How To Make Use Of Empty Computer Labs

A computer lab acts as the hub for teaching a whole bunch of students how to use a computer and various other skills, usually by a professional computer teacher. Along with taking classes, teachers can also use the computer lab for research or for creating technology-based projects. But what about all the hours when the computer lab is empty with lots of potential? There are plenty of ways to make use of computer labs that are not in use. This is how you can also make ways for additional income by putting classrooms for rent. After school and college hours, computer labs are mostly empty and remain without any use. It’s important to understand the full potential of owned spaces and realize the profit they can bring you by utilizing them effectively and efficiently. Here are 5 ways you can make use of your computer labs when it’s not in use.

1. Conduct Online Exams

Computer labs are the best spaces to conduct online exams with plenty of students appearing. This way, the space, as well as the computers, are being utilized in the best way possible. It also gives you the authority to supervise each student and help them correctly. Online exams need spaces like computer labs to be conducted properly. These are held for a few hours and so renting out computer labs temporarily will be the ideal way to go. Computer labs are also designed in a way that works best for online exams. Each computer will have well-functioning software as well as an internet connection that are essential for online exams. Instead of looking for classrooms for rent, you can actually use computer labs to conduct the exams. 

2.  Organize Meetings

Since computer labs are empty with a large seating arrangement, it can be used as an alternative for meetings, conferences and seminars. In case all the meeting rooms are occupied and you have run out of options, making use of a computer lab is your best option. A computer lab has more than enough space to accommodate a team. You can also make use of computers to present data and statistics for your meeting. Any kind of visual presentation is possible in a computer lab which is a plus point for your meetings and seminars. You can display your prepared presentation on a big screen or even  It is also a great place for group discussions and brainstorming ideas. 

3. Teach Your Classes

Tutors need a quiet and disturbance-free place to conduct a proper class. A computer can be the perfect tuition space for your computer classes. In case there is a shortage of classes, or you have to take an emergency class, computer labs can come in handy. A good alternative for classrooms on rent. Using the space for conducting classes is also a great way to earn additional income. Schools remain empty post-evening and also during the weekends. Using this time for extra classes and teaching sessions can be very helpful to both teachers and students. School computer labs will be the perfect locations for teachers searching for a classroom environment. It is very easy to find such spaces as many are already available for rent. 

4. Hold Training Programs

Training programs of new techniques or new software require a large number of computers and a whole day. Time, space and a good number of computers are essential for a successful training program. Everyone needs to be in a quiet environment and together in one room. A computer lab is a peaceful and disturbance-free zone where tutors can effectively carry out training programs. Computer classrooms for rent are a good option for these programs. This is not possible in offices as they have other employees too. In offices and other spaces, there is constant rush and a lot of disturbance too. You can rent out computer labs and set up training programs easily. With the use of well-functioning computers and space to accommodate a large number of people, your training program is bound to go well. 

5. Conduct Workshops

A computer lab is an empty and peaceful space with a lot of resources to make use of. You can also use these labs as a space to conduct various types of workshops. You can hold promotional and educational workshops according to what fits the occasion. An educational workshop could be teaching the underprivileged sections of society about the workings of a computer. This can be effectively conducted in computer labs. Social service activities can be conducted with the good purpose of making India more digital. 

There are plenty of ways to make use of empty computer labs and these were just some of them. Computer labs can be a great source of income as well as a life-saving space during emergencies. It’s important to understand and be aware of how you can list out your vacant owned spaces and make money by putting them to good use. Empty classrooms for rent are available today. You can even learn how to put your classroom on rent or rent one out.

Credits: Manavi Sarang

How can empty shops be used for renting?

Space owners after owning a space should start getting creative and start thinking out of the box when the retail space remains vacant most of the time. Not only some empty spaces strain the property owner but it also starts creating an eye store in the community. As an easy way to remedy both the problems and to lease out the space out on a short-term basis. 

Many businesses lend themselves to this kind of temporary occupancy. Many shops give prop-up two to three months in advance spaces too. But some of the accounts are not the only ones who need temporary retail space.

Related Topic: How empty classrooms can be ued for renting

Marketers use pop-ups to sell their wares

Some marketers who have new products use completely new business, which will also be used for lease, specifically short term spaces to test the products or new businesses concept to determine it well. If any of the products or businesses are susceptible to some localized influences, then the market may lease down spaces in multiple markets to make sure it is covered in the entire demographics.

The empty shop’s space market has become popular with both landlords and tenants that have multiple sites online catering to landlords who want to list the properties as well as the tenants who are searching for the right opportunities. One such popular site wherein you can list your space would be www.myrsa.in to book property spaces.

Related Topic: What activities can be done in a short term renting space? 

The length of leases and other consideration 

The lease for such spaces usually stays for six weeks to one year, with so many non-seasonal retailers willing to sign in the month-to-month leases there could result in long-term tenancy.

This concept works the best where there is little or no space in the modification required. Generally, just by adding desks and chairs or some kind of display to fix it is all that is required. These simple additions and changes are easily implemented than torn down. Extreme modifications are not a stumbling block because tenants don’t want an easy move-in move-out phase, and the landlords want to become little and have no refit between the tenants.

The pros and cons for landlords

While there is a long-term lease commitment, there is a pop-up operation that is not wholly unattractive for landlords. That might be because the prospect of bringing some rent is better than having no rent at all. The aesthetic value that is there in the pop-up operation can add a location that would not be overlooked. It can also be used to help consumer confidence and show the retail space as being desirable. The short space to these leases can also give huge benefits to landlords by offering immediate mortgage assistance while leaving the potential prospects open for long-term leasers once in the market become favorable.

