RETAILOBSERVER.COM NOVEMBER 2026
4
Eliana Barriga
eliana@retailobserver.com
Make gratitude count,
NOVEMBER 2026, VOLUME 37, ISSUE 11
CELEBRATING OUR 36
TH
YEAR
AS THE RETAIL OBSERVER
Elle's View As I See It
N
ovember arrives with its familiar rush. Holiday promotions begin,
showrooms get busier, wish lists grow, and attention quickly turns
toward the biggest shopping weeks of the year. But before the first
gift is wrapped, there is another gift worth recognizing: the customer who
chooses you.
Think about what that means today. Customers have almost unlimited
choices. They can compare products, prices, and reviews without leaving
the sofa. Yet someone still walks through your door, calls your store, asks
for your advice, or sends a friend your way.
That choice matters.
For an independent retailer, every customer represents more than a sale.
They are the reason the lights come on each morning, employees have jobs,
businesses grow, and local communities remain vibrant. No business is
entitled to that support. It is earned, appreciated, and never something to
take for granted.
November gives us a natural opportunity to remember that.
Gratitude in business doesn't need to be grand or complicated.
Sometimes it's simply taking an extra minute with a customer when the
store is busy. Remembering a name. Thanking someone who has shopped
with you for twenty years with the same sincerity you offer someone walking
in for the first time.
And gratitude works both ways.
Independent retailers give something valuable in return: knowledge,
service, attention, solutions, and a human connection that can be difficult to
find elsewhere. At its best, retail becomes an exchange that reaches beyond
merchandise. A customer chooses a business, and that business makes the
choice worthwhile.
So, amid the Black Friday rush, holiday promotions, deliveries, and year-
end goals, take a moment to notice the gift that arrived before all the others:
the people who chose to walk through your door.
Then give them a reason to be grateful they did.
BECAUSE THEY
CHOSE YOU
PUBLISHER/MANAGING EDITOR
ELIANA BARRIGA
DIRECTOR OF SALES AND MARKETING
MOE LASTFOGEL
ART DIRECTOR
TERRY PRICE
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
GREG DOSTER
STEVEN MORRIS
DAVIS SMITH
JOHN TSCHOHL
LIBBY WAGNER
DEADLINE FOR JAN. 2027 ISSUE:
DEC. 1, 2026
THE RETAIL OBSERVER
2764 N. Green Valley Pkwy, Suite 508
Henderson, NV 89014-2121
408.667.6067
production@retailobserver.com
info@retailobserver.com
www.retailobserver.com
To receive a copy of The Retail Observer
online, or to unsubscribe, please go to
www.retailobserver.com/subscribe
T H E R E TA I L
