The owner of a Bloomington bookstore is employing a new strategy to try to get customers to stop in, despite the hassle of downtown parking meters.
Owner of Caveat Emptor Used Books Eric Brown says the bookstore lost between 30 and 40 percent of its revenue the first year the city implemented the meters.
The city recently closed its 4th Street Garage for repairs, making it even harder to find a parking spot downtown.
Brown recently decided to give customers an incentive to shop despite the meters, offering to pay parking fees.
“We decided instead of being negative about it, let’s just do something positive,” says Brown.
The new policy states that customers will get $1 for every $10 spent in the store.
Because the book store is a place where people like to browse, Brown believes this will encourage customers to sift through the book collection.
“We think downtown should be a place where people can come and browse, shop local and independent, and have a good experience for shopping,” he says.
Brown says social media response has been positive, with people stating that they wished more businesses would implement such a policy.
