Multifaceted Spaces: Family Tree Nursery Eliminates the “Off” Season
On any given weekend in the spring and summer, the aisles at Family Tree Nursery in Shawnee, Kansas are packed with customers seeking beautiful plants, pots, and other home and garden products. This family-owned nursery, with three locations in the Kansas City area, has been providing top-tier customer service and vibrant, healthy plants since 1964.As with any nursery, the spring, summer, and fall are busy and full of life. But what about the winter? How does a seasonal business attract customers during the “off” season?
Café Equinox
Family Tree recently made the smart choice to dedicate a small part of their Shawnee location to a new coffee shop, Café Equinox. This gorgeous, botanically inspired space serves coffee and a wide selection of locally-made baked goods seven days a week, year-round. By providing free Wifi and a coffee-shop atmosphere in the same space as their home and garden store, this nursery challenges the idea of an “off” season and draws customers through the winter.As we recently explored on our blog, by “overlaying multiple points of consumer service, brands expand their reach beyond their core audience and create “hybrid” spaces. At a time when retail establishments are struggling to stay open, these innovative spaces are revitalizing their connections with consumers.” Family Tree Nursery is one of our favorite examples.
Open for Business
By creating a secondary point of interaction with consumers, the nursery provides a space people want to visit regardless of the season. Whether they stop in for coffee to go or stay to wander the aisles for year-round merchandise, Café Equinox creates new opportunities for customers to build their connection with Family Tree Nursery, and an incentive to keep visiting even in the winter months. Once consumers are in their space, it’s impossible not to notice festive seasonal decorations or the wide selection of indoor plants that can keep home and garden enthusiasts from hibernating.
Building Community
Café Equinox doesn’t just serve as an invitation into Family Tree Nursery, it provides a space to foster community, conversation, and deeper connections. Rotating seasonal drink and baked good offerings keep customers coming back and immerse them in the culture of the nursery. What better way to encourage people to feel comfortable and part of a community than with coffee and conversations? And when those conversations inevitably turn to a shared love of gardening, the nursery location is irresistible. To take a peek inside, check out their Instagram.
Multifaceted Spaces
Family Tree Nursery and Café Equinox are a shining example of what can happen when brands broaden their reach to include multiple points of customer interaction. In an age in which online shopping is cutting into traditional brick-and-mortar retail profits, expanding your scope of services is a great way to reinvigorate your space, your community, and your bottom line. By eliminating the “off” season, Café Equinox keeps Family Tree Nursery vibrant and growing all year long.