When to search for an empty shop space

There is no ideal time or season to search for an empty shop space if you are in a need to grow your business and you don’t have much space for it then you can search for more such spaces. For example, holiday decoration stores and gourmet goods, and gift basket providers need space for in the upcoming holiday season and that is usually in the summer season. For more information on empty spaces and more, you can visit www.myrsa.in

Pop-up Stores in Malls: How To Get In The Game

Malls have a long track record of offering a place for shopping and socialising. Containing luxury brands, restaurants , cafes, playgrounds, education centres and movie theatres, malls have become neighbourhoods of their own.

They draw on the power to have a diversified environment to appeal to a variety of different audiences, and more and more retail and pop-up experiences are being provided, as well as capturing the rise of e-commerce companies turning to physical locations to provide IRL for their customers.

Issue or a chance?
In relation to the  Mark Cohen, director of retail studies says, “The Internet is now hollowing out the great mall.” Mall operators need to innovate as they compete with growing numbers of online shopping customers. Credit Suisse, the multinational financial services company, has also projected that online fashion revenues would double to 35.7% in 15 years and that by 2022, up to a fifth of the 1,211 malls will close their doors.

However, what we are currently witnessing is an exciting transformation in the industry and a revival in physical stores instead of hearing developments such as the demise of brick-and – mortar. The rise of e-commerce, in reality, is not a challenge to malls, it is a call for creativity and a chance for cooperation.

short term rental

Pop-up shops to get in the game 
In-store shopping appears to have value. They provide an irreplaceable shopping experience, encourage customers to try out and evaluate the quality of goods, and provide a space for face-to – face contact between salespeople and customers.

In reality, giant e-commerce companies such as China’s Alibaba have recognised this and they are increasingly looking for ways to open physical stores.

Just as e-commerce firms were looking to pop up, more and more malls were looking for pop-up store options to tackle the closing of department stores, fill empty spaces and enliven the shopping experience. Short-term pop-up shops have shown that they increase foot traffic, target millennial demographics, and raise overall revenue from property.

Malls are not static centres for impersonal purchases, but living hubs of consumption and enjoyment that change with the seasons, inspiring and vibrant.

For mall owners looking to liven up the dynamic in their malls, pop-up shops create excitement and are a great solution. Malls provide a forum for major brands that increasingly use pop-ups to create buzz and attract attention to new products through partnering with pop-up shops. Furthermore, pop-ups are a way for mall owners to open their doors to start-up brands and e-commerce firms that are keen to enter and meet customers in the physical market.

In the form of pop-ups, partnering with existing businesses, start-ups and e-commerce businesses will reinvigorate malls with exciting and rotating deals. Pop-ups will add another degree of liveliness to mall owners and give clients an additional incentive to visit.

temporary renting

Also, another thing with malls booths is, it isn’t mandatory for you to have it in one location all year long. You can have them at different malls at different times of the year. So you can find new businesses in new locations each day. If you think that buying a booth is expensive. Believe me, you can have your own booth designed at the desired amount.

We at Myrsa make this idea of renting out your booth very easy and convenient. You just need to list your mall booth on our website and start earning.

Just a few steps and you are ready to get started. Isn’t it one of the easiest ways to earn. Sit at home and control whats been done in your booth with Myrsa. Stay tuned for more unique ideas to earn. Subscribe to our blog at www.myrsa.in.

What’s The New Normal For Retail Stores?

Although the world is attempting to return to a sort of normality, it is obvious that certain aspects might have irrevocably changed. The business world is no exception, so what’s the new standard for business?

The Covid pandemic is one of only a few times in history, before and after. When all can be set as ‘before Covid’ or ‘after Covid’ in context.

Physical retail around the world was forcefully modified during the lockout and customer behaviour adapted accordingly. Retailers that start up again work in a different environment.

We recently wrote a piece about how to safely run a store in a post-covid world (check it out here), so we’re going to talk about some of the longer-term impacts in this article and what distributors need to be mindful of in order to thrive.

Physical vs digital a thing of the past

A number of brick-and – mortar stores were suffering long before the pandemic. There are various and nuanced explanations for this, but it is fair to assume that much of it is responsible for the rise and growth of e-commerce.

Related Post: Eleven things to consider when planning to open a store in a post-COVID world

Consumer behaviour was forcefully adjusted during the lockout. All had to turn to the digital world for their retail needs with physical stores closed, including sectors and consumer groups that previously opposed doing so. Now that these barriers have been demolished, things are unlikely to return to the way they were before. Out of the bottle is the genie.

What this means is that the relationship between offline and online is more critical than ever. Brands that are unable to combine the two will fight. Physical retail remains a very strong customer engagement tool, and the digital world can never compete with the value and experience that can be offered by a physical store.

This ‘phygital’ so-called solution is far from a modern notion. This process, however, will be an ongoing evolution, not a single transition. Are we going to see the virtual wardrobe that Cher Horowitz uses in Clueless to pick what to wear? What about runway shows with holographics? No idea, but those that succeed will be the brands who make the largest leaps and seamlessly merge both the physical and the digital to optimise the effect of each one.

Coping with a recession

It is no secret that the world is facing a possible recession of great severity. However, unlike previous recessions (2008, 1990s etc.), a sudden shutdown of consumer spending caused the Covid recession. Clear, obvious and instantaneous. Previous recessions have left durable imbalances that have taken years to sort out. Although many economists believe we can rebound rapidly, the fact that we’re in for a tough time is not secret.

Related Post: Will physical retail have a role to play in a Post-COVID world?

How will shopping affect this? Well, to begin with , people are going to have less money and be less likely to invest what they have. This decreased spending on consumers would hit retail hard. Retailers will have to fight to build confidence and loyalty by providing outstanding experiences and being trustworthy, much as in previous lean times.

