I just received this email from a subscriber:

I am a first-time retailer with a Fanmats cart in Tennessee (thanks in large part to information from your publication!) and I am looking to expand into a small in-line with some fairly specialized types of sports gear. 

Any resources you might be able to get to help me in "assessing" the possibility of moving to an in-line store would be greatly appreciated.  Specifically, do you know of a resource that gives typical or average sales numbers for small inlines?

I don't have any stats on the average sales of inline stores. This number would vary greatly based on types of products sold, merchandise and geographical region. I suggest you go to some of the local malls in your area and network with some of the store owners to get a feel for how they're doing. You can explain you're considering opening a store, and see if you can ask them a few basic questions. 

Here are a few you might consider posing to them:

1. How long have you been a retailer in this mall?
2. Have you been happy with your store sales?
3. Do you have additional locations outside of this mall, if so, how do your sales there to compare to this location?
4. Are you staying in '08?

Good luck in your venture!  Please keep me posted!

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

I was in a store over the weekend when a customer walked in and wanted to return a sweater, purchased with a check, for cash. Not knowing what to do, the new salesperson called in the manager, who recognized the loyal customer and processed a cash return on the spot.

In this case, it's likely that things worked out well. The manager recognized the customer and reacted accordingly, but this situation could have been one of the two most-prevalent types of return fraud: paying by bogus check and getting cash back, or "wardrobing" (wearing or using a purchased item then returning it—sometimes called "renting").

Think return fraud can't happen to you? Here are some sobering stats:

• The National Retail Federation estimates retailers will lose an estimated $3.7 billion this holiday due to return fraud (almost $11 billion for the year).

• The biggest targets of return fraud aren't mass retailers but smaller, independent shops. (In fact, return fraud thieves make it a point to hit smaller retailers who don't have the security systems that larger retailers do.)

• Return fraud normally occurs on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, when shops are busiest and staff is most likely to be rushed and distracted.

• Almost 1 out of 10 returns are fraudulent.

With a problem that big, it's time to take concrete steps. Security experts recommend:

• Every retailer should have, post and stick to a very clear return and refund policy.

• Don't accept returns without a receipt; if you must, issue store credit, not cash.

• Inspect returned merchandise carefully for signs of wardrobing, and to make sure the item in the package is what it should be (another big scam: replacing a higher-cost item with a lower-cost one in the same package).

• Keep a log of returned receipt numbers to prevent multiple returns from copied receipts (another common return fraud tactic; if you have a good POS system, it will automatically alert you to more than one attempted return on a single receipt.)

• Keep a log of customers with returns; if a customer racks up a large amount of returns, look into it. (Again, if you have a POS system to track returns, you'll be ahead of the game.)

• Require a store owner or manager password to process returns so as to cut down on the chances of your employees participating in a return fraud scheme.

Of course, none of these steps guarantee you won't be the victim of return fraud, but with a focused fraud-prevention system in place, you'll be in a much better position to maximize your holiday profits.

Our recent issue of Specialty Retail Report ran an article about preventing shoplifting and employee theft, two more profit-killers you should pay attention to.

If you have any other tips for fraud prevention, or personal experiences in your store that you'd like to share, we'd love to hear from you!

I'm starting to think about sending out my holiday cards, and that made me wonder how many people each year actually send cards. So I looked it up (isn't the Internet great?) and according to the Greeting Card Association, two billion holiday-related cards are mailed each year.

In fact, according to GCA, "the most popular card-sending holiday is Christmas, which accounts for more than 60 percent of all individual seasonal cards sold."

It's nice to know I'm not the only one!

What does this mean for you as a retailer? Stock and sell holiday cards in your store. It's a lucrative business.

You may want to focus on selling cards that are unique, and that can be personalized with a photo to offer something different than mass merchandisers.

Also, think about selling small holiday cards as a point of purchase sale for customers buying last minute holiday gifts.

One of the best resources I've found for locating new and unique cards is the National Stationery Show. This show is fantastic for finding amazing card and paper vendors, and there are lots of new products launched there every year. I covered all sorts of products from there this year.

Next year's show runs May 18th-21st in New York at the Javitz Convention Center. If you decide to go, stop by our booth and say "hello!"

Last week I wrote about the increasing popularity of gift certificates during the holiday season and Doug Fleener, a retail consultant, posted the following response.

Great tips Patricia, I especially like #3 (Reward Employees for Selling Gift Certificates As Part of their Sales for the Day). Because retailers can't book a gift card/certificate sale until it's used they often neglect the salespeople who are good at creating those card/certificate sales. A weekly contest where an employee wins a gift card themselves is a great incentive. It could be to the store, Starbucks, Barnes and Nobles, etc.

One interesting point of gift cards is that the NPD Group says that the popularity of these gift cards has hurt other retail segments, especially impulse buying. "In past years, impulse purchases have accounted for 26% of holiday sales. In 2006, that figure dropped to 19%, this year we'll be lucky to hit 17%," NPD says in its release. Sounds like to me its smart to make gift cards a retailer's impulse item.

This got me thinking about how important impulse sales are to increasing your store's overall sales for the holiday season. I wanted to share a few ideas for increasing impulse buying this season in your store:

1. Place stocking stuffers near the registers, and at the register.

2. Locate POS fixtures with products under $12 near the line to the register so that customers can shop while they wait. I can think of dozens of mass retailers who do a great job selling to customers in line. At Victoria's Secret they have cleverly loaded a three-tiered fixture with fantastic items for your purse, such as lipstick, small perfumes and mints.

3. Sell pre-made gift baskets.

4. Create a table for hostess gifts ranging in price from $12-$30.
   Make sure you have professional signage to remind customers to purchase said hostess gifts.

5. Strong window displays are never more important than during the holiday season.
   And strong window displays can lead to strong impulse buying.

6. While most retailers sell on value and customer service, I urge you to think outside the box and create a few special promotions to increase impulse buying.
   Some ideas: special promotion of the week (15% of one product category per week for eight weeks.. frames, baby, home decor, etc.), spend $50 and receive $5 off and/or a special gift with purchase if over $50 or $100 is spent.

Halloween now ranks as the second biggest holiday for retailers behind Christmas. Sales have grown to $5 billion, up from $3 billion just two years ago.

Why have sales nearly doubled in the last two years?

Here what I think:

1. Candy sales… Consumers spend $2 billion a year on candy.

2. All-inclusive… This holiday is not linked to a particular religious sector. 93% of children under the age of 12 go trick-or-treating and 60% of adults celebrate, with a surprising 50% of them dressing up for the holiday.

3. Decorating… The fastest-growing segment of Halloween sales is outdoor decor. 86% of Americans decorate their houses for Halloween (both indoors and outdoors).

4. Nostalgic.. We all loved trick-or-treating as kids, so it's fun to participate in the holiday as an adult (particularly if we have kids of our own!).

I hope you had fantastic Halloween sales this year. Now it's time to gear up for a big Christmas season. Stay tuned next week for more holiday sales tips.