Finding Small Businesses
Our retail strategist Christina Devlin writes about the reason for TechTown’s Marketplace . A directory of local things to do, eat and shop.
As part of the Retail Services team, Christina provides support to entrepreneurs and small business owners, helping them strengthen their business concepts, open brick and mortar locations, stabilize and grow. She has over 20 years experience in retail program management, operations, product development and non-profit leadership at Pewabic Pottery, The Detroit Institute of Arts, and Pure Detroit.
In 2018, she started Devlin Consulting, helping small and independent businesses to become more stable and successful by creating and strengthening standard operating procedures, training staff, improving visual merchandising, optimizing inventory
management, and creating long-term business strategies. In her free time, she enjoys hitting the open road with her family and visiting the weirdest roadside attractions they
can find.
Black History Month: Celebrating the Avenue of Fashion
Black entrepreneurs are an integral part of the retail scene in the city of Detroit. The Avenue of Fashion, stretching from 7 Mile to 8 Mile on Livernois, is said…
Shop Small Holiday Gift Guide: Gifts of Health and Beauty
Whether you are looking for the perfect gift or just need a little pick-me-up for yourself, these local businesses have what you need. Many of them make or sell products you can’t get anywhere else, and you get the extra feel-good boost of supporting local businesses this holiday season!
Shop Small Retail Blog: LET THEM EAT CAKE!!!! Or chocolate….Or drink tea…..
Trying to find the perfect gift but don’t know where to start? Want something you can feel good about gifting and that you know will be appreciated? You can’t go wrong with food!
Next-Level Pop-up Merchandising
With a little planning and purposeful decision-making, you can create a visually stunning pop-up display that can be scaled for a variety of spaces, make a strong statement about your brand and gain the interest of new customers.Pop-ups are a great way to test products, broaden brand exposure and awareness and gain new customers. Unfortunately, many vendors underestimate the value that well-executed visual merchandising can have on gaining new customers and increasing sales. If your display is boring or unattractive, customers will keep walking by, but if you can gain their attention, you have an opportunity to convert them to a customer for life.The effort you put into your pop-up display can have a significant impact on your bottom line. Visual merchandising is an art. It doesn’t need to be complicated, simply make thoughtful and purposeful choices and create a set of tools to convey your brand story to potential customers.TechTown now offers a custom fixture library to vendors at our monthly pop-up, The SHOP, to help entrepreneurs learn and practice these three tips for next-level pop-up merchandising: