Welcome to the Board Retailers Association (BRA) website. Below you will find helpful and relevant articles that we carefully curate for the benefit of our BRA Retail Members several times per week. Be sure to scroll through the most recent articles or use the Search/Lookup feature in the Menu above to find topics and keywords related to recent and not-so-recent articles that may help you lower costs, increase margins, or create more remarkable customer experiences. We deliberately made this our site landing page to demonstrate our commitment to “Protecting Retailers and a Lifestyle” for over 20 years (since 2003).
Be sure to visit the About Us, Retail Member Benefits and Join pages on this site to learn more about and benefit from our resourceful nonprofit trade association committed to helping board specialty, outdoor specialty, and lifestyle specialty retailers to survive, thrive, and keep “the special in specialty” for free.
“Sustaining Profitability and the Environment: A Retail Necessity” by Nathan Smith via The Robin Report
Industry Reality Check To set the context for new emerging retail crises, allow me to set up the situation we find ourselves in as a result of the pandemic. From my perspective, Covid-19 did not start any new trends; instead, it accelerated one that had already begun,...
“Maya Gabeira Wrote the Most Beautiful Children’s Book: ‘Maya and the Beast’” by Alexander Haro via The Inertia
Maya’s first book is available August 2. Images courtesy of Abrams Books. For the last few years, Maya Gabeira has been working on something very different from her normal gig. She’s been writing books. You know Gabeira, of course, as the two-time Guinness World...
“YouTube, Shopify Partner to Offer Creators Livestream Shopping Option” by Marie Albiges via Total Retail
Photo Credit: Courtesy of YouTube Creators and merchants on the Shopify e-commerce platform can now feature their products across their YouTube channels, thanks to a new partnership between the two businesses. The new collaboration allows creators to link their...
“Monthly retail sales from the US Commerce Department” by Daphne Howland and Caroline Jansen via Retail Dive
Photo Illustration: Shaun Lucas/Industry Dive; Getty Images The department’s Census Bureau tracks estimates each month. Retail Dive provides the numbers for key segments, and their year-over-year progress, or decline. Editor’s Note: Comparisons for individual segments...
“Tennessee: Governor Bill Lee Signs Model Wakesurfing and Wakeboarding Legislation” by WSIA Staff via WSIA Newsletter
Last week, representatives from the recreational boating industry – including NMMA, WSIA, Heyday, Indmar Marine Engines, and MasterCraft – joined Tennessee Governor Bill Lee for an official signing ceremony of the industry-backed model wakesurfing and wakeboarding...
“The Raglan Surf Report: Why Surf Judges Keep Their Identities Secret” by Will Sileo via The Inertia
There’s a lot of hate out there in the world, no small amount of which is often leveled at competitive surf judges. No idea what I’m talking about? Go check out any of the WSL’s Instagram posts from the El Salvador Pro, scroll through the comments, and if you...
“3 Tips to Grow Your Business With Short-Form Video” by Melissa Oppenheim Lano via Total Retail
Credit: Getty Images by fizkes The average person’s attention span has decreased over the years — with some experts saying it’s now under 10 seconds — due to the large amount of information constantly vying for their attention. Not only is it harder to keep people...
“TikTok creates program for small businesses” by Tatiana Walk-Morris via Retail Dive
Mario Tama / Staff via Getty Images Dive Brief: Joining other social platforms in releasing tools for small businesses, TikTok has created Follow Me, a six-week educational program from July 11 to Aug. 19 for small and midsize companies seeking to increase sales using...
“Will Yeezy find it easy to operate stores?” by Matthew Stern via Retail Wire
Sneakerheads and streetwear enthusiasts may soon have a new brick-and-mortar store to visit. YZYSPLY, the sneaker and apparel company of sometimes-controversial rapper, producer and fashion entrepreneur Kanye West, has filed a trademark hinting that a physical...
“Top 10 Visual Merchandising Secrets” by Melissa Stivale via Independent Retailer
Visual merchandising plays a pivotal role in converting sales at the store level. The concept seems simple: display inventory in an organized way that engages and informs customers. However, there should be a lot of thought and purposeful planning that goes into...
“True Employee Engagement is a Two-Way Street: Here’s How to Build It” by Gys Kappers via Total Retail
When it comes to nurturing a successful frontline team in a retail environment, employee engagement has to be a top priority. However, many employers find engagement to be a slippery, elusive quality. According to a 2021 study, 73 percent of employees would...
“‘Femme Ocean’ Tells the Stories of Four Women Breaking Boundaries in Surfing” by Staff via The Inertia
Maryam El Gardoum tears into a blue Moroccan wall. Photo: Femme Ocean. https://www.theinertia.com/?post_type=post&p=244780 The ocean nearly took my life,” says filmmaker Annika von Schütz. “Now it’s giving me life.” Premiering July 9 at the International Surf Film...
“4 Examples of Great Customer Service in 2022” by Bob Phibbs via The Retail Doctor Blog
I’ve written extensively about creating a customer service strategy, how to improve your retail customer service, and retail customer service on the front line so I was anxious to see what I’d encounter when a couple of weeks ago I traveled down...
“Retailers scale back hiring as worry about a slowdown grows” by Anne D’Innocenzio and Haleluya Hadero via Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — After going on a frenzied hiring spree for a year and a half to meet surging shopper demand, America’s retailers are starting to temper their recruiting. The changing mindset comes as companies confront a pullback in consumer spending, the prospect of...
“4 Tips to Help Your Business Sell More Gift Cards” by Joe Keenan via Total Retail
Consumer demand for gift cards, both physical and digital, continues to rise. According to the Gift Cards - Global Market Trajectory & Analytics report, the global gift card market is forecast to reach $1.4 trillion(USD) by 2026, growing at a compound annual...
“A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO OPENING A SKATE SHOP” by Larry Lanza and Aubrey Fisch via Jenkem Mag
Similar to how we cling to technology of the past, as skaters, we also hang on tight to the olden ways of doing commerce. Handshake agreements, payment in products, and brick-and-mortar retail locations are all things that many industries have moved past or at...
“Who is Crystal Media? plus special BRA Member discount and access to view the ‘Reels Means Deals’ on-demand webinar right now” by Doug Works via BRA
A warm and enthusiastic WELCOME to our newest BRA Supporting Vendor Partner Crystal Media! As a Board Retailers Association member, you save 15% on select Crystal Media Services! As always, we at BRA continue to bring you Supporting Vendor Partners that...
“A Closer Look at Retail & Labor in Inflationary Times” by Rob Kaufelt via The Robin Report
As the former owner and CEO of Murray’s Cheese and a veteran supermarket executive, I feel compelled to weigh in on the current economy with some insights from the past. Having experienced the best and worst of times, I am only mildly optimistic about the future. That...
“42 Things No One Told You About Starting A Retail Small Business” by Bob Phibbs via Retail Doctor Blog
Owning your own small business or retail store is a goal of many. You can be one of the few small business owners who make the dream a reality. You just need to understand what you are in for as far as start-up costs, cash flow, as well as what it takes to be...
“You Might Not Need to Worry About Breaking a Brand New Surfboard Ever Again” via The Inertia
Editor’s Note: Just bought a new surfboard? Check out Surfcare, a new option for peace of mind. You just dropped an unforgiving grand(ish) on a creamy white hunk of fiberglass – straight off the rack from your local surf shop. It’s silky to the...
“7 Ways To Transform Retail Store Displays Into Sales” by Bob Phibbs via The Retail Doctor blog
There are a lot of ways your sales displays can be your silent salesperson. The trick is to make sure your displays include some of the basics. Try these seven ways to make your retail store displays do more than just look attractive. 1. Change your displays monthly...
“THE INS AND OUTS OF DECK COLLECTING” by Ian Michna via JENKEM MAG
Collecting skateboards is a pain in the ass. Boards are heavy, you need a lot of space to store them, and they will happily catch fire if your house ever burns to the ground. But that hasn’t stopped a small group of hardcore collectors who have spent thousands of...
“UCSD Surf Team Awards First College Scholarship for Surfing” by Will Sileo via The Inertia
We all know that you can get your college tuition subsidized, even fully covered, for playing sports like basketball, baseball, or football in college. Well, now the same holds true for surfing. University of California San Diego just handed out the first college...
