Transforming Spaces and Retailer Perspectives
Main street Merchants Program
Serving the Needs of Independent Retailers
A combination of virtual and on-site consultations with expert-led discussions and personalized recommendations for main street retailers.
How Downtowns Are Impacted
This three-part program provides:
- Immediate, actionable improvements your retailers can make, from low-cost visual merchandising tips to strategic storefront enhancements, creating visible district-wide enhancements.
- Multi-business educational investment as this program impacts multiple businesses, amplifying the visual and experiential impact across your community.
- Peer learning and community building with the interactive roundtable format fostering collaboration, ultimately building a stronger merchant network.
- Skill development as retailers gain transferable, science-backed merchandising knowledge that improves business operations for years to come.
- Cost-effective professional expertise as specialized retail design consultants are accessible to individual small businesses, an opportunity an independent retailer may not be able to afford on their own.
- Tangible grant outcomes with participant testimonials and visible physical improvements that support grant reporting requirements and effective use of development funds.
Program Outline
The Main Street Merchants Program consists of three-parts, broken out in the following ways to accommodate retailer schedules while focusing on being timely, cost conscious, and effective.
Pre-Visit
- Promotional material to share with main street members to drive awareness and participation
- Webinar presentations. You have the option to provide one or both of these 60-minute webinars to your dowtown merchants:
- Storefront Designs, Window Displays, and Exterior Signage
- Interior Layout, Design, Lighting, Signage, Merchandising & Display
Watching/attending the presentations is required for businesses seeking an on-site consultation.
Businesses can choose an on-site consultation that focuses on storefront and window displays, or, on interior elements. A modified version of both is also available.
Interactive Learning Session
- Roundtable discussion for all members to ask the experts questions and share best practices with fellow business owners
Personalized Consultation
- 45-minute consultations with retail store owners highlighting what’s working and what could be improved to enhance the customer’s experience.
Typical Schedule
Time
8 to 9 AM
10 to 10:45 AM
11 to 11:45 AM
11:45 to 12:30 PM
12:30 to 1:15 PM
1:30 to 2:15 PM
2:30 to 3:15 PM
3:30 to 4:15 PM
Activity
Roundtable Discussion
Roundtable Discussion
First Consultation
Second Consultation
Third Consultation
Fourth Consultation
Fifth Consultation
Sixth Consultation
Additional Downtown Revitalization Seminar Topics
- Creating an Attention-Getting Storefront and Experiential Interior via Proven Display Tactics, Design Principles, and Visual Merchandising Techniques
- Understanding the Strategies Behind Effective Merchandising Techniques and Well-Defined Focal Point Displays–Creating a store layout that actually sells merchandise
- The Four Most Important Design & Merchandising Elements in a Retail Store – Lighting, Merchandising, Focal Point Displays, and a Well-Defined Signage Program
- Turning Vacant Storefronts into Windows of Opportunity –Creating a Community Program to Address and Implement Displays in Formerly Dark Storefronts
- Creating Community-Wide Seasonal Window Displays – Helping Businesses Cost-Effectively Engage with the Season’s Theme
- Finding your “Sticky-Factor” –Creating a Memorable Brand and Visitor Experience Throughout Your Downtown
