I’ve been seeking the answer to this question for years. Like you, the best I can do is make educated guesses. Suzy Gershman, the author of a new city Frommer’s shopping guide, seems to do the same in this interview with the San Francisco Chronicle. Her thoughts on how consumers shop in a down economy could help you plan your merchandise mix during these tough times.

She notes that shoppers are more likely to take a pass on stuff that looks good and opt instead for stuff that makes them feel good — especially at home, where they’re spending more time now. And she echoes my sentiment that consumers want to shop in retail stores that not only look special, but that make them feel special: “It’s that out-of-body experience when you are taken somewhere else.”

Gershman tells readers where she loves to shop in the San Francisco Bay area. They’re the kind of places where customers might find something totally unexpected to buy. Wouldn’t it be great if you could get your store mentioned in her book? It’s not out of the question. There are plenty of print and online shopping guides out there. Find out who writes them. Put them on your email list for newsletters and updates. Let them know when you have great new, hard-to-find merchandise.

For example, I recently discovered Shorelines Gallery in downtown San Diego. It’s the only place in the county to buy handmade, hand-painted Sticks furniture. The merchandise is great and the store design outstanding. I hope the owners are doing all they can to get noticed online and in print. If they’re as creative in promoting the store as they are in retail design, it shouldn’t be hard to do. Take a look at their website. It could get your creative juices flowing – and in this economy, you need all the juice you can get!

With payment by fingerprint and interactive shopping carts a reality in some cutting-edge retail stores, you should start thinking about how your customers will pay you in the future. According to this study on MediaPost.com, 19% of U.S. customers surveyed expect to check out via fingerprint recognition by 2015. They also look forward to shopping carts that “locate products in the store, check prices and promotions, upload recipes and complete the checkout process.”

Even if you’re store doesn’t offer shopping carts, it’s worth looking at the study results to see what a cross section of consumers expect in the future. Shopping by mobile phone and social networking shopping websites aren’t too difficult to get involved with, although holographic sales assistance sounds more like a something for the Jetsons at this stage.

You owe it to yourself and your clientele to keep up with the latest technologies at the cash wrap, on the sales floor and in the dressing room. If you’ve been to an Apple or Old Navy store, you know that many sales associates are in constant communication with each other via wireless headset, and some can ring up sales on the spot via wireless checkout devices that even print receipts. I certainly appreciate checking out fast even when there’s a line at the POS, and I think consumers will come to expect such convenience the more they’re exposed to it.

Read the survey results and see what I’m talking about. The more you learn about what consumers really want, the more likely you’ll be ready to satisfy their needs in the not-so-distant future.

Supermarket shopping via home computer has been around for a while but this new product from Ikan Technologies makes it a whole lot easier. It’s a countertop scanner that resides in your kitchen. When you’re done with a food product or other scannable item, you run its barcode under the scanner. This builds a list of items you need from participating merchants. When you’re ready to order, you can review the list before sending it wirelessly to your PC, which then transmits the order to the merchant. You can pick up the goods or have the market deliver them to you, depending on store policy.

This seems like a fantastic way to speed up shopping. Of course, it doesn’t come cheap. The Ikan scanner lists for about $399. But I see it as another way for smart retailers to engage their clients and solidify their loyalty. I can see applications even in non-food retailing, such as office-supply, athletic-goods, pool-supply and other stores that stock disposable merchandise. You’d need to convince you clients that a system like this will save them time and money. I think many of them would agree.

Speaking of kitchens, this article cites a study that shows people who buy organics are much more receptive to new products and ideas than the rest of the buying public. Affluence doesn’t appear to be a factor when buying organically, even though most organic products sell for more than their non-organic counterparts. What this study says to me is that just by promoting a few organic products in your store, you might have a better chance of attracting new customers. Whole Foods Markets, for example, sell organic clothing, skin-care products and other goods along with its organic foods. I’m sure that the customers who buy that clothing are going to walk out of Whole Foods with more than just some hip new threads.