History tells us that recessions reveal internal vulnerabilities, speed up new patterns, and push companies to make quicker than initially expected systemic changes. Brands who adapt, alter their activities and focus on providing value to their customers will emerge at the top, and those that are earliest to do so will have a great chance to develop themselves.

Contactless shopping the new norm?

Contactless shopping refers to the idea of not actually selling something in your stores, another trend that will definitely become popular in the future. A shopping experience without touching items, no show replenishment, and no need for enormous customer numbers. In exhibits, goods are displayed and sales are either made there and there and generated from the back or delivered the next day directly to your home.

Although this is a style that has evolved due to the short-term limitations of working in a Covid environment, consumers are highly likely to tolerate it at first and then actually prefer it.

Appointment-only shopping?

With a range of design labels and fashion companies, we are already seeing this and it’s a trend that might hang around until Covid becomes a bad memory. In short,’ appointment only’ is when you book an appointment on your own or with a small number of other clients and get a time slot in the shop.

While this is very much about preserving social distancing protocols in the short term and making the consumer feel comfortable, it can persist in the long term as it offers a range of significant advantages. From the point of view of the retailer, consumers are more likely to make transactions on an appointment and thus encourage brands to concentrate more of their time and resources on their most important customers who have already made a commitment. An appointment is a far more customised experience from the customer’s point of view; everybody gets a personal shopper!

Related Post: Shop on wheels finally takes off in India as brands arrive at societies with retail trucks

Experiential retail the differentiator

So far, if there is a common theme, the customer experience is and will continue to be relevant. Physical retail offers brands with opportunities to connect with consumers in ways that the internet does not. With consumers buying all sorts of products online becoming more and more relaxed, physical retail needs to wow and delight. People are looking to be amused, and to establish new connexions with consumers and build loyalty, brands must step up to the challenge.

As physical retail changes from transactional to dramatic, experiential retail would be the norm.

Related Post: Age of Experiences is here: What is Experiential Marketing?

Flexible retail – fewer flagships, more theatre?

The Covid crisis served as a trigger, as we have seen, triggering many of the developments we have already seen. Phygital, contactless, experiential … these are all words that we have spoken of for years. There is nothing that is radically different and nothing that can surprise anyone excessively. But it is possible to get a glimpse of what the overall retail picture would look like when you take a step back and look at the bigger picture. This is a new standard.

Will the make-up of the high street and shopping centres look the same if a physical place is all about collecting marketing insight, evaluating new goods and interacting with new and existing customers?

When contemplating their physical retail plan, brands need versatility. We have called this ‘short-term retail’ in the past, everything from six-month pop-ups to one-day activities, but now this tactic is going to be even more common. We’re talking about ‘flexible shopping’ now, the blurring between long-term and short-term tracks.

Expect brands to scale back their flagship stores and create versatile, engaging short-term retail ventures that travel around and grow instead. Positioning their physical retail plans, both completely aligned with and powering ecommerce products, alongside their marketing programmes.

A thing of the past is long-term rentals. Pre-Covid, as brands sought to reduce their risk, we were already seeing a major shift from 5-10 year leases to shorter-term more flexible agreements, but now with an even greater need for flexibility, we expect the pendulum to swing further because more and more brands are seeking flexible terms.

With major retailers struggling and in the middle of a recession, if they want to continue filling their properties with products that attract customers and prove lucrative, landlords will need to reassess their choices and approaches.

Myrsa is a platform where you can find acces to the societies that are close to you and are looking for bulk deliveries.

You can book a different types space through them on a hourly or a daily basis. As this is going to stay for a while you must register on Myrsa now and connect with housing societies even after lockdown. This has now become a lifestyle change and you as a brand must keep up to it!

Eleven things to consider when planning to open a store in a post-COVID world

With lockdown restrictions slowly lifting throughout the world , people are starting to emerge from their homes and life is taking its first tentative steps towards normalising. In this article we will be speaking through some of the steps that retailers should consider when planning to open a store in a post-Covid world.

While there’s a lot of debate about what the ‘new normal’ will look like for retail post-covid, what’s clear is that retailers looking to open their doors in the short term will have to take steps to ensure their staff and customers are safe.

Government legislation varies from state to state but no matter what the law requires a store to do, there’s a more important barometer you need to consider. Yes , of course you need to make sure that what you are doing is within the legal guidelines, but what your customers expect is the higher benchmark to consider.

When you consider that this way, it’s not a necessity to wait for governments to tell us what to do. We can anticipate what customers are going to expect and this is the benchmark that matters, not what we need to be doing as a legal minimum. Physical stores that plan to reopen must persuade their customers to be safe while shopping in their stores.

What your clients need to feel comfortable and relaxed is inevitably going to be a higher standard than any government policy. It’s not about what we need to do in order to operate as retailers but rather ‘what can we do to make people feel comfortable? ’.

In this article we highlight 11 areas that should be considered when reopening an existing store, opening a new one or embarking on a short-term retail project. There is no one-size-fits-all reopening approach, as this is far from being an exhaustive list. Consider your business goals and resources as you plan (and how reopening those will impact).

  1. Regular cleaning 

Repeated cleaning of all areas of your store is a must. It is considered almost as important as cleaning actually is to clean it and make sure customers know that you have a strict schedule of cleaning in place.

