Retailers display fresh ideas of merchandizing students

By Communications staff, Washington State University
 
 
At the Quilted Heart fabric store in Pullman there’s a small area where customers can sit and look at pattern books. At the Hope Center thrift store in Moscow, a catch-all area in the back of the store was transformed from an eyesore to eye catching.
 

On April 28, students in Meriem Chida’s AMT 208 course will find out if these efforts, and dozens of other ideas, were enough to win the “Best Retail Experience” contest sponsored by the Pullman Chamber of Commerce, the WSU Center for Civic Engagement and local retailers.

Local shoppers still have an opportunity to vote on the outcome. Ballots are at each of the participating shops and will be accepted until Monday, April 26. The winning teams will be announced April 28 in the final AMT 208 class of the semester.
 

While customer feedback is invaluable for the students, Chida said grades will be assigned based on evaluations from the shop owners or managers, Chida herself, and student self-assessments.

She gave students in her retail merchandizing class the option of working with local retailers in teams of three or four, or taking a final exam, and 17 teams took up the non-exam challenge.

In Pullman, students worked with Design Effects, Crimson & Gray, Lilly Bees Consignment Shop, Wild Ivy, Moments in Time Studio & 1 Dance Stop, Quilted Heart, Prune Orchard and Closet Transfer. In Moscow, students worked with the Storm Cellar, the Hope Center and the Salvation Army Thrift Store.

Most of the new ideas were implemented in time for Mom’s Weekend, and customer judging began April 9.

Steve Otto, assistant manager at the Hope Center, said the students brought fresh ideas and “fresh eyes” to the store. Because the store does such a high volume of business, he said, there’s not much time to worry about creating attractive display spaces.
 

“We’re right at the point of being completely overwhelmed,” he said, so it was great to have students help with display.

Recently, he said, he heard a woman in the store describing an item to someone on her cell phone: “She said, ‘No, this is a really nice, nice thrift store,’ and I know the displays help make that impression.”
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Jack McGrath, who owns Quilted Heart with his wife, Debbie McNeil, said he appreciated the students’ enthusiasm and conscientiousness: “The girls are great to work with.”
 

Not only did they have some good ideas, like creating an area where customers can sit down, but they also were receptive to his and his wife’s feedback and suggestions. McGrath, who is retired from Franklin Elementary School, said he and his wife, a teacher at Pullman High School, both really enjoyed the mentoring aspect of the project.

Mentoring students was also the most satisfying part of the project for Cynthia Garrett, owner of Wild Ivy. Garrett said she worked with two teams and gave each team a different challenge – one was to publicize and help plan for the appearance of a guest artist, and the other was to help create an inviting and eye-catching outside display area.

“I welcomed their ideas and then had to turn them into realities that worked for our store,” Garrett said. “It’s been an interesting experience.”