Meaghan Brophy

Cash wraps, also known as cash wells and checkout counters, are the areas in stores housing point-of-sale (POS) systems or cash registers where customers pay for their merchandise. A well-designed cash wrap can significantly impact your retail success and drive your business by increasing customer and employee satisfaction, driving sales, and building your brand. No…

A point-of-sale (POS) system is a must-have tool for brick-and-mortar businesses today. Globally, the POS market is growing at a healthy rate, anticipated to reach $70.75 billion by 2029 from just over $25 billion in 2022. More and more businesses are shifting from using a basic cash register to using a POS system as it…

Amazon is the world’s go-to marketplace for everyday staples like furniture, appliances, and food—but out of the millions of products currently listed on the platform, some of them are downright strange. Given the vast inventory spread, we sought to find the weirdest things available on Amazon. Whether you’re just browsing or looking for unique products…

After you’ve started your retail business and begin sourcing products, you will likely run into terms like wholesaler, distributor, dropshipper, and more. There are many types of retail suppliers on the market, and understanding their strengths and differences will improve your sourcing process and help you choose the best one for your cost, schedule, and…

Amazon SEO is the practice of tailoring the content of an Amazon webpage to appear higher in search results. Naturally, this leads to greater visibility and more sales. Effective Amazon SEO strategy comes down to promotional campaigns, identifying winning keywords, and optimizing each of your listings’ five elements. This includes a well-structured title, compelling images,…

Order fulfillment is the process of storing goods, packing orders, and shipping products to buyers. In a broad sense, order fulfillment is everything that happens after a customer places an order up to the moment they receive the order. Businesses can handle fulfillment in-house, outsource the function to fulfillment partners, dropship their orders, or combine…

Jewelry is a $270 billion market with an endless amount of opportunity to carve out a specific niche or market. You can make jewelry for men, women, adults, children—or animals even. Though competitive, a jewelry business can also be lucrative. Historically, the average gross profit margin has been in the 43%–47% range. It’s estimated to…

Your return policy isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when starting a retail business, but it’s certainly important. Writing a return policy, which sets the terms and conditions under which customers can receive a refund or exchange items they’ve purchased, is important for any retailer. These policies are meant to protect both the…

The cost of opening a retail store varies greatly—you should budget anywhere from $10,000 to a few hundred thousand dollars. It all depends on where you’re located and what your vision is. As retail continues its upward trajectory in a post-pandemic world, the time has never been better to start a retail business. Let’s break…