You’ll need to focus on different areas, depending on your industry and the layout of your store. Implementing a cleaning regime targets that have frequently touched surfaces and spaces like shopping carts, pin pads and door handles. Don’t forget to cater for staff equipment; like selling machines, shared tools like pricing guns and fridges.

covid 19 safety

  1. New Safety Devices

Installing safety equipment may seem like a costly investment but it will serve to strengthen customer trust in your policies and approach. Customers are not allowed to enter if they do not see clear effort and expense being spent on their safety. Make sure that the safety equipment is well maintained and clear and obvious, it shouldn’t be something you ‘re embarrassed about or try to hide from.

First of all, consider installing plastic screens at checkouts and possibly placing a hand sanitizer station near the door.

  1. PPE

No matter where your store is located, you’ll need to consider PPE. Even if where you are in the world is not mandatory is it something that will reassure your customers? Probably the answer is Yes. Make sure that you have a reliable PPE source for all staff, and that they are fully trained in how and when to wear it. You will also need to ensure that your PPE cleanup approach is consistent.

Depending on where you are, it might be wise to make it compulsory for all customers to wear some PPE level for entry.

Related Post: Shop on wheels finally takes off in India as brands arrive at societies with retail trucks

  1. Social  Distancing

It’s probably a social distance that will be standard practise for a while yet and possibly longer. At the very least, people’s awareness of their own personal space is heightened and will be integral to doing what you can to make people feel comfortable.

Make it store policy to keep a distance of two metres between everyone (including staff) and place markers on the floor in areas that are likely to experience a queue like checkout.

Other choices. That depends heavily on the specific configuration of your store, including the implementation of one-way and clearly signed ‘flows’ that encourage customers to walk around the store in a specific way, thus minimising the chances of meeting someone else coming the other way. If you have two doors, then another option is to have separate entrances and exits.

If your store is relatively small then creating a capacity limit may be sensible. Sign clear how many people are allowed in the store and make sure that a staff member is at the door to enforce the policy. If you expect to have large numbers of people outside the queuing make sure that you also consider their safety and place markers where they can queue outside while keeping social distance.

kiosk in malls

  1. Your staff

Never forget about your employees throughout the process of opening your store. Your safety should be as important to you as your customers’, if not more important. Likewise, their adherence to your new policies will be an enormous contributor to whether they are successful and whether customers feel comfortable enough to enter, buy and tell their friends. To this end, make sure that you train your employees well and they understand the role they need to play.

In terms of shifts, try and balance shifts so that not too many people are on breaks at the same time to avoid crowding in the ‘break’ areas.

  1. Signage 

You should look at clearly signing the steps that you have taken and explaining your policies clearly. Make them reassuring and highly visible, so that customers know that their safety is being taken seriously. Clear messages reiterating social distance requirements, client volumes or some of your security processes will provide a reassuring and consistent environment. In-store announcements could even be used to remind customers of proper traffic flow and social distancing protocols.

  1. Returns

In a post-Covid world you need to think about how to manage your returns. At first, considering extending your standard returns policy until well after the lockdown ends may be sensible.

Is it enough to wash them when they return, and will customers purchase potentially contaminated clothes? These are things you need to consider – make sure you have your policies clearly signed to reassure customers.

Related post: Will physical retail have a role to play in a Post-COVID world?

  1. Opening hours

Do not automatically resume the same trading hours when reopening. You might want to extend it, or even shorten it. Keep in mind that social distancing requirements and cleaning processes will mean that opening and shutting your store take longer.

To support social distancing efforts by limiting store traffic, adjust store hours of operation where necessary. Consider offering exclusive early hours access to seniors and other high-risk individuals and maybe boosting pickup hours to serve more online customers.

  1. Changing rooms

Changing rooms are a staple and required part of the sales process for fashion and apparel brands but they represent some major challenges in the immediate future. Keeping changing rooms closed may be sensible, unless you can limit numbers and have a robust cleaning or decontamination process in place.

If you decide to open your changing rooms, position a nearby staff member to maintain social distance and clear items that have been handled immediately.

  1. Just contactless?

Dealing with money presents challenges. Just accepting card payments and maximising how much you use contactlessly would be sensible. If contactless is not possible (some countries have extended the limit for the duration of the crisis) then ensure that you disinfect the pin pad before and after each transaction – and make sure that the customer sees that you are doing so.

 11. Shopping by appointment  

Finally, one trend that we’re seeing more and more is a switch to appointment shopping. This is where customers book a time slot where they will be able to enter the store. They are the only person in that store during this time, and have the full (socially distant) staff attention. This is obviously not an option for all retailers but is an extremely valid option for high-end goods or brands of fashion and apparel.

Consumer confidence will return when they are confident their safety is a priority.

Book Temporary spaces on rent on Myrsa

Will physical retail have a role to play in a Post-COVID world?

The ongoing Covid-19 crisis has profoundly impacted many facets of our lives. The way we shop is no exception. Yet what does the pandemic ‘s effect on physical retail futures mean?

With local laws curtailing our movements at the height of the crisis (and trapping us in our homes in many countries), the way we shopped changed drastically. Restricted high streets and malls, and ecommerce underwent tremendous upliftment. Now that the freeze is easing across the globe, the question arises – does physical retail still have a part to play, and if so, what’s going to be different?

The short answer to that is yes. Physical retail should continue to play an significant part in the relationship between customers and brands. Its dynamics may change slightly, but our high streets do not go anywhere and brands will continue to look at physical retail as a mighty opportunity. What’s important to think is which customer preferences in a post-Covid environment will survive, and which will revert.

We’ll take a look at what’s changed in this article, what it means for physical retail and how brands can adapt.

What’s changed?