Keep abreast of the latest in scanning technology. And don’t overlook the organic market. Sounds like a winning combination to me.

I’ve always loved poking around REI stores, with their vast selection of outdoor goods and clothes. I haven’t always agreed with their merchandising tactics, however. It seemed to me that merchandise was just clustered around the store by product type, such as kayaks in one corner, handheld GPS systems in a kiosk, hiking boots in a rack, etc. I didn’t feel like I was having much of a customer experience at a destination store. Instead, it was just a walk through an assortment of departments with nice merchandise.

Now it looks like a more thoughtful approach to merchandising is seeping into the national cooperative chain, according to an article in Today’s Facility Manager. Top management is doing what any retailer — large or small — should do on a regular basis: imagine how your store(s) will look two, five or 10 years down the road.

You don’t have to pay analysts or buy research data to get ideas on planning for the future. Ask employees and customers for feedback. REI sales associates had plenty to say about floor comfort, so the REI prototype store of the future in Boulder, Colorado, incorporates their suggestions. Lighting also was a concern, so the new store features a tubular lighting system that saves energy by funneling sunlight from the roof to throughout the store.

To maintain ties to its community, the prototype store has a 2,000-square-foot community center with meeting areas and play area for kids. For-profits can rent the space, with revenues donated to various environmental groups. That’s sure to please REI’s large base of eco-aware members.

The store was kept open for all but five days before the grand opening, and was promoted on REI’s website so customers could keep abreast of the upcoming changes. Overall, it sounds like REI did a great job of planning and building out the prototype store with great concern for staff and members.

You should be thinking about your future as well. If you’re not doing so already, be sure to keep up with the latest design and merchandising trends. It’s very easy to do on the web. It took me all of 30 seconds to find the article about REI via a Google search. Survey your customers by email, and your employees in person, to find out what they like now and what they’d like to see in the future. You don’t need to plan on a scale as grand as REI’s. But if you don’t plan at all, the reality is that you might not have much of a future to look forward to.

I had heard of the Swedish clothing chain H&M, but didn’t give it too much thought since they didn’t have a store near me. That all changed recently when my wife and daughter made it very clear they were going to visit the first H&M in San Diego County as soon as possible after its recent opening. Then this article about H&M appeared on the front page of The San Diego Union-Tribune’s print editions. It’s been a long time since I can remember the U-T running an article about a specific retail store chain, so H&M must be doing something to garner such attention.

While it’s the low-cost, well-made, great-looking apparel that draws shoppers in, it looks like H&M knows how to market itself as well. The article notes that H&M planned to give away free T-shirts and $10 to $250 gift cards to the first 200 people in line, literally roll out a red carpet and have a disc jockey on hand on opening day. They didn’t need to, since people have waited in long lines up to 18 hours to be the first inside new H&M stores elsewhere.

A photo I saw of the new store’s interior showed clean, contemporary store fixtures with plenty of space for shoppers to wander the aisles without facing a crush of other shoppers. Since H&M relies on rapid turnover of its merchandise, it makes sense that they would display the newest, hottest items near the front of the store and less seasonal clothing farther inside.

I noticed that H&M is also on top of its online sales strategy, with a website that incorporates video and rich media. A recent article in EcommerceTimes.com names those two online features as “must-haves” for merchants who understand their online demographic.

I encourage you to read up about H&M and the “must-haves.” Great advice like this is free all over the Web, and by walking into successful retail stores. It’s all there just waiting for you to emulate in your own inimitable style. If you can get a line waiting outside your store any day of the week, you’ll have done your homework.

When customers want to buy your display items in addition to the merchandise, you know you’re doing something right. That’s what happened to Henry Leace, who started a Cuban-style shirt store in Miami. Now his Havana Shirt Store chain sells cigars and artwork in addition to the private-label shirts that have taken off in south Florida.

