Back from Labor Day weekend – Happy New Year?!

We once knew a lady of an earlier generation who steadfastly championed the idea that Labor Day should be considered New Year's Eve, and the Tuesday after Labor Day as the start of the New Year. (Yes, she was ahead of her time in many other ways as well.)

Here's her reasoning about the "real" New Year's Eve: as summer fades away and vacations end, the new school year starts up; the baseball season pennant race is on; football games begin. As all this happens, she explained, most people take on a renewed sense of energy. 

The promise of a fresh start is everywhere. Optimism abounds!  

Wouldn't 2020 be a great year to cut short? Aren't we all ready to turn the page on it?

Well, while we cannot do it officially, we can embrace that New Year state of mind. And you have the opportunity to shed some of the "we always did it that way" practices.

​Go for it! Because, well, 2020.

Remember, your best shoppers always want to know "What's new?" The better job you do of sharing the joy of all that newness with your shoppers, the better it will be. 

Here are some reminders of where you might start:

• You have a new look to the store.
• New hours.
• New ways of taking payment.
• New ways of offering merchandise (online; in-store; personal shoppers; subscription)
• New ways of reaching out to your customers.
• Likely some new vendors.
• New ways of buying your merchandise (online trade shows; online wholesalers, etc.)
• New ways of getting purchases to the customers, whether literally by mail or courier, or curbside pickup, or in-store.

And yes, work on those New Year's resolutions, too!