It’s no secret that ecommerce has seen a big boom in the last few months. As McKinsey’s consulting group points out, retail will definitely see a gradual rise in online shopping and in areas that had been predominantly store-based in the past. That would be attributed in part to consumers who previously preferred shopping offline, such as baby boomers and Gen Z, being more comfortable with shopping online. Particularly for the supermarket ‘routine’ such as groceries. If they have done it once or twice it is going to become normal.

retail space for rent

According to Forbes, these new consumer habits are likely to persist with an anticipated 20 per cent annual growth in ecommerce across retail as a whole, compared with 15 per cent pre-Covid

In fact this shouldn’t be a big surprise. That was a phenomenon that we’ve seen already. The last few months may have actually accelerated the trend but there is still a vital part to play in physical retail. This is because while ecommerce may have benefited from being

Nonetheless. Although ecommerce success in recent months may have benefited from being a fast and convenient alternative, it can not compete with in-store experience.

Related Post: Here are 5 Financial Advantages of Hosting Pop up Shops

What’s the physical retail getting to the party?
Ecommerce is amazing. What doesn’t want the convenience of their own home to do all their dull ‘routine’ shopping? It’s smoother, quicker and sometimes cheaper. Yet we need to note before we get carried away that this is not a one-size-fits-all case.

Everything this comes down to the experience these days. Name the industry and you’ll find that expertise is at some stage the main differentiator. This is no different in trade. Improvements in ecommerce capability are generally geared towards increasing efficiency and reducing friction. That effectiveness comes at the expense of experience and the key is experience.

Physical stores offer the opportunity to provide interactions that just can not compete with the digital world. There is no alternative. For precisely this reason, digital brands have launched physical stores all over the world over the last few years.

What’s more, it’s obvious that even in the last few months there’s been a big shift to digital, there’s still a need for an experience above and above what a typical ecommerce website offers. For example, here at Myrsa we saw a tenfold increase in inquiries about our Virtual Reality Stores as customers look for ways to differentiate and deliver unique, branded experiences.

kiosk in mall

That is why we are confident physical retail will recover as consumer demand picks up. People are going to return to the high street, back to physical retailing. Yet while we’re sure that physical retail space for rent will return as a retail force, we ‘re also positive it won’t look exactly the same.

What will become of physical retail in a post-covid world?
We need to think about what it will look like in the short term and what it will look like in the long term to answer this issue. The perspective of the short term is interesting; with the shops opening gradually across the globe, we are still catching glimpses of what is to come. We will go through this in more depth in a separate article but it is fair to conclude that physical retail will concentrate on fulfilling consumer standards about hygiene and health over the next few months. Consider PPE, hand sanitiser, and shopping for appointments.

Related Post: Shop on wheels finally takes off in India as brands arrive at societies with retail trucks

The long-term view is even more compelling. When brands use physical to attract new consumers and offer excellent brand experiences, we ‘re likely to see even more of a shift to experiential retail. They need to work on the halo effect to do this – using both the physical and the digital to deliver a seamless customer experience.

In a recent interview, José Neves, founder and CEO of Farfetch’s online luxury shopping platform, took this even further when he said: “Brick-and-mortar digitization was ‘good to have’ in the eyes of many brands and retailers but should be pushed to a ‘must have’”

The Covid-19 crisis has increased transition pace, and the need for reform. Brands capable of integrating online and offline to gain advantages on both sides would be competitive with physical retail (so-called ‘phygital’).

Yet not all digital upgrades. Changed the role of physical retailing. Or rather, it has accelerated the change that it was already experiencing. Stores will focus less on shifting stock and generating revenue, and more on building customer loyalty, gathering insight into marketing and reaching new audiences. More marketing … Less transactional.

This is a phenomenon we’ve seen in the emergence of pop-ups as brand trial sites, run product releases and gain marketing feedback in short-term environments designed to offer outstanding experiences.

We expect that we’ll see less but better flagship stores over the next few years coupled with plenty of flexible retail (like pop-ups shop on rent) to highlight brands and goods, draw new buyers, create brand loyalty and improve online sales. We ‘re going to see versatile retailing in affluent areas where you’d never have seen it before.

Such physical stores can offer less items and sell less, but can have even more entertainment.

Entertainment and the experience is everything.

What is Location-Based Marketing?

Location-based marketing is a rapidly growing marketing strategy, located right in the middle of the advertisement ecosystem.

In most but not all sectors this advanced marketing approach is a perfect fit. Here’s what makes location-based marketing successful and a few pitfalls you’ll need to avoid.

Marketing based on location: Wherever it operates.

Brands with physical locations are the best fit for location-based marketing, which is evident but worth repeating at all times. Such types of businesses are best suited for geotargeting strategies because location-based marketing and analytics firms will geofence locations to identify the audiences visiting their locations. Marketers build audiences for their geo-targeted ads based on real-world experiences, rather than shares and follow on social media. Using this approach, advertisers ensure that they reach the right audience and deliver appropriate content at the right time.

So who will successfully use the geotargeting campaigns? It covers all retail outlets, catering and dining establishments, grocers, and the list goes on. Below are just a few more examples.

Auto dealers

Auto dealers also profit from geotargeting campaigns which can reach customers of their competitors, especially geo-conquesting. In their final phase of visiting auto dealers, their large retail presence, high-value price tag and purchasing process force advertisers to work hard to reach the car shoppers.

Pop-ups and seasonal stores

The businesses and brands with seasonal stores and time-specific events often create impactful geotargeting strategies when they meet the right requirements. Talk of pop-up tax bureaux and holiday shops.

