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Oh those happy balloons

There are two lessons for local shops from this tale of lottery balloons.

Last week in the corner shop across the street a big poster appeared in the window announcing an £89 million mega draw in the lottery. Inside the shop, the Camelot stand was decked in blue and white balloons and looked festive and happy.

This week, with the draw up to £111 million on Friday, and the balloons had gone. Today a new poster was back up with the bigger draw announced.

"Where are the balloons," I asked. "Why did you take them down?"

The assistant told me that a courier had brought the point-of-sale pack the previous week and they had put the balloons up as requested. The pack for this week was still to arrive.

The lessons are:

1. Point-of-sale works. Last week the shop looked really happy and I was prompted to buy a lottery ticket. I did not expect to win. It was a brief fun flirtation with the opportunity of winning. The shop was a brighter and happier place to be in.
2. Sometimes retailers simply miss what their shoppers are experiencing. If it was good at £89m, how much better can it be at £111m. Don't take the balloons down. Fill the shop to the brim.

Opportunities to connect with shoppers need to be seized. If you don't do it, someone else will!
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