Get 100% of The ROI! Unlimited Access SUBSCRIBE Now!
Patricia M. Johnson & Richard F. Outcalt
Retail Strategists and Retail Turnaround Experts
Co-Founders, The Retail Owners Institute® • Business Strata:G®
"Halloween is around the corner, and shoppers aren’t ghosting it," writes Stephanie Carls on The Real Deal. “According to new data from 1,000 adult shoppers, 82% of consumers plan to make Halloween-related purchases this year."
Indeed. Halloween spending is expected to reach a record $13.1 billion this year, according to the National Retail Federation's consumer survey.
“Even with concerns about price increases due to tariffs, Halloween continues to resonate with consumers of all ages,” NRF vice president of industry and consumer insights Katherine Cullen said.
This is no time to be left on the sidelines.
Just look at this list of how people expect to celebrate Halloween. There are lots of ways for your stores to take advantage:
Handing out candy - 66%
Dressing up in costume - 51%
Decorating their home or yard - 51%
Carving a pumpkin - 46%
Throwing or attending a party - 32%
Visiting a haunted house - 24%
Dressing up their pets - 23%
Surely your store has some merchandise that can contribute to one or several of those activities. Gather it together, feature it. Have fun with it!
Get into the spirit now. Look around your store for any orange or black merchandise. Give it a little more prominence in your store; even just a hint of Halloween can help.
Look. Especially this year, this is no time for your stores to be ghosted!
Up? Down? Sideways?
See how sales are trending for stores in your vertical versus the same months last year.
Then compare your results, and get some perspective.
We think that opening and successfully operating a retail store is a lot like assembling Ikea furniture.
It takes a lot more time than you expected
It requires a lot of attention to detail.
It has an amazing number of small parts
It has no written instructions
There is no shortage of opinions of how you should be doing it
Having a picture of the finished result is sometimes not all that helpful
It is highly unlikely that you will be successful on your first try
It can seem a bit rickety even after you think you are finished
Let us be perfectly clear. Ikea furniture is terrific. Loved and used by millions.
But so are stores! Especially those run by dedicated merchants and real students of retailing.
Successfully going from a vision to its accomplishment? The pros make it look sooooo easy.
Turns out, that question actually stumps some retailers.
They don't realize that they can know the answer, in advance. And frankly, they should know that answer, when they still have the lead time to make appropriate adjustments!
Why are some retailers still plagued by this amateurism?
Some retailers lack the knowledge, or confidence, that they can manage and control their own profitability.
Others think it is something their accountant, or bookkeeper, or CFO is supposed to do. (But those folks are trained historians; we're talking about the future here. Your future!)
In this lively Webinar of the Week, Pat Johnson and Dick Outcalt, Co-Founders of The ROI, show how any retailer can know in advance whether it looks like they will be profitable, or likely headed for a loss.
Plus, see how The ROI's online PROFITS Forecaster lets you do your own "What would happen if I...?" projections - and on-going adjustments - in just minutes. Anytime you want, 24/7.
Even better, with its built-in TREND TRACKER, you can easily monitor your progress each month.
It's time to say goodbye to amateurism! And The ROI has the resources for you to do just that.
Accountants • Bookkeepers • CPAs
Advisory Services in the AI Era 30-Day Strata:G® Fast Track
BusinessStrata-G.com
RetailOwner.com
Avoid mistakes • Seize opportunities • Look ahead now
View this email in your browser
Retail Strategists and Retail Turnaround Experts Co-Founders, The Retail Owners Institute® • Business Strata:G®
When you’re running a store, your days are already packed with ringing sales, juggling vendors, calming staff, and keeping the lights on.
That’s why so many independent retailers have been slow to jump on past waves of technology — e-commerce platforms, fancy POS systems, or social media dashboards. The tools were costly, fiddly, and frankly, not built for stores like yours.
But here comes AI. Might this wave be different?
It’s accessible. No IT department needed; a curious owner can try it on their laptop tonight.
It’s fast. From drafting an email to analyzing last month’s numbers, AI can take the drudgery out of tasks that bog you down.
It’s (relatively) cheap. Many AI tools cost less per month than a case of shopping bags.
Does that mean AI is the magic bullet for retailers? Of course not. Skepticism is still your best friend. But this time, the technology may be close enough to the ground to actually help.
1. Customer Communication
Pro: AI chatbots never sleep. They can answer routine questions (“What time do you close?” “Do you have gift cards?”) instantly, freeing up staff for in-store customers. AI can also draft polite, consistent replies to customer emails.
Con: Customers can tell when it’s a robot. If the answer feels canned or irrelevant, trust erodes. In retail, warmth and personality still matter — AI can’t give a smile or remember that Mrs. Jones always buys the red candles.