Related Post: Here are 5 Financial Advantages of Hosting Pop up Shops

Marketers for these brands use publics seen at their previous year locations to offer ads to the same audience, enabling return visits the following year. To encourage future ticket purchases, professional and college sports teams use location-based targeting to meet the audiences who visit their stadiums each season. A trade show that takes place in a large venue over several days, attracting thousands of attendees, is an effective way to capture a business-to-business public.

what is location based marketing

Tourism boards

We have also seen travel and tourism boards use geo-targeted campaigns with success. For example, a marketer who works to encourage tourism in Charleston, SC, may decide to convince Savannah, GA tourists to visit their location next summer instead.

Ecommerce companies

In some cases, marketers at e-commerce firms and consumer packaged goods (CPG) firms can also use location-based marketing. Whether they have physical retail stores or not, eCommerce companies are competing for customers who visit rivals that have shops. Likewise, businesses that stock items in specific stores may use geotargeting for consumer-packaged-goods (CPG). A business with a high-end hair care product that can only be sold at salons should use location-based marketing to target customers who frequent those salons.

Location-based marketing: What to avoid

Those who use every targeting technique know that there are limitations to each strategy and location-based marketing is no different. These restrictions can be in terms of both data quality and quantity, as well as regulatory and compliance limitations.

Locations that don’t scale

The most common obstacle to build an effective location-driven campaign is to discover that places are not going to scale up to create a substantial audience. This difficulty can come from a variety of issues like choosing a single location to examine without heavy foot traffic, events that don’t last long enough to attract the right audience or smaller markets with limited data to start with.

Marketers also sometimes consider location-based audiences difficult when companies are clustered closely together or on top of each other, as in malls or multi-use buildings. It is difficult to create a market for a store located on the street level of an apartment building, or tourists to an office located on a skyscraper’s 12th floor. Marketing and analytics firms based on location may not be able to determine the difference of who is a shopper and who lives or works on the floors above or below the desired location.

Related Post: How IoT Is Revolutionizing The Real Estate Sector

Products or services available everywhere

Recall an example of this high-end hair care product? If it’s only available in certain salons, then ads based on the location will work well. But if it’s available somewhere, the plan would just not work.

Goods that are omnipresent, and can be sold in a variety of locations — think bubble gum, soft drinks, pet food — do not benefit from observations derived from a distance. Such advertisers should use other targeting strategies to reach their customers more efficiently, such as demographics and buying history.

Businesses with sensitive data

Considering the sensitive nature of the data, brands at certain places, such as healthcare facilities, can pose another challenge for location-based campaigns. Compliance companies such as the Network Advertising Initiative, the Digital Advertising Alliance, and TrustArc have membership requirements that stipulate appropriate business practices and how their member firms will treat opt-in authorisations. We play a vital role in providing protections for customers in the absence of robust federal legislation.

Usually, adhering to these codes of conduct, location-based marketing firms do not encourage advertisers to build markets around sensitive areas, especially related to health care, or participate in any discriminatory practices. These same principles apply to the right to personally track or target another person. Marketers have no desire or motive to target one market, but rather large audience cohorts which exhibit similar behaviours or characteristics.

promotion

What’s next for location-based marketing?

There are three important elements in the future for location-based marketing: legislation, the emergence of new data sources, and attribution.

The end goal is a standardized structure that voluntarily welcomes both consumers and businesses, and one that gives greater clarity and control over data practices across the entire data ecosystem.

The 5 G rollout would create massive sources of highly accurate location data, combined with the introduction of billions of new sensors over the Internet of Things. The 5 G towers must be more tightly grouped together than the current cell phone towers. Such finer clustering means cell phone carriers can triangulate position with a greater degree of precision than they can do today. 5 G also offers quicker upload and download rates, driving the proliferation of more internet-connected devices across a variety of products and industries. As these billions of sensors come online, they will not only produce location data but also other valuable data sources to track the use, usage and life cycle of goods. It is yet to be determined how advertisers, academics, and regulatory bodies interpret, evaluate, and use the more granular data.

Related Post: 6 Affordable Retailing Alternatives for Small Businesses

Finally, advertisers will be gradually held accountable for their ad spend, requiring evidence that their ad spend results in new foot traffic and sales. We’re a long way from demonstrating that digital ads, and most other advertising formats, have resulted in actual sales in the shop. There are just too many unconnected silos of data to put meaningful and statistically relevant findings together. The ad seen on TV can not tell your phone or laptop that it has also been watched, while the point-of-sale or online checkout system can not alert the prior touchpoints to confirm that the sale has taken place. Given these challenges of tying online ads to offline sales, when using location data, marketers adopt a macroeconomic view of attribution. They assess how their campaigns affect foot traffic at their own locations, as well as competitors, as another data point to measure the effectiveness of their ad spending.

The Last Line? Such improvements are all new opportunities. It is because of its efficiency that advertisers can continue to invest in location-based marketing. Understanding what works and what isn’t the basis for any successful campaign.

Myrsa will help these marketers to easily find temporary rental spaces in high footfall areas. Register your Brand with Myrsa and start your promotional activities now.

8 Tips To Grow Your Seasonal Retail Business

Many businesses have ups and downs in their businesses and in many cases, these fluctuations are due to the seasonal changes. Seasonal business is a term to describe such types of businesses that correspond with the seasonal changes. A season can be comprehended in this setting to incorporate a) periods of the year and their climate-related changes, b) holidays, and c) festivals like the Holi, Diwali or the Christmas. Although most organizations experience some occasional business variances, others experience serious regular changes and may even restrict their tasks to specific seasons.

Some businesses that are extremely seasonal may close down completely at some time of the year. There are some businesses that are open throughout the year but may experience huge profits during one or two seasons of the year, like Diwali or Dussehra being the busiest for electronics.