“View the most recent BRA X M1 quarterly webinar about e-commerce featuring George right here. You can also view the previous quarterly webinar about staffing plus all four 2021 BRA quarterly webinars here on demand at no cost” via BRA and Management One
Once per Quarter, Board Retailers Association hosts relevant and helpful webinars on a variety of topics in collaboration with BRA Supporting Vendor Partner Management One. You can view the 2nd Quarter 2022 webinar as well as the 1st Quarter 2022 webinar and...
“The Technologies Reinventing Physical Retail” by BOF Team, McKinsey & Co. via The Business of Fashion
Engagement with in-store technology can lead customers to spend up to four times longer shopping than customers who simply browse. (Getty Images) In-store mobile apps and micro-fulfilment tech can address consumer pain points and enable companies to incorporate their...
“Life Jacket Essentials: What to Keep in Your Life Jacket if You Want to Get Found” by Mario Vitone via Wakeboarding Mag courtesy of U.S. Coast Guard
Pockets in life jackets serve an important purpose. The best life jackets have pockets for a reason – Mario Vittone explains what to keep in them in case of an emergency. Courtesy U.S. Coast Guard When it comes to life jackets, there can be a big difference between...
“Do mental illness and retail entrepreneurship go hand-in-hand?” by Tom Ryan via Retail Wire
Andy Dunn selfie from June, 2018 – Source: Twitter/@dunn In his book, “Burn Rate: Launching a Startup and Losing My Mind,” Bonobos co-founder and former CEO Andy Dunn opens up about his bipolar disorder diagnosis, exploring the inherent challenges as well as how it...
“Building Lasting Customer Loyalty Amid Inflation” by Matt Ramerman via Total Retail
The COVID-19 pandemic plus the war in Ukraine created a perfect storm for inflation, and now the prices of goods and services are dominating the minds of consumers everywhere. Annual inflation rose by 8.3 percent in April, close to a 40-year...
“BC Owner on Snow Season, Sales Trends and Inventory” by Tiffany Montgomery via Shop Eat Surf (Executive Edition)
BC Surf & Sport in Lone Tree, Colorado - Photo by SES Company Owner {and BRA Board Member} Bruce Cromartie answered some questions for us about how the snow season turned out, including what brands sold well. We also asked him about current sales trends and...
“16 THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT TRUCKS” by Christian Senrud via JENKEM MAG
For as long as I have been skateboarding, there have been so many debates over which trucks turn the fastest, which trucks grind the best, and which trucks last the longest. Each brand has their own specialty, and there’s no telling which trucks are truly “the best,”...
“Retail Moves From ‘The Great Acceleration’ To ‘The Great Rebalancing’.” by Steve Dennis via Forbes
A Best Buy store, a retailer of consumer electronics, operating in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.GETTY During the early part of the pandemic, it became popular to say that we had experienced 10 years of e-commerce growth in only 10 weeks. While that was rather...
“Surf Cams Might Be Secretly Ruining Your Session” by Ella Boyd via The Inertia
Yes, you can see yourself surf. But do you want to see yourself surf? Photo: Screenshot//Surf Cam Rewind Why do we surf? Is it to escape reality and enjoy a connection with nature? Is it to challenge your personal limits, try new tricks, and progress as a surfer?...
“Instagram is Becoming the New Mall: 3 Ways to Start Conversational Commerce Marketing” by Beerud Sheth via Total Retail
Credit: about.fb.com Everyone knows Instagram as a social medium, but only a few realize it's now becoming a conversational medium as well. Recently launched features now enable brands to conduct business with customers through private conversations. Businesses can...
“Airports and Mountain Resorts” by Jeff Harbough via JH&A Market Watch Blog
Seattle’s main airport is surrounded by communities and has grown like a weed right along with the Seattle metropolitan area. It has no practical way to expand. Through recent technology and some clever evolution of facilities the airport authority is...
“5 Ways To Ace A Quick Store Refresh Of Your Retail Merchandising” by Bob Phibbs via Retail Doctor Blog
When I lived in Los Angeles, I did business makeovers for the Los Angeles Times. Now that I speak and travel more, I only do business makeovers as a paid consultant. Recently I was contacted by a spa and outdoor furniture retailer for help with a storewide...
