Church stores leaders who bank on their customers having more loyalty than other shoppers because of the church connection need to think again, warns CBA Chairman George Thomsen.

“Today's younger consumers in particular are very aware of and loyal to their options of convenience, selection and price,” he writes in the December issue of the trade association's Retailers + Resources magazine. “They'll shop where their needs are best served.”

Thomsen offers his caution in the latest in a series of articles focused on church stores, highlighting the six major threats he says church stores face if they are not well planned and prepared.

The general manager of The Harvest Store at Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, Calif., also emphasizes the need to be willing to adapt and to have a clear handle on the store's financial performance.

“In many cases, no one's putting any pressure on us to perform well,” he observes. “It's easy to become complacent or feel we're safe. Often, the church-store manager doesn't perceive a threat until it's too late.”

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