Making Space Work:
Smart Merchandising & Storage Strategies for Every Campus Store
Virtual Session
Session Date: Tuesday, November 18, 2025
Session Time: 10am-11am EST
Conducted By: Bonnie Borromeo Tomlinson
Attendees are automatically entered to win a full CAMEX conference registration!*
Session Overview
A Virtual Merchandising & Organization Session for Campus Stores
Whether you’re running a bustling college store or managing a one-person shop, this session is for you.
Join Bonnie Borromeo Tomlinson—professional organizer, author, and Visual Merchandiser at the UMass Store—for a practical, judgment-free conversation on making the most of your retail space. Bonnie will share simple, actionable strategies to help you:
• Reclaim and reimagine your stockroom using systems that actually work
• Merchandise with intention, even in tight quarters
• Create a welcoming, shoppable sales floor that meets customer needs
• Balance space, product, and flow—without feeling overwhelmed
Whether you have 5,000 square feet or 50, you’ll leave this session with ideas and inspiration tailored to your store’s unique setup. No perfection required—just progress.
About the Presenter: Bonnie Borromeo Tomlinson
Author of STOP BUYING BINS & other blunt but practical advice from a home organizer, STOP PUSHING PERFECTION & just create a home you can actually keep neat, and the newly published YOU DON’T NEED IT & other motherly advice from a home organizer on setting up your first home.
Bonnie was the principal of Bonnie Lia Interiors, a home organizing and interior decoration firm with clients in MD, VA, and DC. Bonnie divides her time between writing and serving as the Visual Merchandiser for the UMass Store at her alma mater, the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Agenda
1. Storage & Backstock
• Taking advantage of downtime to sort, purge, clean all storage spaces by assessing viability and functionality of display pieces, signage, and merchandise.
• Creating systems for finding instead of foraging for necessary materials all based on ease of motion.
• Determining avenues for appropriate disposable/donation/clearance of any items being let go.
• Reorganizing all storage spaces by categorizing and creating proper accessibility for continued use.
2. Merchandising
• Even in stores with limited floorspace, effective merchandising is achievable. Thoughtful use of vertical space—such as walls and hanging displays—can make a big impact. Small signs not only guide customers but can also add a personal, welcoming touch.
• Merchandising is what the customer sees that draws them in, and how the tone of the store makes the customer feel overall.
• Fostering a shopping experience both visually and spatially by creating natural pathways to guide customers through all departments of the store.
• Providing sufficient "elbow room" between fixtures to walk through and shop from.
• Stocking floor to be full but not crowded.
• Thinking like a shopper. Determining what are the shoppers' needs are, fulfilling them, and then suggesting additional items all through displays and product placement.
• Neatness is key. Not only is it easier to shop from but gives the feeling of pride in both the store and the school.
• While it's true that every square foot of your retail space has to pay you back, that does not mean every square foot has to be covered in merchandise. Flow, ease of motion, overall spatial awareness sells more products than a crowded sales floor.
3. Q&A and Recap
Wrap up with an open discussion—bring your questions, ask for clarification, or dive deeper into topics covered. This is your chance to get personalized advice and share insights with fellow campus store professionals.
*Must attend the webinar to be entered to win. Giveaway covers the full $649 CAMEX conference and trade show registration. Store attendees must register by December 15, 2025. Discount cannot be used in conjunction with any other discount, or NACS Foundation grants.
