looking for Old Time General Store/Home Decor niche retailers

[HHcsJoe]

18 months ago we opened a 5k sq ft bricks and mortar store.  Our store is in a historic building, in a great location in the southern tier of upstate NY.   We sell vintage, antique and contemporary furniture, stained glass lamps, framed art, rugs and decor on one side of our store and the other is set up as an old time general store where we sell a sampling of refrigerated and frozen gourmet foods, specialty books (kids books, astrology, DIY self improvement books), retro toys, gourmet coffees and teas, nostalgia candy, goat milk beauty products, local products (soaps, maple products, honey, jams, jellies) , Jewlery, local art.  The general store is very quaint and really fits the vibe of our 1886 building. We also make custom farmhouse tables and do design work for customers as well (customers who want us to furnish a room, pulling furniture, decor, fabrics etc together) 70% of our sales come from decor and furniture and 30% from our general store.  We have a very loyal customer following and get a ton of referrals. We are known for our visual merchandising and displays.  We are active on social (Fb and Insta) and have recently launched our website.  I was hoping to connect with a group or individual who has experience in driving successful sales in used/vintage furniture/decor and someone who has an old time general store.  Our comps are very strong, but I'm looking for ideas in tying online, social and in-store.  Thanks Joe

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[HC_Charlie]

Hey @HHcsJoe thanks for your post. Your store sounds Amazing! I love the old time general store vibe. And I like you do so much variety from decor to handmade furnishings. I don't have a general store, but just a general retail/card/art store, but some ideas that may help you leverage all of your selling and media channels would be scheduling an event or demo day. Do you create your farmhouse furniture on-site? You could schedule a demo day or if not, schedule an event where you feature samples of all your handmade furniture. I'd also play up the general store idea as much as possible with other smaller impulse purchases such as retro penny candies... something to offer every price point since I'm sure your antiques and handmade furniture is on the higher end of the price scale. Inviting people into your space just to browse and enjoy the environment, and maybe make a smaller purchase like candy or art prints would help generate talk and excitement about your business, even if these customers do not make a larger investment purchase.

To carry through your theme you could incorporate vintage/newsprint packaging, tissue paper, bags along with T-shirts or aprons your staff could make/wear and even sell. You could also hold an ice cream social or Fall Fest with some themed goodies to drum up excitement in your local area. If you can leverage other local businesses that provide food/catering this could be a good cross promotional opportunity as well; those other companies would likely post on their social media too their participation at your location. I hope some of these ideas might help you and I wish you the best...your business and location sounds like a great place!

[HHcsJoe]

Thank you for the detailed response Charlie!  I appreciate the ideas and best practices.  I’m going to dig deeper with my team on the ideas you shared. 
Joe