The emergence of church-based retail stores remains something of an enigma to many traditional retailers in the Christian products industry. Our latest Vital Signs survey looked at the relationship between church and non-church stores and their customer bases, and some of the opportunities that are available.

Here is what we found:

OPTIONS

Two-thirds of non-church retailers recognized church stores as having "untapped potential," and three-fourths said that church stores "introduce new shoppers to Christian products."

At the same time, a majority (58%) of non-church retailers regarded church stores as competition for shoppers, with 54% seeing them as a "siphon" of good customers because parishioners would "rather support their local church."

More than half (57%) of traditional retailers have identified at least one church in their general trading area that hosts a retail outlet on the church campus. Of these, 30% were described by traditional retailers as being "full service" and open to the public on a regular basis, while 51% were seen as having a limited selection serving only the immediate "church community."

While most traditional retailers described selection at local church stores as being more limited than their own, two-thirds acknowledged that the church stores stocked denominational and self-published items they typically would not carry.

ORDERS

Despite their on-site convenience, many church retailers reported that they did not function as the "go to" order desk for curriculum and staff needs.

Less than one-fourth of church stores (23%) placed orders for Vacation Bible School material for their church, and only two in five (39%) handled their congregation's youth Sunday school material purchases.

On the other hand, nearly two-thirds of church stores said that they were a resource for their pastors' reading needs, and a whopping 85% of church stores identified themselves as the purchase point for their church's small group material.

OUTREACHES

A majority of non-church retailers admitted that they did not pursue active relations with local churches. In retail markets where there were no identified church-based stores, 65% of retailers said they seldom or never supplied local pastors with product samples, while three-fourths did not host any clergy appreciation event.

Among stores that did report reaching out and marketing themselves to local congregations, 55% sponsored regular book tables at churches, provided meeting space for church groups and sought announcements in church bulletins, worship guides and newsletters.

One retailer described a systematic approach, with a church relations team visiting local churches to promote the store. Staff also put on events, forums and training for local churches and offered a church program that promised to beat Amazon prices by 2% in return for a yearlong commitment to buy church resources through the store.

What does the future look like? A significant number of vendors, consumers and other non-retailers participating in the survey suggested that the future should involve fewer volunteer workers in church stores and closer ties between church stores and established local
retailers.

Many also agreed that church stores are and will continue to be as diverse as the congregations they serve.

OPINIONS

Vital Signs is designed to generate meaningful conversation among industry participants. Next time you have a chance, talk to your colleagues about this report, and ask for their thoughts on connecting with more people by pursuing a church-based retail opportunity.

• Suppliers: Do you have a specific strategy for meeting the needs of people who shop in church stores?
• Traditional Christian retailers: Where do your goals and the goals of the local church store intersect?
• Traditional Christian retailers: If the church store in your area is strong, what do or can you offer that they don't?
• Church stores: What are you doing to raise the professionalism of your volunteer staff?

Jim Seybert is an author and consultant living in Arroyo Grande, Calif. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

A close look at product selection and training

An industry survey by Christian Retailing

Product selection and knowledge are increasingly important as Christian retail stores look to differentiate themselves from other channels offering Christian resources. Our latest Vital Signs industry survey asked how retailers were keeping on top of their departments.

Here is what we found out:

CATEGORY CHANGES

The fastest-growing product category in the last two years has been adult/family DVDs, with 70% of stores reporting that they have set aside more display space and introduced greater SKU counts in the category.

Three in five stores have increased their SKU counts for Bibles, while 51% were stocking more devotionals than they were two years ago. On the other side of the scale, 40% told us that they have diminished inventory for rock/alternative music and for framed art. Apparel inventory was down in 31% of stores and up in 24%.

Stores were evenly split on their approach to changes in criteria for introducing products they "might not have carried" in years past.

Just over half (52%) reported that their selection criteria was narrower than it used to be, and 48% said they were stocking a broader range of products.

One owner commented on a shift in her mission, saying the store was "becoming more and more like real life—a Christian living center."

Meanwhile, 52% of Christian store shoppers who took part in our poll said that they were interested in a broader selection of products than they had been been two years ago, while 10% were looking more narrowly, and 38% had not changed their criteria.

GOING DIGITAL

New retail technologies are a long way from being commonplace in Christian stores. Just one in three stores reported having a system where shoppers can select songs and have them burned to a CD in the store.

Cost and lack of awareness were the main reasons given for not offering such a service, though one store admitted to the questionable practice of "buying the song from iTunes and burning a CD for customers."

One in six stores currently offers Zondervan's Symtio system for electronic book purchases, introduced at the International Christian Retail Show in 2008. Another 13% said they planned to introduce it in their stores. The majority of those with no Symtio plans cited a lack of product knowledge for their hesitation.

