{"id":99,"date":"2011-03-22T12:30:00","date_gmt":"2011-03-22T12:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.specialtystoreservicesblog.com\/2011\/03\/22\/spruce-up-your-retail-store\/"},"modified":"2011-03-22T12:30:00","modified_gmt":"2011-03-22T12:30:00","slug":"spruce-up-your-retail-store","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.specialtystoreservicesblog.com\/testblog\/spruce-up-your-retail-store\/","title":{"rendered":"Spruce Up Your Retail Store"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Okay, so we\u2019ve got the <\/span>window displays<\/span><\/a> popping and the <\/span>staff smiling<\/span><\/a>, ready to welcome the swarm of warm weather customers coming your way. But now let\u2019s deal with the aftermath of the cold weather customers. I\u2019m afraid that I have to mention something that strikes fear (or at least dismay) into the hearts of most folks: spring cleaning. Yes, it\u2019s a dirty job but someone\u2019s gotta do it. We\u2019ve already covered cleaning to a lesser extent in <\/span>\u201cWhat Is Your Store Saying?\u201d<\/span><\/a> but it\u2019s time to get down with the dirt. <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
Here is an interesting tidbit for you: spring cleaning is a phrase from the days when people used coal to heat their homes and oil lamps to light it up. After a season of closed windows, the walls and pretty much everything else were covered in soot and general ickiness so a good cleaning was needed once warmer weather arrived and the windows could remain open to let out the stale air and let in the fresh. Although we don\u2019t use coal for heating any more, rooms get stuffy and dusty from being closed up during cold weather. Also, spring cleaning is a great way to give a little face lift to your store without investing in new flooring or a paint job! <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
Subjecting your floor to wet, muddy boots for months at a time can really take a toll on your flooring and give it a shabby look. You might want to invest in a good <\/span>floor cleaner<\/span><\/a> so you can clean and freshen up your floor a few times a year. Rather than buying a separate shampooer and a buffer, some machines can deep clean carpeting, scrub hard floors, and<\/em> buff and clean hardwood, ceramic and marble. Neat, huh? If you only have carpeting then it’s a good idea to invest in a steam cleaner; those things can work wonders. This <\/span>steam-vac<\/span><\/a> carpet cleaner does not require faucet hook-up, just fill the tank with hot water and pre-measured detergent. Super easy! Of course you\u2019ll also want to keep a <\/span>vacuum<\/span><\/a> and\/or <\/span>sweeper<\/span><\/a> on hand for daily clean ups. Wait till you see how terrific the freshly cleaned floor looks after you\u2019ve gotten used to seeing it all dingy and winterish, especially when the sunlight streams in through your clean windows. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Come on, let\u2019s clean those windows inside and out<\/em> to let that sunshine in! It is amazing how much better a bright, sunny room can look. You do not have to freshly repaint the entire store to make it look sparkling new. I have three words for you: clean, clean, clean! Yes, it\u2019s actually one word but one word that will make a huge difference in the appearance of any store. When we see the same areas day after day, little scuffs and patches of dirt just become part of the scenery that we don\u2019t notice\u2026but your customers will! So, scrub-a-dub! Don\u2019t forget to dust the tops of door frames, <\/span>shelves<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>fixtures<\/span><\/a>, pictures and moldings first; dusting last will just get dust all over everything you just cleaned. Add a gentle yet effective cleaner (we don\u2019t want to scrub the paint off the walls) to your bucket of warm water and attack those walls, fixtures, shelves and counters with a sponge or lint-free cloth. We\u2019re giving this store a once-over to make it ready for the busy upcoming season so let\u2019s put our backs into it and move furniture, fixtures, <\/span>racks<\/span><\/a> and shelving rather than cleaning around them. Wait until you see the difference a good cleaning can make! <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Okay, the inside it ready to go. What about the outside? You\u2019ve cleaned the outside of your windows and doors so that\u2019s covered but what about your sidewalk and parking area? Make sure you pick up any trash, glass and dead leaves lurking around and sweep that sidewalk. The outside of your store should be a reflection of what folks will find on the inside so make sure it\u2019s clean and inviting so that people will even want to walk through your door. <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

Now, if you\u2019ve incorporated everything from the last several blogs you should have colorful, eye-catching <\/span>signage<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>organized shelves and racks<\/span><\/a>, attention-grabbing window displays and a sparkling clean store. Bring on the shoppers! <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Okay, so we\u2019ve got the window displays popping and the staff smiling, ready to welcome the swarm of warm weather customers coming your way. But now let\u2019s deal with the aftermath of the cold weather customers. I\u2019m afraid that I have to mention something that strikes fear (or at least dismay) into the hearts of Read More …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-99","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-retail-merchandising-insights"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.specialtystoreservicesblog.com\/testblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.specialtystoreservicesblog.com\/testblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.specialtystoreservicesblog.com\/testblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.specialtystoreservicesblog.com\/testblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.specialtystoreservicesblog.com\/testblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.specialtystoreservicesblog.com\/testblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.specialtystoreservicesblog.com\/testblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.specialtystoreservicesblog.com\/testblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.specialtystoreservicesblog.com\/testblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}