“Why Retailers Should Refocus on Customer-Centric KPIs” by Greg Chen via Total Retail
Credit: Getty Images by Fang Xia Nuo The science of customer attraction these days goes beyond offering a helpful, useful and accurate product that fulfills a need; it’s also about ensuring the customer is satisfied throughout their journey with your brand. Being...
“PALATE CLEANSER: MAKIES SKATESHOP – A Book of ’80s Skate Shop Photographs by Francis Makiej” by Anthony Pappalardo via Artless Industria
PHOTOS BY FRANCIS MAKIEJ SPOILER ALERT: I Made a Book/Zine Facebook sucks. (Full stop). If I were to think of something valuable about the platform or “product” as some call it, I wouldn’t try to kid you with claims about “connecting the world” or “providing a space...
“Is an urban retail recovery underway?” by Tom Ryan via Retail Wire
“It’s slow progress, but retailers’ interest in urban corridors is returning and deal volume is inching up, while shoppers, workers, travelers and diners return to city life,” according to a new report from real estate services firm JLL. Are they right? The...
“Boost Sales With Gifts & Impulse Buys” by Krystina Morgan via Independent Retailer
With the prime tourist season upon us, this is the perfect opportunity for indie retailers nationwide to capitalize on gifts and impulse buys. Whether shoppers are looking for something to bring home to their family and friends, or you need small influential products...
“Cure Retail Disruption With A Customer-Focused Approach” by Bob Phibbs via The Retail Doctor Blog
A lot of money is chasing the term of disruption in retail and examining radical disruptive trends. From innovative AI chatbots to new payment solutions, everyone is hoping to disrupt – or more accurately steal – market share from established companies the...
“Compassionate Retail is the Differentiator Your Organization is Looking For” by Bobby Marhamet via Total Retail
It turns out the American consumer of 2022 isn’t all that complicated, at least according to Raydiant’s State of Consumer Behavior 2022 report. Shoppers today want bang for their buck, they expect a positive all-around experience when they enter your stores,...
“A VISUAL GUIDE TO SKATING CARS” by Larry Lanza via Jenkem Mag
According to a stat I just made up, there are about one billion cars currently in circulation across the globe. Yeah, cars are a leading cause of global warming and an insane amount of deaths, but they offer endless possibilities for the people who own them. Besides...
“Surf Travel and a Brief Lesson in Localism” by Connor Macanally via The Inertia
Small-ish wind-kissed waves are your best bet at sliding in unnoticed. Photo: Sebastian Mitterm//Unsplash The Basque culture is one of the oldest in existence. How old? No one really knows. There’s good evidence to suggest the Basque language, “Euskara,” has...
“7 Best Selling Techniques to Increase Your Sales” by Bob Phibbs via The Retail Doctor Blog
Looking for effortless retail sales training that can transform your staff? Are you willing to do the hard work to achieve it? Sorry, it's not easy to transform your staff into selling powerhouses. Oh sure, you've probably heard it said of someone, “They could...
“3 E-Commerce and Social Media Trends to Watch Through the Rest of 2022” by Jessica Hawthorne-Castro via Total Retail
E-commerce sales have been on the upswing as a share of total sales since before 2000, and in the last decade, social platforms have played an increasing role. Then 2020 happened, driving an unprecedented spike in online sales. This year so far, we’re seeing social...
“HR In Retail: 5 Ways To Retain, Attract, And Keep Employees Happy” by Adam Hill via Retail Minded
The retail sector struggles to maintain a stable and content workforce. It has one of the highest turnover rates averaging above 60%. Most employees work long hours with low wages and no benefits. The great resignation brought about by the Covid-19 made things...
“Buy now, pay later players’ losses grow as costs soar” by Jonathon Berr via Retail Dive
Don Arnold via Getty Images BNPL providers are paying a hefty price to keep up with surging consumer demand for their financing services, spending large sums to add new tech and more employees. The buy now, pay later boom had an inauspicious debut more than...