STAFF TRAINING

Employees gather for product training on a monthly or quarterly schedule at 40% of Christian stores. A few stores meet more often for training (12%) and 22% less frequently. Employees are "encouraged" to learn more about products in 52% of stores and are "required" to do so in 24%.

Among stores where staff are encouraged or required to participate in training, half offered no incentives for doing so (53%). As one owner put it, "They get paid their hourly wage and have a job." Of those who do incentivize training efforts, the most common reward is "free product" (22%) and "recognition" (19%).

Stores rated product training provided by Zondervan as the best (73%), followed by Tyndale (24%) and Thomas Nelson (11%)—with the totals adding to more than 100% due to multiple choices allowed.

The top four reasons given for not doing as much training were: the need for better or more convenient systems (24%), lack of time (22%), lack of vendor involvement (18%) and prohibitive cost (8%).

HOLIDAY HOPES

Slightly more than half of Christian stores (51%) expected their sales this Christmas season to be better than last year, and 5% were looking for a "significant increase" as the year ends. Another 29% predicted a flat growth curve as 2009 closes out, with the balance citing worsening local economies as they braced for decreased sales in the fourth quarter.

Those anticipating increases pointed to reasons ranging from "steadily growing sales all year" to the introduction of frequent buyer programs that will make their targeted marketing more effective.

TALKING POINTS

The purpose of Vital Signs is to help generate useful dialogue among industry members. Here are some questions to ask one another:

What's your approach to giving staff an incentive for product training?

Is it right to burn songs from iTunes to a CD and sell them to customers?

What are you doing this Christmas to boost your chances for better sales?

Jim Seybert is an author and consultant living in Arroyo Grande, Calif. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Weighing the benefits and drawbacks of greater cooperation

A Christian Retailing industry survey

There is a trend across all industries to maximize efficiency by combining efforts, while at the same time slicing markets and product lines into smaller and more specifically targeted segments. The Christian products industry is no exception.

Our latest Vital Signs survey explored the effects of consolidation and fragmentation in the Christian products industry.

Here is what we found:

BUSINESS BENEFITS

There are pros and cons to consolidating.

Retailers and suppliers told us that they would anticipate “more pro than con” in several areas—if more independents were to join forces; if data collection and reporting were consolidated; and if best-seller lists were combined.

A significant number of retailers (47%) are buying from fewer individual vendors than they were five years ago.

An interesting side note to this question was that 15% of those responding to the survey were not in business five years ago.

One area of fragmentation that pleased retailers was gifts, summed up by the comment of one who said: “When it comes to gift selection, the more the merrier.”

On the downside, three-fourths of retailers and suppliers (78%) predicted “more con than pro,” should Christian retail chains buy more independent stores.

SHOW SHIFTS

While trade show attendance has fallen in all industries, retailers and suppliers who attend Christian trade shows agreed on the top three reasons for the decline as: the availability of product information online (60%), no urgency to attend (57%) and a greater use of online product ordering (54%).

Christian retailers and their suppliers also agreed—by a wide margin—that a consolidated trade show sponsored by the industry’s three trade associations—CBA, the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association and the Gospel Music Association—would be “likely to succeed.”

Nearly nine in 10 retailers (88%) and just over three-quarters of suppliers (77%) agreed that a combined trade show would “save on travel expenses” and would be “easier to schedule” than the current model of each association holding separate events.

Not all felt that combining the exhibitions would be a good idea, though. Many who did not think it a good idea mentioned the possibility of “information overload,” and a few pointed to potential leadership conflicts, including “deciding which organization would take the lead” on a combined event.

There was much less support for the idea of combining all three associations into a single entity. More than half of retailers (53%) and almost two-thirds of suppliers (63%) rejected that notion.

LOOKING AHEAD

So what approach should Christians in business take with regard to consolidating or fragmenting? Judging by our respondents, balance is necessary.

One retailer, in support of fragmenting, wrote: “When it comes to serving God by giving customers a variety of product, one size does not fit all.”

And in a call for greater consolidation, another observed: “We lost out (in Canada) by not getting together to share ideas and encourage (each other).”

As you consider the results of this survey, take some time to discuss the following with a couple of colleagues in the industry:

Are there ways I could consolidate some of my operations?

What are some obstacles to helpful industry-wide consolidation?

What biblical principles should govern my thinking in this area?

Jim Seybert is an author and consultant living in Arroyo Grande, Calif. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Question: Compared to Dec. 31, 2008, are you more or less hopeful about the future of your business than you were at that time? Why?

Retailers: More hopeful

"Changed location and heavily advertised."

"Sales consistency."

"Making sure that we have lots of books, Bibles and DVDs sale-priced. Daily sales have given me a positive outlook for the future of my business."

