Every year at this time, the media devote an enormous amount of space to holiday retail shopping. This year, the main thrust seemed to be how retailers were slashing prices, staying open late and hoping last-minute shoppers would snap up gift cards. Did all these strategies work? My opinion is: yes, yes and yes.

If you’re a small to medium-size retailer, consider each approach and see which works best for you. Deep price cuts might be a good idea at holiday time. They let you clear the back shelves of slow-moving inventory and, if displayed near higher-priced items, can lead to additional sales with better margins.

Staying open late — or opening early, for that matter — is a good way to differentiate your store from the competition. You see the big-box retailers doing it all the time; why shouldn’t you? But make sure you have some great merchandise or great prices to draw the customers in. Let them know in advance that coffee, juice and donuts will be served. You could even throw in a Visa gift card for the first customer in the door. Use your imagination to make it worthwhile for customers and employees alike.

We’ve blogged about gift cards here before. They’re relatively inexpensive to buy. You can even purchase all the components needed to make your own. Card sales can bring in short-term cash flow and, of course, “bonus” cash from customers who lose or forget about their cards. Make sure you have safeguards in place to assist would-be card-bearers who misplaced theirs — it’s not worth it to upset a potential repeat customer.

Continue to read up on what the large retailers did to overcome fears that the economic downturn would negatively impact their sales. With gas prices predicted to hit $4 a gallon in the months ahead, you’re going to have to learn how to get customers to drive your way.

I think the phrase “get it” — as in “Some small retailers really get it when it comes to satisfying their customers” — is already a cliché. But in that sentence, the “get it” part is absolutely true, as this New York Times article points out.

I have to cheer when I read about retailers doing the right things to entice customers. Even though they might also sound clichéd, simple things like setting out cookies and cider during the Christmas season shows shoppers that you’re thinking of their personal comfort and joy. And that puts them in a better shopping mood.

But the retailers mentioned in the article go beyond just offering refreshments. They are tuned in to their customers’ wants and needs via email surveys, in-store feedback, private parties, free gift wrapping…the kinds of thing this blog has been advocating for so long — even training you staff to give alternate gift recommendations if certain items are out of stock.

All the tools you need to get in touch with your customers are easy to come by. Online surveys, web page hosting, email blasting and the like are found with a simple Google search. Use those tools to get customers in the door. Then keep them inside by demonstrating how you offer personalized attention that the big-box stores can’t beat.

Just before Christmas, I picked up some clothes from the dry cleaner I sometimes use. I had barely spoken to the owner over the years. But this time, he wished me a merry Christmas and handed me a little bag of candy. I could tell he appreciated my business, and it made me feel good about being his customer.

This holiday season is a good time to remember: All the great store layouts and merchandising tricks don’t mean a thing if your store doesn’t make customers feel like they belong there. It’s up to you and your staff to make it happen — not just this holiday shopping season but all year long. It’s the best gift you can give yourself. Success stories like those in the Times article abound. With a little effort, you can find yourself among them.

I don’t know why the executive editor of NRF Stores was so surprised to find rude shoppers at the mall, many of them glued to their cell phones while trying on clothes and checking out at the register. You see the same thing at restaurants, sporting events, airports and just about everywhere people congregate. And especially at this time of year.

Maybe these shoppers become more civil when they can personalize the gifts they’re buying, as this USA Today story suggests. I’ve blogged before about how customers like to feel more connected to the buying process. Now retailers are making it easy for them to do things like add photos to gift cards, write messages in chocolate bars and build custom-colored athletic shoes right in the store.

It’s not that expensive to get into the personalization process, especially when weighed against the customer loyalty it builds. A Google search for “make your own retail gift cards” turns up dozens of companies that can help get you started. Everything from MP3 player ear buds to wine bottles can be personalized.

If getting personal with your customers helps cut down the rudeness factor, I say go for it. You might even get them to call their friends on their cell phones to tell them about your great deals.

Los Angeles and San Francisco have always been rivals in everything from baseball teams to culinary superiority to cultural attractions. Having lived in both cities, I can verify that those rivalries are indeed real.

Now it looks like L.A.’s retail boutiques are suffering an economic blow, while San Francisco’s fashion scene is on a roll. The reason? I think the creative director for Barneys New York, quoted in the Bay Guardian blog, has it nailed: “People here (San Francisco) are into design. It’s about the craft of fashion, not the hype of fashion.” In L.A., he points out in the article, style is all about exhibitionism or what other people think of what you’re wearing. “Here,” he says, it’s what you think of what you’re wearing.”

After reading the Los Angeles Times article and the Bay Guardian blog, I conclude that the L.A. shops didn’t pay enough attention to the bottom line. They were the fashion flavor of the month, with customers’ loyalty lasting only until the next trendy boutique popped up. When the realities of the economic slump finally hit their customers, it was too late. Virtually all the shops were beaten down by the Macy’s, Nordstroms and even the Mervyns of the retail world.

