Canadian Retailer - Winter 2013 - 27
ING FOR
NTY
Big Picture Uncertainty Breeds
Main Street Nervousness
BY ROBERT PRICE
LIFE COULD BE BETTER ON MAIN STREET.
At Devil May Wear, an eco-fashion boutique nestled on Main Street in Vancouver, customers thumb through the racks of eco-certified dresses and shirts.
They consult with the floor staff, check themselves in the mirrors and—sometimes—they make a purchase.
Business moves briskly through the store but every sale takes effort.
“People are a lot more cautious about spending money” than in previous years,
observes Tyra Weitman, the store manager.
For good reason. The headlines of the country’s papers herald a regular apocalypse: an environmental catastrophe, a financial collapse, a fiscal cliff. With the
economy still slumping from the 2008 recession, personal debt loads at historic
highs, job numbers evermore tepid and youth unemployment shamefully high,
consumers have reigned in their spending.
Many retailers are feeling the pinch. From where she sits, Weitman sees a
“mixed” retail scene on Main Street. The retail strip is lively, it’s becoming a
destination spot, but some stores are closing, rents are spiking and every retailer
has to work harder and longer to close the sale.
At Devil May Wear, where a bamboo T-shirt can cost $50, the strategy has
been to cultivate a die-hard customer base—and selling more than a shirt.
“People are willing to spend money but they want an experience. You have to
be willing to give that old time, ye olde shopping experience, and to listen. You
have to play the best friend, the psychologist, the babysitter, the personal shopper, the fashion consultant,” says Weitman.
www.retailcouncil.org/cdnretailer | winter 2013 | canadian retailer |
27
http://www.retailcouncil.org/cdnretailer
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2013
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Canadian Retailer - Winter 2013
Publisher's Desk
Retail Currents
50 Year of Retail Advocacy
Preparing for Succession, Stitch by Stitch
Getting It Together to Get It Online
Social Media 101
Searching For Certainty
Working Toward A More Harmonized Approach
The Brick: Leaders in Retail and Sustainability
Advertiser's Index
Retail Quick Tips
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2013 - cover1
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2013 - cover2
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2013 - 3
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2013 - Publisher's Desk
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2013 - 5
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2013 - Retail Currents
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2013 - 7
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2013 - 8
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2013 - 9
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2013 - 50 Year of Retail Advocacy
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2013 - 11
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2013 - Preparing for Succession, Stitch by Stitch
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2013 - 13
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2013 - 14
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2013 - 15
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2013 - 16
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2013 - 17
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2013 - 18
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2013 - Getting It Together to Get It Online
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2013 - 20
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2013 - 21
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2013 - 22
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2013 - 23
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2013 - Social Media 101
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2013 - 25
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2013 - Searching For Certainty
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2013 - 27
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2013 - 28
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2013 - 29
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2013 - 30
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2013 - 31
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2013 - 32
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2013 - Working Toward A More Harmonized Approach
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2013 - 34
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2013 - 35
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2013 - The Brick: Leaders in Retail and Sustainability
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2013 - 37
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2013 - 38
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2013 - 39
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2013 - 40
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2013 - Advertiser's Index
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2013 - Retail Quick Tips
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2013 - 43
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2013 - cover3
Canadian Retailer - Winter 2013 - cover4
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0617
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0517
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0417
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0317
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0217
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0117
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0616
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0516
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0416
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0316
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0216
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0116
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0615
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0515
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0415
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0315
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0215
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0115
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0614
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0514
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0414
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0314
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0214
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0114
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0613
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0513
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0413
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0313
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/GrandPrix2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0213
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0113
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/RETS0612
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/RETS0512
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/RETS0412
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/RETS0312
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/RETS0212
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/RETS0112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/RETS0611
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/RETS0511
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/RETS0411
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/RETS0311
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/RETS0211
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/RETS0111
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/RETS0610
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/RETS0510
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/RETS0410
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/RETS0310
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/RETS0210
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/RETS0110
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/RETS0309
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/RETS0209
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com