"Just prayer. I feel encouraged from God, not from the economy."

"People are looking for some inspiration now more than ever."

"Working harder at keeping costs down and promoting the store more."

"I feel like I'm more focused for some reason. I just felt a renewal of spirit this year."

"We are located in a church with positive preaching."

"Expense reduction, new location with new services, hope for the economy to correct soon."

"As of the first quarter, we have had a big increase in the church supply business and also our robe business from Murphy Robes."

"Increased sales at the store, I believe due to people looking for solutions to their problems and turning to God. Also, books as a cheap form of entertainment."

"Trusting in the Lord more every day."

"Church members buying more devotions, etc. Different trends in worship."

"General market trends that suggest we are nearing the end of this economic downturn cycle."

"Do we have a choice? It is either be hopeful, or doom and gloom. That doesn't work at all, so I may as well be hopeful!"

"The ability to be creative and innovative. People are my business and that's where I need to focus more of my attention: being considerate of, sensitive to and anticipating their needs. Interaction is key."

"Sales are up as I have let our customers know of the possibility of closing our store."

"We have really pinpointed our customers and what they are looking for. They are also very loyal."

Retailers: Less hopeful

"Unable to secure financing."

"Concerned that Christian products now fall into ‘discretionary’ or ‘luxury’ category."

"Sales continue to decline."

"The constant rise in the unemployment rate in our immediate areas."

"This new generation has potentially moved away from music and books which are the mainstays presently."

"The number of families who have heads of households who have lost their jobs, foreclosed on homes."

"Customer base has continued to shrink. Current customers continue to reduce spending."

"Economic climate; changing customer purchasing habits."

Suppliers/Others: More hopeful

"I believe that things will come around. I am not in business for the short haul, I am in it for the long haul."

"Faith in the promises of God."

"Business has been quite good this year, and our customers are optimistic. Plus, our products are timeless, and people consider them necessities rather than luxuries."

"Understanding that set industry standards were more of a hindrance rather than the help they pretended to be."

"We are starting to see signs that consumers are shopping more."

"Signs that the economy may be getting better."

"The products we share speak to the very core of the needs of our customers—including their basic needs in living their daily lives. We provide maps that help our customers travel more successfully to their final destinations."

"A deeper understanding for the need to be totally dependent upon the Lord to provide for me."

"More people will be needing more hope and that will only happen with Jesus Christ. Therefore more people will be filling the churches."

"As the world system gets darker ... things of God are seemingly more appealing to those around us."

"For the most part, accounts are paying their bills which means they are still selling."

"I figure that it can't get much worse, so it has to get better."

Suppliers/Others: Less hopeful

"I don't see the CBA fiction market expanding to meet the interests of younger readers, but rather shrinking in its ability to influence."

"Continuing bad economic news; my own bank and investment—401(k)—statements; increased difficulty in finding work."

"The nation's accumulating debt and the knowledge that we will be facing significant inflation later this year."

"Continued decline in sales."

"The ridiculous spending by our federal government of money we do not have."

"Traffic and high prices."

Individual comments from retailers responding to our survey on business and the downturn in the economy:

QUESTION: What have you done to increase revenues?

“Added a department for the 19-30 (age group) called Youth Apparel and Accessories. This has been positive.”

“Changed and increased our advertising program to more targeted customer base.”

“Keyed into ongoing programs of the church more.”

“Prayer.”

“Try to take checks and cash instead of credit card, discount more to move inventory and try to sell more to each customer.”

“Trying some extra advertising, but it does not seem to be working as of February.”

“Put more items on sale.”

“Scheduling more off-site events to get out to the (local) parishes and conferences.”

“Added frequent buyer program, marketing through new distributed magazine, increased Facebook and Internet presence, and have scheduled more events.”

“Appointed someone full time to focus on developing church and school relationships.”

“Basically quit ordering extras.”

“Spotlight projects that are high-quality content and appealing price points.”

“Expanding marketing with Web site, local newspaper, constant focus on customer service.”

“Aggressive pricing and selling books in bulk to (local) Christian schools. There's not much profit but it is not a lot of work either.”

“Increased hours. Promotion. Better product mix.”

“Put old inventory, non-moving items on sale.”

“We keep talking about Jesus.”

“Purchasing more materials at greater discount prices.”

“We have a huge display of books, etc., that are on sale for $5, $7 & $10 … can't keep them in stock.”

“I offer a discount to churches who have purchased curriculum elsewhere to become a standing partner with my store—10% off their first quarter, then I automatically order for them each quarter after.”

“Have participated in some of Nelson's $5 book-of-the-month specials, which seem to sell well.”

“Continuing to get to know my customers and providing what they want ... buying wiser.”

“Reach out to new authors who live locally.”

“Try to hold on by direct mail.”