Some of the events can influence the sales in every month of the year that can be predictable to businesses. These types of seasonal events can affect different industries differently. For example, January is a good month for fitness memberships or health memberships. February is generally the slowest month but it does have Valentine’s day which triggers a great way for a seasonal business. Summer is the month where all the summer products are in high demand. Likewise, June has a great increase in back to school sales. Finally, winter that starts with November and December is also the holiday month for many. Therefore tourism increases.

Related Post: Ideal Food Festivals in Mumbai for your Food Business

The dominant feature of all these seasonal businesses is that they are all small shops like kiosks in a mall or a beach shop – they are all gift stores. What this means is the customers are buying a gift for someone or gifting themselves because they are on a holiday. 

These are the important customers that are more open to buying a high priced item than the other ones that only buy items in seasonal business due to the sales that they can get with any type of brands.

Though this type of business is not the most traditional type of retail business, they are very much profitable when they are in a high traffic location that has a lot of footfall in the form of tourists and vacationers. If you have a seasonal shop or are thinking of opening one, here are some of the reliable tips that you should use to manage your business for success:

1. Marketing of your brand- You might have been advertising your event mostly in a traditional way that is print media, television. You should now try to leverage social media to gain benefit for your business. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter whichever suits your demographics well. They will help to reach a larger audience without investing a lot of funds.

seasonal retail business promotion

2. Advance advertising of opening- One of the mistakes that new seasonal businesses make is to wait until they are open to start advertising the brand. Experts in the marketing field believe that advertising beforehand, that is before launching your product can create a huge interest in the customers regarding the brand and they are much more willing to stay updated.

Related Post: Age of Experiences is here: What is Experiential Marketing?

3. Know your vicinity- If possible see to it that the products you sell do have a local connection. Some of the examples include locally hand made products and products that have a local theme and also products that have a direct connection with the city where you have set up your business. For example, if you are in Goa then the products will have a style that is local and cannot be found online easily so that they come back home.

4. Clear out- Make sure that you don’t hold onto the old merchandise because they feel like “it never gets old.” But guess what? It does. Have a huge clearance sale that will while there are still shoppers left. Don’t wait for the offseason.

5. Pick the right products- Select the products that are proven to be top-selling items. If you dont then the sales training will also not help you. You don’t have time with slower-moving products when you run a seasonal shop. Even though they have a higher profit margin it is recommended that you have a product that has better sales. Successful seasonal business flourishes on higher volume.

6. Give customers a motivation to purchase- People are bound to burn through cash when they’re in the midst of a get-away. Separate yourself from your rivals and you’ll see a greater amount of that cash coming to your direction. Show a couple of things keenly instead of racks and racks of something very similar. Feature new uses for a more established item. Prepare extraordinary signs that make clients stop and think about your things.

Related Post: Start your own hassle-free popup shop!

7. Be different- Continuously search for approaches to differentiate your business so you’re not all that subject to the blast and-bust cycle of the occasional activity. Would you be able to start more organizations that kept running in various seasons?

kiosk space in malls

8. Utilize the off season furthering your potential benefit- The best entrepreneurs utilize their personal time to revive and plan for one year from now. Clean the whole store – that implies the build-up toward the sides of the floor covering, the extra tape from signs, stapes from enhancements, the works! Do the math. Search for approaches to improve. Refocus your methodologies. To put it plainly, improve yourself and you’ll improve your business.

Now if you are looking for spaces for your seasonal business. Myrsa will help you find spaces in different locations. You can book a space for a few hours to a few days in high footfall areas. Find spaces in malls and also in other commercial areas with Myrsa. 

 

 

6 Affordable Retailing Alternatives for Small Businesses

When starting a retail business, making a product that your customer will like is just the beginning of the battle. The next steps are to get that product in front of your target customers and unless you have a few lakh rupees lying around buying your own traditional storefront goes out of the equation.

Well, there’s good news for people who have a product to sell: These brick and mortar retail stores are not the only options for you. Whether you want a scaled-down retail space for rent or choose to sell online there are many alternatives that fit into your budget of selling your products.
Here are budget-friendly ways to run your retail business:

Don’t want to buy a retail store but still want to have your own space in a high traffic area? A kiosk is a perfect option for you. It is a great opportunity for businesses that have a small inventory. These small stands got their start several years ago with seasonal retailers wanting a short term option. Today there are thousands of kiosks in malls, event venues, markets nationwide that sell everything from food products to retail products.

There are many benefits of opening a kiosk, especially for new business owners. The total cost of the kiosk is all in meaning the cost of the location will also be included in the minimum rent amount. Smaller footprint and square footage mean a lower overall rent with less overhead and operational costs.

Another advantage is that they are usually located in high traffic areas such as malls due to which the visibility of the brand increases. This can help in making high sales and can help in brand marketing. Kiosks are usually cheap and can be based on an hourly basis. They are on a short term basis which has no risk of long term leases.

Related Post: A Complete Guide On How To Open A Food Truck In India

One of the riskiest and expensive ventures that a businessman can pursue will be the brick and mortar restaurants. Food trucks are becoming popular and are now a business idea for many businesses to get started on a budget. You get to show your skills thereby making a huge impact on your customers.

Food truck operators are able to open a shop quickly without a large amount of investment. You just find a small space which will not include extra costs of a kitchen and staffing and dining room. Food trucks have been growing because of the growth of speciality foods like gluten-free and vegan foods.

Statistics even show that failure rates of new restaurants are between 60 to 90 per cent while for food trucks it is just 10 to 20 per cent.

kiosk space for rent

Popup shops are most common during holidays or festivals, but many few businesses take advantage of it all year round. Small business owners can take advantage of this and open a temporary shop as per the motive and position of the business. It can help to jump-start their sales marketing and branding efforts.

