learned properly, throughout their life. However, unlike when I first entered retailing in the 1980s, people no longer spend their careers as retail salespeople. Movement by stores towards part time work, lower wages and fewer, if any, benefits (and I am talking things like health insurance and retirement plans, not free snacks and a discount off game purchases), have kept employee turnover high across the industry, approximating  67%, meaning the average retailer has to replace two-thirds of their staff every year. This is why many large chains have moved toward self checkouts with only one staff member monitoring 4-6 check out stations while Amazon tests staff less stores, where the customer selects items off the store shelf, scans the items themselves and the purchase gets billed to their Amazon account. Simple once set up and no human interaction needed. Will this happen quickly? Nah, too much infrastructure needs to get implemented for retailers to adopt the model widely anytime soon, but it is coming.

This is why stores will move toward the “retailtainment” model,  in which customers are entertained while they shop. Customers want an experience to go along with their shopping, which is why they flock to a new restaurant when one opens. Dining there is a new experience, one they cannot get elsewhere. In fact this is why new stores have heavy foot traffic for the first few weeks after opening. Customers looking for a new experience stop by to check it out, but once the new wears out, they head off to the next experience.

So what do game stores have to do? Create experiences. Tournament model stores, those with as many or more tables than retail space, already do this, creating weekly or daily experiences for their customers. The rest of us have to use atmospherics (appealing to the senses) to bring the customer back. Stores and salespeople aren’t passé but we will have to work even harder to remain relevant.

Friday, December 21, 2018

5 Reasons to Shop Local


That is a question brick and mortar stores have to face every year and none more so than during the holidays. Granted, the overwhelming number of purchases are still made in brick and mortar stores  (roughly 90% of retail sales are still made in brick and mortar stores, though this number is projected to increase by 14% by 2021). Given that many customers are motivated by price and stuff really is cheaper generally online and, unfortunately, most of our customers are not autistic enough to willingly spend more at their Friendly Local Game Store, just to keep us in business. We need to give them reasons to spend money at the brick and mortar store, rather than online. So here are 5 good reasons to shop locally:

1. Immediacy—when the customer buys a product at a brick and mortar store, they get to use it immediately. When the exception of digital media and PDFs, everything else purchased online takes time to reach them, anywhere from a day to a month or better.  I was just checking out a Kickstarter produced by a local publisher and backers will not receive the game until next March. Even modeling miniatures with a 3D printer takes several hours to complete

2. Finding New Stuff—Despite the vast amount of products available for sale online, in general customers don’t find new product online. They are 3 times more likely to find a new product that delights them in a physical store than in an online one (and don’t worry a lot about showrooming. According to Harris,  70% of customers webroom while only 45% of them showroom).

3. Reinvestment —More of their money stays in the local community when a customer shops at a local store. If a customer spends $100 at a local store, 68% stays in the local community  while if they shop at a chain store, only 45% stays in the community to generate jobs and, of course, if they buy online, none stays in the local community . In addition,  there is a multiplier effect when that money is spent in the community, meaning that money circulates to other business such as office supply stores, janitorial services etc. . In a smaller community like here in Carbondale or London Kentucky, the multiplier effect is only around 1 or 2 times before the money leaves the community but in a more metropolitan area such as Seattle, St. Louis or Chicago, you are looking at a multiplier of 7 to 10 times. And, of course, the sales taxes go back into such things as sidewalks, police, fire safety, sewers ect.

4.  Stronger Communities—Research shows that the more local businesses a community has, residents have stronger civic ties and are more likely to participate in civic affairs. Economic concentration among businesses leads to a monolithic   local power structure and civic apathy. A larger number of locally owned  businesses is positively correlated with participation in local elections and civic activism, helping to counter the decline in civic engagement in the US over the past several decades.

5. More Jobs—Local businesses create more jobs for local people. Maybe it indicates inefficiency, but local retailers create twice as many jobs as Amazon does for the same amount of revenue. Spending money at the FLGS helps maintain jobs, both there and in the large community.
You and I and every other game (and comic) shop owner know this. The trick is getting the word out to the general population. The healthier local businesses are, the healthier the communities their customers live in are, as well.

Wednesday, December 19, 2018

How to Promote Yourself, Your Game and Your Store


WOTC has been doing a pretty good job of weekly disseminating both basic and novel ideas used by other stores to keep their customers coming back and making customers feel special. However,  even though it is far easier to generate additional sales from existing customers, at some point you need to get your name out in front of new potential customers and get them into the store. Without a flow of new customers, a store will eventually tap out its existing customer base and see flatlined sales. I wanted to suggest three ways to get your name in front of new customers. As a savvy store owner (or publisher) you are likely already but just in case you’re not:

1.       Social Media—the great thing about social media is that it is free, to start. Set up an account on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, maybe even Vine, Snapchap and Instagram.  Unfortunately, due to the ways in which the various social media sources have tweaked their software, you now really do have to spend money in order to get your name and posts out in front of potential customers. The great thing about social media it that you start out for as little as 5 bucks to boost a Facebook post and have a lot more control over who will see it than you would with advertising in traditional formats. Facebook, and other forms of social media, allow you to have friends and friends of friends see your boosted posts or you can keep them from seeing them and spend your money to reach a targeted market that’s not already familiar with your company. I know stores spending 4 figures just on monthly boosting of social media.

