There is an interesting post on the Scrap Biz blog today about bringing digital into retail stores. Kim Guymon, as usual, writes thoughtfully and she brings up one of our major questions in this industry - how to incorporate digital into a traditional physical scrapbook store. So much of what digital scrapbookers want and need is available on line that I rarely think of walking into a scrapbook store. So what would entice us?
Since I was never a paper scrapper, I find the stores a bit overwhelming - could it be as easy as putting up a sign that says "digiscrappers are welcome at crops"? I sometimes feel that I have to hide the fact that I am digital. Actually at Cropping on the Cape which is 99% paper, Mary and I sat with a bunch of paper scrappers and had a blast. The tables had power strips in the center which we happily shared with embossing tools. They even got me to make a paper album and they learned a little digital and that what scrapping should be - people sharing their skills. I'd be more like to go to a local store crop if I knew I would be welcome. Maybe I won't buy a ton but I would certainly make the effort to buy albums, CDs and whatever else I need.
Traditional stores are worried about losing paper customers to digital but there are two big groups of potential customers that they might consider courting - teens/young adults and seniors. Take a look at My Space. My Teen and her friends are all making collages with photos, text and elements. They would never call it scrapbooking (but it is) and the other day they were talking about getting together with their photos to make a junior year album...hmmm, a teen crop night?
Seniors are amazingly tech savvy (apart from my mother who doesn't own a computer) and they have the time to learn technology. Passing down stories and preserving old photos and memories are important to them. Digital is better than paper since it doesn't take up much space and for those who are losing fine motor skills, there are all sorts of adaptive keyboards and mice. With digital it is perfectly possible to bring the class to them - you can easily do demonstrations and suggest they come to your store for CDs, albums etc. It's an area that store owners might want to explore to increase their customer base.
One other thought for stores is to reach out to other groups in the community who might want to do digital but don't know it yet. These are people, much like the teens, who would never walk into a scrapbook store but might be interested in digital. I'm thinking of geneology groups who might like record fmaily histories with a layout. What about making recipe albums/cards at the local Women's Club or kitchen store or Mom's group? These are groups with little exposure to digital and if the store owner is the one teaching them, then they are more likely to seek out that store for a purchase. And once they are in your store, they may just become regualar customers....