2. Marketing Content & Promotions
Pro: Need a fresh Instagram caption, a catchy email subject line, or a quick promo idea for a rainy weekend? AI can churn out options in seconds. A real time-saver, especially for owners who dread writing.
Con:Left on its own, AI marketing feels generic. It doesn’t know your store’s personality. You still need to edit so it sounds like you. Otherwise, you’re just adding to the digital clutter.
3. Staff Training & Productivity Tools
Pro: AI can draft employee manuals, generate quiz questions for training, or even explain policies in plain English (or Spanish). Great for streamlining onboarding or keeping the team on the same page.
Con: Over-reliance on AI for training can flatten culture. New hires need to see your standards in action, not just read them on a screen. AI is the assistant, not the manager.
So, you’re curious, but cautious. Good — you should be both. Here’s how to start smart, without letting the robots run your store.
1. Start Small and Cheap
Forget the big “enterprise” systems. You don’t need them. Begin with free or low-cost tools you can try in a browser. Many AI platforms offer free plans or trials. Think of it like test-driving a car — no commitment, just getting the feel.
Pro tip: Start with something you already do — emails, social posts, a product description — and see how AI can speed it up.
2. Keep It Close to Home
The best first uses of AI are the ones that save you time on the boring stuff. For most owners, that means:
Drafting customer emails or social captions.
Summarizing sales reports into plain English.
Writing a first draft of staff policies or job postings.
If it cuts down on chores, you’ll feel the value right away.
3. Always Edit for Your Voice
AI is fast, but it’s generic. Left alone, it sounds like every other ad on the internet. The trick? Treat AI’s draft as your rough first cut. Then, add your humor, your personality, your store’s flavor. That’s what customers come to you for — not robot copy.
4. Watch Out for “Runaway Algorithms”
AI loves to draw straight lines into the future. A sudden sales spike? It assumes it will last forever. A slow week? It thinks your business is doomed. Remember toilet paper hoarding during COVID? An unsupervised AI would still be restocking pallets a year later.
Bottom line: use AI to spot patterns, but keep your judgment in charge.
5. Make It a Helper, Not a Boss
AI is like a bright but green intern: fast, available 24/7, and surprisingly capable — but it doesn’t know your customers or your instincts. Let it help with the grunt work, but never hand it the keys.
6. Keep Score for Yourself
Try AI on one or two tasks for a month. Did it save you an hour a week? Did it make marketing less painful? If yes, keep it. If not, drop it. No guilt, no sunk costs.
AI is not magic. But for independent retailers, it can be a useful assistant — if you start small, keep your hands on the wheel, and use your own judgment.
So, where do you start? Pick one everyday chore that eats your time, and let AI take the first pass. Then edit it, own it, and see if it’s worth keeping around.
👀 Please Note: The From The Co-Founders commentary above was NOT written by us. It’s the work of our “AI Buddy.” (That’s how we refer to our free ChatGPT account.)
We started by asking him to address the pros and cons of AI for independent retail owners. After some back-and-forth with him, we asked for an “Okay, where and how do I start?” guide.
AI Buddy was eager and obliging. And always asking “Do you want me to do this next?” Yes, AI can certainly draw one in.
We’re continuing to explore AI, and encourage you to do the same.
And yes, as always with leading-edge technology, apply your best judgment! 🤔🧐
You know this all too well.
The typical accounting package lists expenses in alphabetical order. From Advertising, to Auto Expenses, then Bank Charges, and so on.
Lines and lines of separate expense items, all detailed to the penny.
How useful is that?! Is this designed to inform? Or, to confuse and confound? No wonder few retailers will spend much "quality time" with their financial statements.
But, there IS a simple trick that will let you make sense of all that data. At The ROI, we call this process the PROFIT Finder: Re-organize the individual expenses on your P&L into 5 "buckets" of expenses. (We even have a free “Bucketizer” to help you do that quickly.)
Face it. Standard P&Ls are organized basically for preparing tax returns. (How often is that done? Once a year?)
👉 It’s time to turn that data into useful information you can use for management decisions. You know, the kinds of informed decisions needed monthly, weekly, sometimes daily.
We’ve made it free for everyone to use. No excuses; let’s get cracking!
Unlock proven, approachable advisory process 30-Day Strata:G® Fast Track
In The ROI’s view, GMROI – Gross Margin Return on Inventory (Investment) – is the #1 productivity tool in retailing. It measures how many gross margin dollars are generated for each dollar invested in inventory.
How best to use it? Three quick steps:
Array departments, or vendors, or classifications of inventory by GMROI (Yes, you want to compare.)
Spot the laggards.
Give them the attention they need (or show them the door!)
That's why the real pros in retailing are experts in GMROI. It’s actually a unique time-management tool for retailers.
The Retail Owners Institute® has been empowering owners since 1999 to "Turn on their financial headlights!" Our tools and resources are trusted by thousands of independent owners to help grow financially stronger and resilient businesses.