In San Francisco, the trendsetters stuck together for the betterment of their community. As the Guardian blogger said, “…the point is that here, creativity, innovation, and plain old weirdness is still king.

It would behoove you to know what your competition is up to, and to possibly form an alliance with them–a retail owners’ association, for example, that creates sidewalk sales, block parties, coupon clubs, etc. Successful retailers know that they have to stay ahead of the curve. Make sure you don’t fall behind it.

The holiday season usually brings an overload of news stories with forecasts, trends and advice for retailers and customers alike. A reporter at the The Mercury News in San Jose, Calif., assembled some of the latest data nuggets from industry experts. It’s fun to see if you agree or disagree with them.

For example: “…metallic is out and warmer colors are in…merchants are turning to palettes that contain more red, orange, brown, green and yellow in order to create cozier environments. Some stores are adding carpeting and even applying sound-absorption techniques.” I agree. Nothing wrong with cozy. Sound-absorption materials can get pricey, though. Maybe if you’re shop is next to an adventure-sports store with a cranked-up sound system.

“…ages 18-29, born 1978 to 1989 are much more interested than other generations in having retailers provide valet parking.” If it’s OK with your landlord, local parking lot owners, and local municipal codes, I say go for it. Anything you can do to get them through your front door is worth the cost.

“…the ‘Silent/GI Generation’ (62 and older, 1900-1945) prefers shopping at Wal-Mart to other stores and do less holiday shopping on Black Friday than other generations.” That’s good to know. If your customers fit that demographic, lure them in with specials early in the day or other times your store isn’t as busy as it could be.

“…84 percent of consumers said they wouldn’t be completing their Christmas shopping until either two weeks before the holiday, one week before or…Dec. 24.” Those last two weeks always deliver a crush of consumers. Entice them in with late-shopper bargains, coupons, emails, phone calls, etc. Make it a point to reward to their tardy habits.

You can find this kind of advice all over the Internet. Make sure it’s from credible sources before you apply it to your needs. And it’s not too early to start looking for data on post-Christmas sales as well. I’ll keep you posted. In the meantime, keep your retail elves busy.

While even John Q. Public knows that the Friday after Thanksgiving (“Black Friday”) is the biggest shopping day of the year, every veteran retailer buckles up his chinstrap for the after-holiday sales. Bargain-hunting consumers flush with Christmas job bonuses and looking to return unwanted gifts fill the aisles. So what can you do to prepare for the rush? Here are a few overlooked planning “must-do’s.”

• Advertise in the local paper
• Schedule extra staffing during the busy morning hours
• Post prominently your store’s return policies for both your customers and employees

These are very effective organizational measures you can take to improve your post-holiday bottom-line, but your preparation can’t stop there. You have to ready your retail space, especially since the pre-Christmas surge probably left little time for the usual store cleaning and maintenance.

Start with cleaning the store from top to bottom. Freshen displays. Repaint or repair aged mannequins. Clean the corners. Make sure the aisles are clear. Re-evaluate your window display. Remember that since this is a major shopping event, there will be a lot of curious shoppers seeing your store for the first time. It’s an excellent opportunity to recruit new customers.

Keeping key store supplies stocked is also very important. Unanticipated shortages such as running out of cash register paper rolls will surely lead to lost sales. Here’s a list of key display and store supply items that are essential to any successful post-holiday sale.

• Dump Bins and Tables
• Price Marking Guns
• Shopping Bags
• Gift Boxes
• Cash Register Supplies
• Revolving Graphic Displays
• Moving Message Signs

With enough foresight and preparation, you can have your cash registers ringing like sleigh bells in the post-holiday blitz. It’ll make your holiday season all the merrier.

As a baby boomer, I’m still scratching my head a bit about Muji, a Japanese retailer just launching its first U.S. stores. They offer unadorned home goods a few notches above IKEA’s. Yet they have an almost cult-like following. Muji devotees lined the sidewalks most of the day at Muji’s grand opening in New York City. Another IKEA-like store, CB2, also has a loyal following of post-boomers.

Both retailers seem to have struck a chord with a generation of “dedicated design heads” who like their furniture plain yet well-built, rejecting the perceived ostentatiousness of their parents’ generation when it comes to living with design.

After reading this article in The New York Times, I see that both retailers are gaining success by creating a buzz. They’ve opened stores in a neighborhood undergoing gentrification. They have well-trained salespeople who can relate to the target customers. The merchandise is hard to find anywhere else. It all adds up to shopping destinations or “adventure shopping,” as some call it. This is what affluent shoppers want, and they are more than willing to part with their hard-earned cash to be part of this buzz.

It’s not a new concept. Even the ancient Romans had exclusive shopping areas for the rich and powerful. Muji and CB2 are just the modern-day equivalents.

An up-and-coming location. Unique merchandise. Simpatico sales staff. It’s a formula for retail success. Make it part of your recipe as well. Always be on the lookout for the next hot trend, and be ready to jump on it. Remember, another retailer is lurking around the corner with another cool idea designed to siphon away your customers. Plan ahead and you’ll always be able to reverse the flow.