According to financial analysis and information firm Sageworks, the retail category as a whole is rebounding from the depths of the recent recession, and “tobacco stores” rank third among the best performing retail categories in the entire industry, with sales percent growth of 5 percent (read the post here). A Sageworks analyst suggests a variety of reasons that may have influenced the growth, ranging from consumers dedicating their discretionary income to “nice-to-have” products they had refrained from buying during the recession, to the rebound from poor sales figures during the recession.

Discretionary purchasing and recessionary fears notwithstanding, related data and analysis presented in the Consumer Intention & Actions survey, from Bigresearch in May, suggests five key attributes influencing consumers’ shopping habits that retailers should stay focused on to remain successful. Those habits, which may not surprise you, are:

• Price – consumers will switch to a different retailer in order to keep their costs down

• Location – your store's value proposition has to be strong because an inconvenient location (distance, traffic, size of parking lot, etc.) can give a potential customer an excuse to switch to the competition

• New store concepts – customers no longer go to the stores that traditionally offered the products they want, which means your store(s) need to evolve and change over time to relevant

• Effective front-line employees – you can attract business by selling a product at a great price, but training your employees to encourage add-onl sales is where you’ll butter your bread

• Excellent customer service – customers are more budget-conscious these days, and if they believe they’re not being treated with respect they’ll go elsewhere