Sidewalk Life

Selling Less

"Everything is going bigger and more, so we are going smaller and less" says Bodo von Hedenberg about his Berlin bookstore Bildschone Bucher.  It's an extension of his online store 25books.com and its a strategy that seems to be paying off.  Monocle tells the video story. 

Foodometer

This cute little animated film aims to make people aware of the energy (oil) it takes to eat a conventional agribusiness diet.  Thanks to the eat local challenge for posting.

Offline Channels Drive Customers to Search

Mass media is not dead. 
In fact, it may be more important to the way customers shop than we thought.  That is according to this Jupiter research study that reports that television more than any other channel drives people to search for information on a company or product.

It's especially interesting in contrast to this report form Alloy and Harris Interactive that seems to ignore that over 80% of students own televisions.  The story they chose to report was about the growth of mobile media devices over the staying power of the television as a dominant fixture of young people's lives.

Retail Love Notes

I caught these two businesses passing loves notes to each other across 14th Street in the meatpacking district.

Hedonism Lives!

Conservation seems to be a new trend.  'Green' is on every magazine cover, WalMart is selling compact flourescent lightbulbs, and cars are getting smaller.  'Less is more' seems to be catching on.

And then I went into Jeffrey on 14th ST.  I witnessed an orgy of shoe shopping that would make Caligula blush.   Women from everywhere tearing through shoe boxes and discarding them like Christmas morning.  (Claire Danes took home three pair by the way).

Green may be the new black, but it's going to have to come with a sense of style. 

Not Promising Anything

This sign seems like the kind of thing that was made after they got in trouble for false advertising claims.

Double Meaning (redux)

This has been troubling me for weeks, so I finally went in and asked the store owner what he means by this sign.  It means both...

a. four thousand dollars seems like a small price to pay for a guitar if it turns you into a millionaire musician,

and more romantically,

b. being able to express yourself through that guitar is priceless.

Double Meaning

I'm confused by this sign in the window of Chelsea Guitars on 23rd street.  Does it mean:

1. Don't be a sucker and spend too much for a guitar, or
2. What would you pay to be a rock star?

Or both, depending on your point of view?

TV Bullying

Charts like this always shock me.  It's not so much the amount of money companies spend on advertising, but how much we need to be reminded to buy a car and take drugs. 

The chart came from this article in the Times Magazine over the weekend.  It's about the feeling of being pursued by advertisers and how that may not be such a good thing.

 

Retail Generalist

Over the holiday break I spent a lot of time doing home improvement projects. Which meant I spent a lot of time in the Sag Harbor hardware store.  And I've come to appreciate the generalist approach to retailing.

Not only does the store stock tools, lumber, and paint supplies, but you can also buy a vacuum, a microwave, dishes, cleaning supplies and plants.  It's not the deepest selection of brands, but they do stock just about everything you need for your home.  Plus it's staffed with people who can advise on how to get foam insulation off hardwood floors.

The limited (and since I trust them I'd call it "curated") inventory takes the headache out of buying.  Maybe it was the slower pace of the break, but sometimes you just want someone to tell you what to buy rather than offering you endless choice.  Plus the one-stop shop makes it really convenient.