Create a Sense of Belonging in the Store

Does the entire campus community feel they belong when they enter your campus store?

A sense of belonging is linked with diversity, equity, and inclusion, said Janelle Williams Melendrez and Jeff Bucholtz, co-founders of (R)Evolve Consulting, in their CAMEX100 presentation, Belonging as a Portal for Customer Experience. For campus stores, belonging is part of each shopper’s experience—whether customers see themselves in the store’s products, merchandising, marketing, staffing, communications, and environment.

“A feeling of belonging is more important now after all the isolation of the pandemic,” noted Bucholtz.

Stores should look for ways to enhance belonging for all members of the community. “Think of belonging in terms of learning, growth, and doing things differently,” said Williams Melendrez.

You can start by “noticing how music, displays, or merchandise is or isn’t resonating with members of different groups,” Bucholtz notes. Some people, for example, might not see themselves in the type of mannequins your store uses.

To demonstrate the impact that merchandising aids like mannequins can have on people, prior to CAMEX the speakers set up a different kind of mannequin in the Southwestern College Campus Store, Chula Vista, CA. This mannequin, dubbed the Queen, had a fuller shape than the typically skinny form and also was a dark color. The reaction to the mannequin display from campus staffers (captured in a video shown during the session) was immediately positive. One woman remarked that “this is the first time I’ve walked in here and felt I can buy something here.” The importance of seeing yourself in a retail space was underscored by another person: “If you don’t see anything that looks like you, it’s not a space for you.”

The store’s manager, Gilbert Garcia, who is also a NACS trustee and a member of the NACS Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Steering Committee, said he was visibly moved by the reaction to the mannequin. “It never even dawned on us” to install a mannequin like the Queen, he said. “We didn’t know it was available.”

That doesn’t mean every campus store should run out and get new mannequins, emphasized Williams Melendrez. It’s about figuring out how to make the store space all the more welcoming to every segment of the community. “What can I do to make things even better?” she said.

Garcia said he’s now working with other campus groups to find out how the store can better represent them. “I challenge everyone to speak to your community” and learn more about them, he added.

Bucholtz stressed it was important to communicate with campus organizations and groups to get their perspectives and not assume you know. Look for opportunities to collaborate with campus groups and connect with other departments that are helping to build belonging in other areas of institutional life. “Your campus may have data on this from its own climate surveys,” he suggested.

Allow time during staff meetings for different employees to share their own experiences and challenges. Using card decks with questions or topics (sometimes called dialog cards) can help get the conversation rolling.

It’s an ongoing process, not a one-time fix. Staff may need help in recognizing how to get past entrenched ways of doing things and become more welcoming. Taking part in implicit bias training is one solution to explore, suggested Williams Melendrez.

Creating a greater sense of belonging is not only in the store’s best interest, it also supports the institution’s mission of retention and student success, she added. “We know from research, students who feel like they belong are more likely to stay,” she said.