Why Saturdays and other heretical ideas

September 8, 2006

I have just returned from attending the Women In the Home Furnishings Industry Today (WITHIT) educational conference. What a gathering! 140 women(and one lone man-the CEO of Vanguard-kudos to John from all of us) from all over the US and representing every aspect of our business. Most of the women were from the mid to senior level management ranks of the industry.

Guess what Topic A seemed to be?

The difficulty of recruiting top sales talent to the retail sector.

This set me to thinking…

Why do retail stores have to be open on Saturdays and Sundays? I can just hear you saying…"you've got to be kidding- of course we have to open on the weekends!"

But think about this… WHY have retail stores traditionally been open on the weekends?

1. To maximize profitability.
2. Because, traditionally, most couples worked 9-5 and only had time to shop on the weekends.
3. Because there was no other way for them to view, analyze and purchase.

Now, let me tell you about a journey I made two weekends ago. I went to Miami to see three stores which I had read about in design magazines. Of the three, only ONE was open on Saturday!!! One was closed completely, one had a sign on the door saying "open by appointment on Saturdays."

I was shocked. I really started thinking about it and now, after listening to the attendees at WITHIT's conference, I think these stores are on to something.

The consumer has changed and you, my reading audience, are this consumer. Think about it..

Do you work 9-5 in a factory or office or do you have flexible work hours/travel frequently and/or work from your home?

Do you ever research your purchases or buy online?

Do you prefer to do things with your kids on the weekend or play golf, tennis or enjoy a favorite hobby vs. shop for furniture?

So, try this on for size.

What if retailers were open 7or 8 am until 8 or 9 Monday through Friday and closed on the weekends?(You also have a website or, best case, an e-commerce site so people could buy whatever they wanted whenever it was convenient for them) What if you ran a split shift and gave people a choice of which holidays they could take off so they could have work/life balance if that was important to them? I know, some sales associates WANT to work all the time to maximize their income(which brings me to another blog), but I don't think this is the top driver for most people entering our industry.

Do you think a no weekend option would attract more young people to our industry? What if they were able to work a 7-3 or 1-9 schedule which would allow them time to be home for kids in the afternoon or take classes in the morning?

Do you think working women and men would appreciate a chance to have a breakfast "date" in your store before having to go to about their day?

What would YOU think of a retail store that said they were changing their hours to give their employees more work/life balance, but also extending their morning hours to serve you breakfast and give you more flexibility? Where is the chain that partners with furniture stores to serve this lovely breakfast on the dining chairs and tables that the store sells?

One last thing…I get a LOT of email to my private email address re: topics I blog about, but THIS issue is too important to keep private. Please post your comment to the blog so we can all brainstorm. It's time for a new model to attract and retain top talent to our brick and mortar stores.

Posted by Leslie Carothers on September 8, 2006 | Comments (25)

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November 12, 2007