A great advantage of this business is you can move around and open in different neighbourhoods and expose your brand to a wider audience. Online businesses that want to test out their products can also use this way to really personally know their customer and market their product accordingly.

Related Post: Start your own hassle-free popup shop!

Stores can be found according to their budget and the location they select. Business owners should take a fully professional approach as if they were opening a retail store. The impact that these stores have on consumers is huge so taking this approach for small or big retailers will be really profitable.

If you have a product that can be packaged and shipped anywhere then eCommerce is your way to go. It is an e=inexpensive way to get your business out there. Without the cost of having a retail location, you can almost instantly start off with selling your product online. All you need will be a well-designed website and a shopping cart.

retail space for rent

On the go, businesses are not just limited to food enterprises. Cost-effective retail stores like repurposed trailers and recreational vehicles are soon becoming popular. This has helped in finding success as businesses can keep on moving to different locations and reach new customers. They can share their whereabouts and keep their customers updated via social media.

Running a business from your mobile retail shops will give you the freedom to set up shops in new locations. The main advantage is that you are not stuck on any agreement and you can move wherever you want to. 

It can give the flexibility to move so that you aren’t stuck in a location where there is no sales happening. 

Related Post: How short term rentals are taking over the market!

A wholesale business will help you get your products in the market without much effort in selling them. They can be in the form of an independent boutique to the large department store. You can produce a large number of products and sell them online to retailers. 

To sum it all you can apply any one of these techniques and start off with your business on a small scale. Some of these businesses can create a huge impact on the public and can give you a jump start for your business. 

Myrsa will help you find temporary spaces on rent at different locations. Choose the location of your choice and your budget as per your requirement. It is as easy as booking a hotel. 

5 Tips For Your Fashion Popup Store

You have planned for your fashion pop-up store to be a hit but you need to be sure before opening it. Know all the points that are said to be important by the experts to create your fashion popup into a success.

The Right Reason

Now you are a new fashion brand that has been started to be recognized as a successful brand in the market- it may be first or second, you need to be sure about the reason you are planning to go offline with your popup shop and set all your purposes right. Everything that comes after that will define whether you want to be placed in a high street area or a mall.

  • Is it to engage your customers offline?
  • Are you looking to explore a different city or a new market?
  • Do you want more brand awareness?
  • Do you have an upcoming collection to be shown?

Mainly these points complement each other. But there must be one point that will stand out from the others, which then becomes the main goal for your business when it comes time to bring it front and promote it.

Related Post: Start your own hassle-free popup shop!

The Perfect Timing

Once you define your reason, why you want to create a fashion pop-up store, you need to define when and for how long you want to keep the store open.

Knowing the right time to open up a popup store adds to your success. You need to study the dates when your target audience will be at the place that you are aiming for so that they don’t miss your store.

Some important factors to consider are:

  • Fashion week agenda
  • Other events that are complementary
  • Festive seasons
  • Start of the season
  • End of the season

fashion pop up shop on rent

To decide about the about of time your popup store on rent should last, I would say it truly depends on the type of experience you want to deliver to your customers. Short term popup stores create an impactful perspective and thus building great customer experience for your brand.

Popup shops that last for more than a week are those that want to a part of the market in a daily way. These pop-up shops then become a go-to destination for the customers because they create certain reliability over time. These long popup stores then go on to become a permanent shop in that area.

The common ground between these two is that they work incredibly well for your brand as a case study.

The Perfect Location

As Important as timing is for your popup store, finding the right pop up shop space that is planned by your budget and as your brand’s identity is equally important. So where do the people who follow your brand’s style go to?

You must have a clear customer persona to get this right. Do they go out to the mall shops or do they go out to outside areas?

Websites like Myrsa help you find unique spaces for your popup shops. Decide the type of space you want from small to big and also specify the time of your shop. Find your ideal popup shop spaces on Myrsa. Once you have this clear you can then start to find the different types of popup locations that are within your price range and your decided area.

These are the various types of pop-up stores:

  • Mall shops
  • Stores or street-level shops and retail spaces
  • Mall booths or stands or exhibition stalls

The essentials that your popup store must have are:

  • fitting rooms
  • storage space
  • storefront for display
  • bathrooms / restrooms
  • security cameras to prevent theft
  • proper lighting system
  • parking close by
  • accessibility by public transit
  • street entrance

If the choice you made is in a shopping mall then make sure to know about the opening and closing time of the store.

Related Post: How short term rentals are taking over the market!

The Perfect Store Layout

Now that your idea, timing and location are set, the next thing is to plan your layout. The best layout for your fashion popup will be the one that will create a different or experiential experience for the customer. And the layout is a complementary work between the location and design.

find pop up shops for rent

Some basic things to place depending on the spot chosen are:

  • brand or logo for your storefront
  • lighting fixtures
  • Mirrors inside
  • wifi connection
  • wardrobes, clothing stands, shelves and hangers
  • cashier system for the POS
  • stoppers and signs for outside

You should keep in mind that the inside store should match with the outside of the store to match your brand story. If you want to attract new customers then create an inviting atmosphere for both inside and outside your store.

Promote your Pop-Up Store

Create a lot of awareness about the store you are going to open. Let everyone know about where and when you are about to open your open popup.

A few important tasks to carry on are:

  • make sure to promote it on Facebook by creating an event
  • promote it on Instagram accounts 
  • contact all the influencers and newspapers
  • make offers that can attract customers
  • set up an opening and closing event for your pop-up store

It is time to get your pop-up fashion idea going! Our team will gladly support you with every step of the way, by finding the pop-up location you were envisioning and creating an incredible fashion pop-up shop that both your customer and yourself will relish.

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