In a recent study conducted by EYE, a mall media company, almost 48 percent of mall shoppers will take a second look at a mall poster that includes a human face. Even when they pass by the ad multiple times they take a second look. The results were the same across genders; however the study found that both men and women will look at an ad including a women’s face longer.

The study also claims that it takes about ten seconds for a mall shopper to pass a mall advertisement and if the ad included a human face, shoppers spent about two seconds looking at the ad.

While this study was conducted using mall signage, I would strongly suggest adding a human face (preferably a woman’s) to your upcoming advertising campaign(s) to ensure your product or store has the most exposure possible. Be sure to incorporate a specific call to action so you track the results to see if incorporating a face made a difference.

Read more about the study on MediaPost’s website.

I saw a news story the other day that Rovio, a Finland-based, wireless device game company, has sold more than two million Angry Bird plush toys thanks to the popularity of its Angry Birds app. Angry Birds, a puzzle video game, is the top-selling iPhone app of all time, according to a story on BusinessInsider.com. The game has been downloaded more than 50 million times! Rovio plans to develop and sell more game add-ons and accessories.

I think it’s exciting to think about the potential new product and sales opportunities in this category. Might this inspire you to add a new product to your store that reflects our nation’s growing interest in game apps?

Read the full story.

Recently I heard a story on NPR radio about The Little Comic Book Shop, a comic book store in Dearborn, MI, that hosts a regular Comic Jam, where enthusiasts (and customers) come to the store, enjoy light snacks and take turns writing their own comic strip, one square at a time. Listening to the story made me think what a great, creative store promotion so of course I wanted to share it with you as an idea for a promotion for your store. Below are some of my various iterations of the Comic Jam that may get your creative juices flowing as well.

Some of the ideas I thought of are:

Host an Open Book Night (take off of "open mic night"), where customers can share passages from their favorite books. Serve wine and cheese and even invite publishers to come to share their new titles.

Have a Recipe Jam where customers can share their favorite recipes or challenge each other to create recipes with a limited number of ingredients (an Iron Chef-style event).

Host a Fashion Jam. If your store features clothing you could have a Fashion Jam where customers use a specific collection to create outfits that you’ll feature in window displays. Have customers vote for their favorite outfits at the Fashion Jam and on your Facebook page.

Let me know if any of these ideas work for you and if you come up with any iterations of your own.

I saw this photo recently of a retail space for rent and loved the use of signage and windows. Although it’s advertising a vacant retail location, it serves as a good reminder to always consider using any empty space for marketing. As this storefront shows, marketing done with wit and creativity does not have to be annoying or intrusive. I also loved the use of bright colors and catchy marketing copy that undoubtedly helps this storefront stand out.

We received a post on our forum yesterday from someone who is opening her first retail location, and she was asking for advice about what to do with her walls.

My suggestion is to paint them! It's amazing how a can of $30 paint can liven an entire store and help to create an ambience that's attractive and inviting to customers. Plus you can tie the walls into your branding effort by using a color that is in your logo or on your store bags.

Here are a few fun examples of how color really works on store walls.

I just chatted with a retailer who said she had a fantastic holiday season. After congratulating her, I asked about her top selling product. She told me it was a new product that she only added to the store in July, and she was thankful that she decided to bring it in, because at the time she was a little uncertain.

She went on to explain that the story behind the product was really fantastic and every time she personally told the story, the sell-through rate was very high. We went on to discuss how her store employees don't tell the stories behind the products because they don't know them—and/or because it's difficult to educate them on all the products in the store.

I started thinking that it would be a great idea to create small signs (4×6 or 5×7), using identical professional frames, and print the stories behind the products. That way you'll be educating your customers and your employees.

It's my guess you'll also increase your store sales at the same time.

Last week I walked by a store in the airport and was compelled to stop by a wonderful storefront display. I saw an attractive barrel with cute little cosmetic bags overflowing from it and a chalkboard sign that read, "Special Sale: $4 each, or 3 for $9." Since I do a lot of traveling (and I'm female!), little bags come in handy—plus, I loved the price.

Before I knew it, I had found three great patterns and shapes and walked over to check out another store display. Since I was already buying, my psychology switched from the mode of "just looking" to "is there anything else I need." I was out of lip balm, and ended up picking up a more expensive lip gloss than usual because I fell in love with the fragrance.

As I walked to my gate, I was intrigued by the psychology of the display and my response to it. I'm not even sure I would have gone into the store if it wasn't for the barrel, and once I made the commitment to buying, I went into shopping mode.

I encourage you to create an impactful display with products that are reasonably priced. Locate the display near the front door and tie the products into the time of year, or where you're located, or another angle that you think will attract customers.

Even if you don't have super high margins on that particular product (or you reduce your margins to encourage sell through) I think you'll be surprised at how many people buy that product—and more. You might consider testing various products and monitoring the results.

I do a lot of speaking all over the world to educate retailers, so I just uploaded my first professional video clip to YouTube. I thought it would be a good marketing tool in YouTube and on my website, so we've embedded the video on the homepage of PatriciaNorins.com. Plus, we've also added video testimonials to our tradeshow site.

It got me thinking about the many creative ways you can use YouTube to promote your store, so here are a few to get you started:

1. Interview some of your customers to get reviews of a product they've bought in the past. I just read a study that reported customer reviews can up web sales of a particular product by as much as 30%.

2. Feature a new product of the month that you profile and talk about in a two minute video. Make sure to link to your video in your enewsletter—and embed the video on the page of your site that lists the product.

3. Make a short design video. Show your customers how to set the perfect holiday table, how to accessorize their fireplace mantle or how to hang pictures to create a gallery effect on their wall. This will position you as not only a resource for gifts and home decor, but also as an expert who is willing to give advice to customers who are in need of a few tips.

4. Ask your customers why they love shopping in your store. (They keep coming back, there must be a good reason!)

5. Show a "before" and "after" display of your windows or a section of the store. Use the opportunity to talk about the products you've placed.

Have you made a YouTube video for your store? Post a link so we can see it!

I was in a meeting today and we were talking extensively about how much to charge for a new special report. In the meeting, I reflected back on a white paper that I read a few years ago which gave fantastic information about how a specific price point can impact sales.

The author tested many different price points of different products over time, and realized that when the number "7" appeared in the price it always outperformed the others—by more than 10 percent. Her theory was that the number "7" is a lucky number for many people, even if it's subconscious. Interestingly, the price of the product did not have to end in "7," such as $9.97, it could appear anywhere in the price and it had the same effect.

The author also noted that there were two instances where using cents versus a round number ($30) can substantially hurt sales—products with a certain "prestige," and products priced over $100.

The next time you're running a sale, think about testing a price point that includes a "7," such as $9.97 or $19.97, instead of the more traditional sale number of $.99.

A fascinating study conducted on in-store sampling revealed that it delivers quite amazing results! On the day of the sampling event, items sampled over multiple categories showed an increase of 475%. Even more amazing, the study revealed that repeat sales are impacted positively long after the event—purchasing of the product increased 11% over a 20 week period, and other products in the brand also showed a significant increase in sales.

Here are three ideas I came up with after reading the study:

• Offer store sampling as frequently as possible to increase product sales—not only on the day of the event, but also as many as 20 weeks after.

• Think about offering sampling on lines that have multiple products in the brand (i.e., sauces, dips, cake mixes, etc. that have the same manufacturers' name).

• Market your store sampling through every channel available—blog, Tweet and write about it in your store's email newsletter.

Have you already been product sampling? Has it worked well in your store? Please share your success story with us!