The Viability of Retail - How Do We Make It Stronger?

Forked from the Generic RPG thread...

The advent of PDFs, piracy and Amazon are taking a toll on the hobby's retailers. Technology advances could make it even more difficult. I'm sure Kickstarter isn't helping either.

Quote:

Originally Posted by David Johansen (Post 827855) ... I've heard, "well I'd like to buy the book but I can't afford it and I already downloaded it," all too often when it comes to rpgs, including around half a dozen GURPS fans. I know I'm not the only retailer who's tired of hearing how would be customers downloaded free copies of everything I have on the shelf. Especially not when they justify it economically while waving around their brand new tablet. ...while looking somewhat apprehensively at the progress of 3d printing.

Retail is getting tough. I don't know how to compete with Amazon, Kickstarter, OBS and pirates. The world is changing, and unless we can figure out how to make a retail location more enticing, it's going to become even tougher for store owners to run a business. Some thoughts;

• I think magic tournaments do well. Not sure how Warmachine or Warhammer tournaments do (the one I saw at NeonCon a few years back was packed). It seems that these kinds of things have entry fees, and that could only help.
  
• Maybe if some kind of tournament model could be utilized for RPGs? Say you have a "dungeon crawl" where the person who kills the most monsters and treasures wins. You could have 1st through 3rd place prizes. Give away gift certificates! They get a nice little bump AND it encourages them to come back and buy more stuff.
  
• Then you can offer a regular discount to complete with online sales. That 20% off plus no shipping could go a LONG way to convincing people to drop a dime. Maybe?
  
• I think a snack bar and playing area are vital to the modern game store model. Margins on food are good. If you are willing to teach games, then I think you are providing a service no online retailer could match. Also, meetup groups and family board game nights. You have to get people in the store and keep them there to play (and buy) games.
  
• I think it's becoming more prudent to build relationships with small publishers and see if you can't get retailer discounts on products, even via Kickstarter. I know Olympia Cards and Comics does this; there are piles of small press and Kickstarter RPG products on the shelves.
  
• I also notice they have novelty toys and collectibles. I wonder if diversifying into a "nerd store paradise" model would be more profitable?
  
• What about building custom kiosks where customers can buy things. A custom web page hooked up to affiliate links via Amazon and OBS? When players are taking breaks they can sit down and "shop online". The retailer gets a kickback from the affiliate sales.

What about it? What things could make retail more viable?

The Viability of Retail - How Do We Make It Stronger?