2.       Join Civic Organizations—Become a member of organizations like your local Chamber of Commerce or Rotary Club or Kiwanis or Jaycees or Main Street. Not only do they work to better the community, and he better your community is doing , the better your business will do, but becoming a member allows you to take advantage of the services the organization offers. For example, as a member of our local Chamber of Commerce, I can send out promotions and notices to all other Chamber members , many of whom would have no idea what the store sells. Also,  if you have some sort of negative event take place, a position as a recognized member of the local community  helps mitigate the effects of bad publicity.

3.       Press Releases—The local media is always looking for local news and your store (or company) is newsworthy, whether you are hosting an event, are hiring new staff or even have a list of the top 5 games in your community for the year. This last one is one we sent out and we got a spot on local TV as well as mentions in two local papers, all for about half an hour’s work and another 5 minutes or so emailing them to the local media. Remember, you may not follow local news much but there are a lot of people that do, people who may not know you exist but have money to spend on what you are selling. Don’t know how to write a press release? Search for “sample press release” on the interwebs or hire a local journalism student to write one for you.

Friday, December 14, 2018

Duel Power Coming April 4th

Konami Digital Entertainment Inc, is proud to bring you the newest release, Duel Power.  If you thought last year’s Easter’s release of Legendary Collection Kaibawas a hit with players, wait until they get their hands on this year’s product!  Duel Power celebrates Spring 2019 by rolling together a new 100-card Ultra Rare booster set (including 40 brand-new cards) alongside new Ultra Rare variant artwork of every Yu-Gi-Oh! TV series ace monster (from Dark Magician to Decode Talker), and a new double-sided Gameboard celebrating Yu-Gi-Oh!’s history.

Each box of Duel Power contains 6 new Duel Power booster packs with 5 Ultra Rare cards per pack.  Duel Power’s booster set includes 40 new cards and 60 hot reprints, including the 4 popular “discard” effect monsters (from Ghost Ogre & Snow Rabbit to Ghost Belle & Haunted Mansion); popular Spells and Traps likeInfinite ImpermanenceCard of Demise, and Evenly Matched; Link Monsters from Borreload Dragon to Trickstar Holly Angel; and out-of-print cards likeNaturia BeastHigh Priestess of Prophecy, and 2015’s “Nekroz” Ritual Monsters.

Duel Power’s new cards span the whole history of Yu-Gi-Oh! by revisiting the main monsters from each anime series’ history.  Start with powered-up versions of your Dark Magician like Magician of Chaos (a new Dark Magician Ritual Monster).  Use Cyber Dragon Nachster to power up your most famous Machines from the GX era.  Revisit high-speed Duel Wheeling from 5D’s with the brand-new Synchro Monster Signal Warrior. Flood your field with Xyz Materials using the newZexal-themed Utopic Onomatopeia and Xyz Summon Number 39: Utopia Double. Pump up your ARC-V Pendulum Deck with Odd-Eyes Advance Dragon to burn your opponent’s Life Points and Summon back more monsters.  And finally, for the latest anime series, Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS Decks get new cards like Gouki Cage MatchTrickstar Foxglove Witch, and Booster Dragon.

Besides new cards for Decks directly seen on TV, Duel Power also provides new cards for favorites old AND new from the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG tournament scene, likePlatinum GadgetThunder Dragon ThunderstormechBeat Cop from the UnderworldHieratic Seal of the Heavenly SpheresAromaseraphy JasmineSecurity Dragon, and Crowley, the First Propheseer.

No matter which Yu-Gi-Oh! anime series is your favorite, Duel Power has something for you.  And the more of it you like, the more you’ll find in this special commemorative booster set!

Each Duel Power box contains: 6 Duel Power booster packs, each with 5 Ultra Rare cards per pack 6 new Ultra Rare variant art cards, showing off new art versions of the main monsters from each Yu-Gi-Oh! anime series (Dark MagicianElemental HERO NeosStardust DragonNumber 39: UtopiaOdd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, and Decode Talker), and 1 Gameboard.

Thursday, December 6, 2018

Yu Gi Oh Infinity Chasers

From Komani:  
Construct your own ultimate dueling machine!  Take command of a fleet of industrial-strength Machine monsters that combine to unleash unlimited power.  You can link them up side by side, stack them on top of each other, or both – anything goes!  Your Summoning options aren’t restricted even if you use the powerful combination abilities of these Machines, so keep your favorite Xyz Monsters in mind as well because you might just discover a great new way to use them!

Skilled craftswomen that enhance their creations with a touch of magic!  Perfection takes time, and this strategy is all about deflecting attacks from enemy monsters while carefully sculpting the perfect hand and field, then blowing your opponent away with your completed masterpiece!  This Deck employs lots of Spellcasters and can make use of many of the existing Spellcaster-related cards, like Spellbook of Knowledge.

Servants of the forbidden evil eye clash beneath the pale moon!  These terrifying combatants and their familiars draw their power from a source of unfathomable evil that threatens to consume them at any moment. This strategy employs an unusual style of play that’s highly rewarding but requires you to conform to a specific gameplay condition, similar to the Sky Strikers of Dark Saviors.

All the basic cards for each theme are in this set, along with some additional cards to help support them, so it’s a great starting point for building many different Deck strategies!
The Infinity Chasers booster set contains 60 cards:
40 Super Rares
20 Secret Rares