Dec 15, 2007

Small Shops See Smallness as Their Big Selling PointBy Anne FieldNYTimes.com

Predictions of a weak holiday shopping season have led the big department stores to slash prices and stretch their advertising budgets. But most small retailers, which cannot afford either the price cuts or the expensive advertising, are doing something else this year: making a virtue of their size.

Gregory Choron, for instance, the owner of Merry Go Round Toys, a small retailer in New Rochelle, N.Y., is relying on his ability to glean intelligence quickly about what customers want and then order products for delivery practically the next day. Darleen Johns, the owner of a home accessories and furnishing store in Raleigh, N.C., called Gecko’s Corner, recently held a midweek open house strictly for contacts on her private e-mail list. Almost 200 people attended — and sales skyrocketed. “It was the best day we’ve ever had,” she said.

Small retailers around the country are using a host of marketing tactics, from the usual extra emphasis on customer service to putting out free cider and cookies. But their most important step may be that they are trying to make the most of their inherent advantages over larger competitors.

“Small retailers are finding a variety of creative ways to play up the benefits of their size, ” said Ivan Friedman, an expert on retail practices who is president and chief executive of RCS Real Estate Advisors, a real estate advisory firm based in New York.

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