We talk a lot about small retailers needing to stand out, but our customers are saturated with influencers, expectations are at an all time high, and our competitors are all hustling too. To help deal with all this noise, I'd like to share how surprise & delight can be built into small business practices to help you rise above it all.

I recently facilitated a conversation about this topic during one of our in-person events, and in this week's trend report I share my personal takeaways from that discussion.

Trend report topics:

• How to catch customers off guard in a memorable way through your marketing
• How surprise & delight can turn customers into lifelong fans and brand lovers
• The spectrum of surprise & delight that ranges from wow to wonder
• Inducing a fear of missing out vs. sparking a sense of inclusion
• Using training and resources to elevate and bring consistency to surprise & delight experiences
• Low or no cost surprise & delight retail marketing strategies

For more information on this and related retail trends visit MerchantMethod.com.