“Bought from clearance vendors, so I can offer really good deals in my store.”

“Advertise in different venues, increase store hours."

“Added different product lines.”

“Advertise, 25 %-off coupons on Bibles, devotional and inspirational books.”

“Re-organize, bring in new lines, in-store events, increase inventory.”

“Marketing Sunday school, VBS and robes more aggressively.”

“Open six days instead of five.”

“Selling online. Opening used book department.”

“Decreased frequency of sales, so that customers will have ‘urgency’ to purchase.”

“Planning in-store events geared to children as well as events to increase adult traffic into the store.”

“Exploring fundraisers with area churches and ministries.”

“Begun radio advertising again, that we had stopped.”

“Dealing with my suppliers to reduce my freight expenses.”

“Rearranged displays … gave the store a new look with the same items."

“We are working on giving better customer service and hope that draws in more sales.”

“More store events.”

“Being very price-sensitive.”

“Increase those things that speak to the times we live in now.”

“Try to engage customers more when they come into the store, and find something for them.”

“Direct mail, purchase mailing lists, offer sales.”

“Added musical instruments.”

“Tighter inventory control, monitor utilities.”

“Sidewalk sales.”

“Offer special in-house sales of new releases and pre-order sales of product to be released.”

QUESTION: What have you done to reduce expenses?

“Moved to volunteer instead of paid staff.”

“We have stopped ordering stockroom inventory.”

“Lower inventory levels.”

“Watch shipping, look for higher discounts, and don't order more than I need immediately.”

“Cut some hours for staff.”

“Cutting back on book stock and more selective merchandise ordering.”

“We have reduced our inventory by about 20%.”

“Cut back on lighting. Cut back on staff. Cut back on equipment upgrades.”

“Layoff.”

“Staff downsizing.”

“Cut postage meter, installed electronic thermostats, reduced hourly labor, cut out printed yellow page ads, requested reduction in lease rate.”

“Cut some advertising and slightly cut some part-time hours.”

“Move to more cost-effective suppliers, reducing shipping costs.”

“Purchasing many items on request, rather than having in inventory.”

“We wash our own windows, re-use paper, fix broken items and sell at a discount rather than write them off.”

“Not replaced two staff members.”

“Lower temperature, watch stock more closely.”

“Negotiated reduction in rent, reduction in interest payments, reduction in labor.”

“We are getting rid of a storage unit.”

“Tighten inventory, control payroll.”

“More aggressive in returning unsold product, more conservative on utilities and extra spending.”

“New location, new rent structure, less utilities, due to downsizing.”

“Salary/wage freeze.”

“Turned the thermostat down, reduced orders of re-stock products. Only getting what is absolutely necessary.”

The purpose of the Vital Signs series is to raise issues of critical interest to the Christian products industry and to generate dialogue about them. Vital Signs is a joint project of Christian Retailing and Jim Seybert, president of The Jim Seybert Company.

Getting serious about e-books

January 2012

They may not like it, but retailers know they can’t ignore digital publishing

(Read further comments from respondents to our survey.)

Emphasizing Special Events

October 2011

Stores are working harder to draw shoppers, adding more promotions and signings

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Gatekeeper guidelines

July 2011

How stores keep an eye on the content they offer and what worries them

Talking about technology

June 2011
 Evaluating how Internet tools and social media help in-store operations

Inventory

April 2011

Changes in the market are impacting how stores handle inventory

(Read further comments from respondents to our survey.)

Three Key Concerns

January 2011
Christian Retailing's 2010 industry surveys reflect on new opportunities in key areas, including children's materials, DVDs and e-books. Look back with us on what we learned that could benefit stores in the new year.

Customer Connnections

June 2010

How stores care for shoppers--and handle their concerns

(Read further comments from respondents to our survey.)

Reviewing some of the big issues of 2009 

January 2010

What retailers and suppliers think about today's Christian products industry

Retail reformation

June 2009

How the economy is impacting consumer habits and business practices

(Read further comments from respondents to our survey.)

Economic realities

April 2009

Some signs of hope amid the downturn details

(Read the comments from respondents to our survey on the economy.)

Unwrapping gifts

March 2009

Assessing the category's challenges and opportunities

(Read the comments from respondents to our survey on Christian gifts.)

Holiday hopes

November 2008

Post-Christmas expectations more ho-hum than ho-ho

Core competencies

September 2008

Retailers assess the benefits and drawbacks of core inventory programs

Personally speaking

July 2008

Attitudes and actions beyond the workplace

Internet issues

July 2008

How independent retailers are facing up to their biggest challenge

Facing the music

April  2008

Retailers remain committed to a struggling category, despite the digital challenge

Friendly focus

January 2008

How Christian retailers can succeed, by those who care about them