The Material blog

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The latest news from Material, stories from independent retailers, and all things retail. Grab a cup of coffee and jump in.

Cover Image for How to use Material’s new Product Stock report, plus 4 quick inventory wins you can get today
Jan 31, 2024
How to use Material’s new Product Stock report, plus 4 quick inventory wins you can get today

The new report is the best way to understand what stock is and is not moving in your store. Plus, we share 4 quick inventory wins you can get today.

Cover Image for How Comfy Shoes cornered the market on the Boston Clog
Jan 26, 2024
How Comfy Shoes cornered the market on the Boston Clog

Part two from our story about a boutique owner in New Jersey, and how he was able to skyrocket his ecommerce business.

Cover Image for Learn how this retailer went from zero to $44,000 in online sales in less than a month
Dec 5, 2023
Learn how this retailer went from zero to $44,000 in online sales in less than a month

This is a story about a boutique owner in New Jersey who launched his ecommerce store with Material in order to keep his business alive, as COVID spread across the US.

Cover Image for 5 Ways Boutique Owners Can Save Time With ChatGPT
Oct 3, 2023
5 Ways Boutique Owners Can Save Time With ChatGPT

AI tools like ChatGPT are here to stay, and they’re poised to change our relationship with our work. Here are five actionable ways boutique owners can start using ChatGPT today.

Cover Image for Building a Strong Retail Team: 5 Strategies to Promote Employees
Aug 31, 2023
Building a Strong Retail Team: 5 Strategies to Promote Employees

For small business owners, promoting your retail employees is critical to building a robust business. Ensure promotions run smoothly with these five strategies.

Cover Image for Stopping Theft in its Tracks: 14+ Strategies for Independent Retailers
Aug 29, 2023
Stopping Theft in its Tracks: 14+ Strategies for Independent Retailers

Loss prevention minimizes theft and other financial losses from customers, employees, or vendors. Here are 14+ strategies retailers can use to reduce shrink.

Cover Image for Employee Retention in Retail: 9 Ways To Retain Your Staff
Jul 31, 2023
Employee Retention in Retail: 9 Ways To Retain Your Staff

For small business owners, employee retention is critical. Here, we’ll explore why employee retention in retail matters and discuss nine ways to improve it.

Cover Image for Retail Hiring: 6 Tips for Finding and Hiring Retail Workers for Small Businesses
Jul 10, 2023
Retail Hiring: 6 Tips for Finding and Hiring Retail Workers for Small Businesses

Creating an effective retail hiring process is critical for independent retailers. Here are six strategies for hiring retail employees you can trust.

Cover Image for Why Boutiques Should Use SMS Marketing in 2023 (+3 Tips to Get Started)
May 19, 2023
Why Boutiques Should Use SMS Marketing in 2023 (+3 Tips to Get Started)

Today, SMS marketing is one of the most productive marketing channels. For small business owners, SMS marketing saves you time, drives engagement, and boosts revenue.

Cover Image for 5 Common Mistakes Boutiques Make When Leasing a Retail Space (And what to do instead)
Apr 13, 2023
5 Common Mistakes Boutiques Make When Leasing a Retail Space (And what to do instead)

Choosing the right location for your shop is critical. And the wrong lease terms could disrupt your business or result in unexpected costs.

Cover Image for How Independent Retailers Can Survive, and Thrive During a Recession
Feb 13, 2023
How Independent Retailers Can Survive, and Thrive During a Recession

There’s been a lot of talk lately about economic uncertainty and what it could mean for the retail industry. Co-CEO Elliot shares four ideas you can implement today to make your business leaner and more profitable during an economic downturn.

Cover Image for 23 of Our Favorite Online Resources for Independent Retailers in 2023
Feb 9, 2023
23 of Our Favorite Online Resources for Independent Retailers in 2023

From blogs to social media to podcasts, here are 23 of our favorite online resources helping independent retailers better compete and scale their businesses.

Cover Image for 5 Tips We Use to Jumpstart Our Boutiques’ Marketing Efforts
Jan 26, 2023
5 Tips We Use to Jumpstart Our Boutiques’ Marketing Efforts

Every week we tackle new design and marketing challenges for dozens of boutiques across the US. And in this article, I want to share 5 fundamental marketing tips my team uses to get big results for our boutiques.

Cover Image for Shoptiques Business Has a New Name: Introducing Material
Jan 19, 2023
Shoptiques Business Has a New Name: Introducing Material

Shoptiques Business is now Material. We’re changing our name, but our mission is the same: to help independent retail businesses operate more efficiently by providing tools for selling in-store and online and on our marketplaces.

Cover Image for Learn how Material’s Retail Toolkit changed the game for a community-oriented boutique in Arkansas
Jan 4, 2023
Learn how Material’s Retail Toolkit changed the game for a community-oriented boutique in Arkansas

This is a story about a boutique owner in Arkansas, and how she was able to grow her community-oriented business using Material’s Retail Toolkit.

Cover Image for How Independent Retailers Need to Think About Zero and First Party Data
Dec 9, 2022
How Independent Retailers Need to Think About Zero and First Party Data

As an independent retailer, it’s important to understand what zero and first party data is, how to collect it, and what to do with it.

Cover Image for Why Retailers See Success with Commerce Platforms (+ 7 Key Features to Look For)
Oct 17, 2022
Why Retailers See Success with Commerce Platforms (+ 7 Key Features to Look For)

Some retailers rely on separate applications to power their business. With an all-in-one commerce platform, retailers unify their businesses and accelerate revenue.

Cover Image for Introducing Material Retail Dumps, a new short form podcast from the Material team
Oct 15, 2022
Introducing Material Retail Dumps, a new short form podcast from the Material team

When creating Material Retail Dumps, we asked ourselves the same central question we ask when building our software.