“5 Surf Non-Profits That Are Making Waves of Change” by Rebecca Parsons via The Inertia
Surf non-profits do lots of positive things for the surf community. Photo: Courtesy of Me Water Foundation. Sometimes it’s easy to forget that surfing is a business. It is, after all, the “surf industry.” A large part of surfing is centered around selling boards,...
“What Every Brand Should Know Before Launching Into Live Selling” by Finn Faldi via Total Retail
Credit: Getty Images by fizkes For retailers and brands, “going live” consistently can drive conversion rates that are higher than what they see on their e-commerce sites. Here are some tips that businesses of all sizes should keep in mind when expanding into the...
“PacSun opens metaverse store, auctions NFTs” by Tatiana Walk-Morris via Retail Dive
Courtesy of PacSun Dive Brief: Joining other brands in experimenting with the metaverse, Pacsun launched a three-level store in ComplexLand 3.0, a metaverse shopping festival taking place between May 25 and May 27, the youth...
“Guinness Just Verified That Sebastian Steudtner Set a World Record at Nazaré” by Will Sileo via The Inertia
Sebastian, focused amidst the chaos of Nazaré. Photo: Joerg Mitter. https://youtu.be/CIXbZPHLv2o We know this: several massive swells have occurred at Nazaré in the past couple of years. And with them have come the things we aren’t so sure of. Namely, if the...
“7 Tips To Visually Optimize Your Website” by Krystina Morgan via Independent Retailer
With retail ecommerce giants like Amazon and Walmart setting the bar extremely high for website design and experiences, smaller online stores are left behind to constantly make updates to ensure their websites are similarly easy to use. It is absolutely crucial to...
“Most Product Purchases Aren’t Impulsive, So Why Sell Them That Way?” by Bob Phibbs via The Retail Doctor Blog
I walked into a store in California last year and they had what seemed like thousands of mason jar candles stacked on a glass fixture from the '80s.It was right next to the register.I could see the logic of putting the display there. Candles are an impulse item. We...
“Did the Pandemic Change Retailing Dramatically?” by Jan Rogers Kniffen via The Robin Report
Any professional observer of retail trends and every shopper in the U.S. would tell you that retailing, and retailers changed dramatically during the pandemic. But many of those changes were already in the works before the pandemic even started. One of the...
“Social Commerce is Having More Than a Moment – Brands not embracing this trend, or at least testing the water, will be left behind” by Stevie Morris via Total Retail
Credit: HubSpot Social commerce, the latest darling of digital marketers, continues its meteoric rise with the latest predictions putting the industry at $1.2 trillion in purchases by 2025. With more than $958 billion spent in 2021, it’s clear that social commerce...
“Audience Hijacking: How to Prevent Your Online Customers From Being Shoplifted” by Patrick Sullivan via Total Retail
Ensuring your website visitors have a positive experience is absolutely crucial for turning shoppers into buyers. But increasingly, the online customer journey is disrupted by pop-up ads, browser plug-ins and extensions designed to redirect shoppers away from your...
“Malls and Shoppers Are Back In Droves” by Bob Phibbs via The Retail Doctor blog
Don’t look now, pundits, but those dire predictions of the collapse of malls are crumbling. I visited the Garden State Plaza in New Jersey Saturday around noon. It took me about ten minutes to find a parking place. Once inside, I found the mall packed with shoppers...
“U.S. Retail Sales Grew 0.9% in April – Retail spending rose for the fourth straight month as inflation remained high” by Harriet Torry via The Wall Street Journal
Americans continued to pump money into the U.S. economy in April, with increased retail spending offering the latest sign consumers are driving demand at stores and manufacturers despite the pinch from high inflation. Retail sales—a measure of spending at...
“16 THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT PROFESSIONAL SKATEBOARDING” by Christian Senrud and Staff via Jenkem Mag
Skateboarding is so damn fun that it’s easy to forget it’s also an actual j-o-b that some people do to make ends meet. Just like the regular jobs you and I work, there are a lot of nuances, expectations, and obligations that the greater world doesn’t necessarily know...
“The Best & Worst Times To Post On Social Media” by Krystina Morgan via Independent Retailer
Social Media plays such a huge part in brand growth, but unless you use it properly, it will not help you gain any extra exposure. There are many different factors that go into creating successful social media accounts, and one of the biggest ones is posting at just...