Today's guest post is from Nancy Tanker, Managing Editor of Specialty Retail Report.

I just started reading Pam Danziger’s book, Shopping: Why We Love It and How Retailers Can Create the Ultimate Customer Experience. For those of you who don’t know Pam, she’s president of Unity Marketing, one of the leading consumer research firms in the US specializing in shopper surveys and focus groups. Her book gives some fantastic examples of specific techniques retailers can use to create an exciting shopping experience for their customers.

She includes in-depth profiles of a variety of retailers—from the big chains like Nordstrom and Godiva to boutiques such as Nell Hill’s and Prairie Edge, laying out exactly what they’re doing to attract more customers—from personal shopping services and event marketing to store layout and product selection. The book is a great resource for ideas you can adapt to fit your store.

She sums up the major point by saying: “For years retailers' success has largely been a function of offering the right products at the right price in the right location, but those factors are less important today as shopping becomes one of our favorite forms of recreation. Today success in retail is less about what you sell, and more about how you sell it.”

What techniques are you using to create a unique experience for your customers? What do you do to make your gift shop fun, engaging and delightful to shop in? Do your customers get emotional payoffs from visiting your store?

—Nancy Tanker
Specialty Retail Report