I haven’t seen images of his original store, but take a look at the current photos on MiamiHerald.com. They show clean, modern design that invites browsing. That’s attractive to Leace’s demographic: 25- to 55-year-old males who seek casual clothes with a little bit of a flair. The decor also should appeal to the women (or men) in their lives who seek the latest in clothes to buy for them. The Art Deco style of his Miami Beach store is pretty cool, too.

In addition, Leace is successfully going after the Hispanic market, which is extremely hot right now, according to the retail-trend analysis firm cited in the article. Leace seems to have a knack for retailing. He started out wholesaling men’s ties in 1986, did well with tie kiosks in a shopping mall and transitioned easily into retail stores. Not bad for a one-time physics major and college football player. He recognized his skill for the creative side of retailing and ran with it.

But he says he’s also good at looking for opportunities. That’s what any devoted retailer should do. Sure, you might be good at certain aspects of retailing than another, such as merchandising vs. inventory control. If you’re a good delegator, you’ll have someone performing those duties for you. That way, you can have more time to check the opportunities that are waiting for you to uncover.

I recently told students in one of our classes to “make your store your customers’ favorite.” I say this rather often, so I was pleased to see it reinforced in this article in Marketing Daily.

If a customer tells you that your store is his or her favorite place to shop, consider yourself lucky. And keep working hard to stay in their favor. At least that’s my take on the study discussed in the article. It found that 75% of consumers favor shopping at just one or two stores on a regular basis. That’s pretty scary when you consider how much competition there is trying to capture their retail dollars.

The study also notes that while shoppers might visit other stores for promotions and special offers, they’re still likely to return to your store if they’re happy with you. Furthermore, what you offer at point of purchase — “such as packaging design, display timing and location, in-aisle messaging, self talkers and shelf layout — all have a profound effect on what ends up in consumers’ shopping carts.”

So, make sure your POP is interesting and changes regularly so customers will look forward not just to visiting your store, but also to leaving with some impulse buys. That’s something else I tell those attending our seminars. I’m glad that I’m sending them off with third-party verification to back me up.

By now you should be aware that consumers are looking for an “experience” when they shop. The experience includes not only what you sell and how you display it, but also the attitude of your salespeople and your post-sale follow-up. A great experience results in customer satisfaction, loyalty and great word of mouth — not to mention better sales at the register. An unpleasant experience results in, well, you can guess.

If you have a small retail space or, say, a kiosk, you can easily overcome size constraints. Even if you’re small, think big. Use large graphics with lifestyle shots and bold colors to draw attention to your windows and shelves. Position your best-selling merchandise at eye level so shoppers can see it right away. This especially helps in a kiosk, where passersby have only a few seconds to stop and see what you have to offer.

“Even if you’re small, think big. “

Some other tips for making the most of a small retail space:

• Don’t be tempted to display too much merchandise. It can quickly overwhelm your shelves, not to mention potential customers

• Use mirrors underneath and behind items you want to showcase. Again, don’t go overboard as too many reflections can look tacky.

• Use showcases and countertop display cases to emphasize selected merchandise. Shoppers’ eyes will be drawn to what they perceive is something special.

• Use appropriate ambient sound. You should have an idea of your clientele’s musical tastes. Use a decent stereo system with good speakers to play selected CDs and MP3s or tune to a radio station that has minimal commercial breaks. Avoid demo videos on small screens because you want shoppers to keep moving, not linger in front of a TV.

• In small spaces, proper lighting is very important. Generally, you should use lower-wattage ambient lights to spotlight merchandise that deserves it. For room lighting, use daylight from windows or skylights if available. Avoid bright lighting anywhere as it can be harsh on the eyes.

• The counter is also important. Add impulse buys on or behind the counter, or in showcases.

Perhaps most important, never let your space get messy. A cluttered look will turn off most shoppers. Even if you’re understaffed, make it a habit to tidy up as much as you can during downtime. Then again, if you follow the tips above, you shouldn’t have much downtime at all.