McVan Blog

What is the Meaning of the Saint Christopher Medal?

Posted by Maureen Pinney on July 16, 2018 at 5:02 PM

The Catholic Church honors medals as a form of religious protection. These medals often represent one of our many beloved saints, one of which is of Saint Christopher. The Saint Christopher Medal is one of the most popular around the world because of his significance in the Catholic faith.

The Saint Christopher medal is believed to protect the wearer on his or her travels. For this reason, many people wear Saint Christopher pendants around their necks, on their wrists, and some even hang the medals in their cars!

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Topics: retail stores, jewelry supplier, Medals

Tips to Motivate Employees at Your Small Retail Store

Posted by Maureen Pinney on June 12, 2018 at 11:00 AM

It shouldn't come as a surprise, but most religious retailers have to make it work with a small team behind them. During our 2018 Religious Retail Survey we found that 82% of retailers have less than five employees.

With a lean crew of five employees, it’s of the utmost importance to develop a team who is friendly and knowledgeable about the products you offer. This type of unique product understanding and personal communication is the experience that shoppers look for in a store of your size. Customers have the option of shopping online or from other larger stores. What’s the secret to creating a memorable experience for visitors? How do you accomplish this?

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Topics: Retailer Knowledge Sharing Series, Religious Jewelry Retailers, retail stores

Lessons to Boost Retail Foot Traffic and Spark Business Growth

Posted by Maureen Pinney on May 14, 2018 at 12:38 PM

As a religious jewelry manufacturer, our success is directly linked to the prosperity of our retail partners. That’s why we recently conducted the 2018 Religious Retail Survey. It's our goal to learn about your challenges, successes, and how we can best support your business growth. While the survey covers an extensive list of questions, today we’ll focus on our retailers' biggest marketing challenge - boosting retail foot traffic. 

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Topics: Religious, Gifts, retail stores

How to Sell Slow Moving Inventory and Unsold Merchandise

Posted by Fred Adler on April 3, 2018 at 9:39 AM

“Slow moving inventory” might be every retailer’s least favorite phrase. Most retail stores have been faced with unsold merchandise at one point or another. Many retailers perform their due diligence with market research and sales forecasts, but still end up with unsold inventory. Over the years we've gained a fair amount of knowledge from our religious retail partners. Today, we'll shine the light on how to sell slow moving inventory.

With religious products, many retailers purchase too many products around the holiday season. Your store's excess product can cause a slow down in cash flow, a lack of prime shelf space, and result in the lost opportunity cost of showcasing more popular items. Online retailers have the same issues, which can lead to a storage room filled to the brim with unsold merchandise.

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Topics: Religious Jewelry Retailers, retail stores

Direct Mail Marketing Ideas for the Religious Retailer

Posted by Maureen Pinney on March 14, 2018 at 1:42 PM


Marketing for all retailers, including religious retailers, is becoming increasingly focused on digital content. Whether you run a brick & mortar store, an e-commerce site, or a mixture of both, you shouldn’t overlook the role direct mail can play.

Many people associate direct mail with junk mail, but research has shown that direct mail marketing requires 21% less effort to mentally process, making it easier to understand than digital content. Consumers retain an average of 75% of what they read on direct mail marketing and only 44% on digital versions.

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Drop Shipping 101: How to Find Reliable Religious Wholesale Distributors

Posted by Maureen Pinney on February 14, 2018 at 10:00 AM

What is Drop Shipping?

As a religious retailer, you're often tasked with finding unique ways to increase sales and reduce overhead. Drop shipping, an order fulfillment method, may be just the solution your business needs to tackle both of these challenges at the same time.

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Gift Shop Displays: Merchandising Strategies for In-Store and Online

Posted by Maureen Pinney on January 16, 2018 at 10:00 AM


The 2017 holiday season was certainly merry and bright for online and in-store retailers. Based on the
latest sales figures, store owners enjoyed their best holiday season sales since 2011. Year-end sales increased 4.9% compared to last year – the greatest Christmas gift consumers could have given religious retailers.

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9 Tips Religious Retailers Need to Win on Black Friday & Cyber Monday

Posted by Maureen Pinney on October 10, 2017 at 2:00 PM

Turkey. Football. Pumpkin pie. Shopping. These are all things we've come to associate with Thanksgiving over the years. Most interestingly, the holiday shopping spree known as Black Friday & Cyber Monday has exploded in popularity over the last decade.

Reports on the 2016 shopping season found that 154 million consumers opened their wallets during the five days between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday. In fact, Cyber Monday set an all-time record last year with $3.45 billion in online sales!

As a religious retailer, we know you probably have your hands full getting ready for the upcoming holiday season. That's why we pulled together nine of our best tips to help you make the most of your time before, during, and after Black Friday & Cyber Monday. Let's dive in:


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Miraculous Medal Meaning: Know Your Inventory

Posted by Maureen Pinney on August 2, 2017 at 10:30 AM

In the Catholic Church, medals have an outstanding background of tradition and benefits. One in particular often stands out as one of the most popular medals to purchase. The Miraculous Medal, also known as the Medal of the Immaculate Conception, is beloved by many around the world. This oval pendant is a famous piece of jewelry in the Catholic Church because of the phenomenal and almost fervent influence it has on people.

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Topics: Medals

Sick of Abandoned Carts? How Online Religious Retailers Can Boost Conversions

Posted by Maureen Pinney on June 14, 2017 at 1:59 PM

Cart abandonment is one of the most frustrating conversion issues for online retailers. According to a Baymard Institute study, at least two-thirds of shoppers abandon their shopping carts prior to purchase.

Unfortunately, this is as much of an issue for online religious retailers as it is for sellers in other industries. Luckily, there are some simple ways to combat abandoned cart and increase completed ecommerce sales.

 

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Topics: Religious Jewelry Retailers

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