Feed Shoppers’ Hunger Consistently

Some marquee retailers are including in their stores a restaurant with food which fits the personality of the merchandise and the location. The flagship Tommy Bahama store in Manhattan will be serving Macadamia-nut encrusted snapper for a tropical flavor and pineapple cheesecake in a bow to New York style. Urban Outfitters, with a college-town personality, is featuring striped bass at its Westport, Connecticut home-and-garden store.
     IKEA’s been pushing meatballs in their stores for years, and Reno-Sparks Scheels is far from alone in having a casual café on the premises. What’s different is the aim for close consistency with a store theme. Inside Macy's State Street in Chicago, the Walnut Room, said to be the first restaurant opened inside an American department store, has represented elegant retailing consumption since 1907. However, that store now also has a sports bar, two food courts, and a Starbucks.
     Housing a restaurant probably won’t satisfy your needs if you’re a smaller non-food-oriented retailer. Still, consider how to experiment with strategies behind the tactic:

• Partner with a restaurant close by. Have them give coupons for a small discount from you, and you give coupons for an equivalent discount when dining at the restaurant and ordering an item you identify as consistent with your store’s theme. Is the reach for consistency too much of a stretch? Then be satisfied with another objective of the strategy—keep the customer close so they’re tempted to shop more after eating. 
• Serve theme-based foods and beverages at special events you hold at your store. When the event is for premium customers you invite, you could provide hors d'oeuvres. In other cases, you might choose to have a theme-based catering firm set a pop-up store outside the entrance to your place. Do have plenty of napkins available, realize your restrooms will be frequented more, and be sure your local regulations are met for serving food to the public. 
• If feeding food to your shoppers is too much to fit on your plate, go to the true impetus for the restaurant-in-the-store idea: What can store-based retailers do to provide an experience online shoppers won’t have? Internet sales are predicted to account for 16% of revenue this holiday season. Eating is a sensory experience best enjoyed when you and the food aren’t separated by an internet connection. If not food, give other sensory experiences characterizing your store. 

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