Beat Technology Overwhelm: Start With What Sold and Who Bought It — Weekly Retail Tidbits #241
Originally published as Tidbit #241.
“The most transformative technologies are often the ones that take the longest to feel normal.”
— Nicholas Carr, author of The Shallows
Spring starts Thursday.
If you’ve been waiting for a sign to start something new, this is it. A friend told me a story recently that made an impact on me.
In the 1960s his wife worked for TVA, the Tennessee Valley Authority. Her job was to travel to rural areas across Tennessee and teach people how to use electricity. Not generate it. Not repair it. Use it. How to operate a range. How to plug things in. How to make this world-changing technology work in their daily lives.
Edison’s work dates back to 1879. These women were doing this 80 years later – not because people were unintelligent, not because they were stubborn. They were simply overwhelmed by something unfamiliar, and nobody had shown them where to start.
Sound familiar?
I hear a version of this constantly: I know I need to get better at that. I just don’t know where to begin. The tools exist. The need is clear. But overwhelm has a way of keeping us exactly where we are.
I was that retailer. Better tools existed than the ones I was using, and I knew it. But I was overwhelmed and I didn’t know where to start – so I didn’t. It cost me more than I realized at the time.
This week I have 2 simple tips:
Know what sold. Your best sellers are telling you what your customers love. If you can’t see what’s moved, you can’t restock it. An empty spot where a best seller used to be is quietly losing you money.
Know who bought it. You cannot build a relationship with someone you can’t reach. An email list, a loyalty program, even a simple sign-up sheet – whatever opens that line of communication is everything. I write this newsletter every week because that line stays open. You need the same thing in your store.
Those TVA educators couldn’t teach anyone a thing until they could get to them. Same principle. You can’t serve your customer, surprise her, or bring her back if you have no way to reach her.
You don’t have to overhaul everything. You don’t need a perfect system by Friday. But pick one – what sold, or who bought it – and make it a non-negotiable. Not someday. This week.
The electricity was already there. Someone just had to show up and say, “Here’s where to begin.”
We’re in one of those moments right now. The tools exist — better than anything we’ve had before — but a tool is only useful when you know what you need. Start with what sold and who bought it. That foundation is everything. It’s what makes every other tool make sense, including the ones that feel overwhelming today.
Already doing both? Read on for a technology tip.
xoxo,
❤️AmyFay
Technology Tip
This morning my agent briefed me after all of my subagent specialists did their morning research – tailored to exactly what I want to know. Not people agents. Bot agents. I have a working team of somewhere around 50 agents – it grows daily so I am not even sure of the number.
Yes, I am writing this. 😊 I, the human.
One of my research agents found a post that a friend also shared with me. It’s worth your read here. (by Matt Shumer on X)
The anxiety, the excitement – I am living it. Dancing down my hallway, jumping up and down in my office by what I figure out – and then totally freaking out all at the same time. You’ll understand that if you read Matt’s post.
My tip again – because one of you surprised me this week. Use an LLM. (Large Language Model). OpenAI has ChatGPT. Anthropic has Claude. Google has Gemini. Perplexity uses them all but does not have its own model. Pay for it. Most are $20 a month. Use the best model within the model. That uses the most “energy” so costs the most – but this is less than pennies for what you will learn and get in return.
So – what do you need to do? Track inventory? Know your customers better? Or do you have those down and you need to manage your finances better?
Learning is like building muscle strength at the gym. It’s not easy. It takes time and repetition. And – small business is a juggling act. Learning may not be one of the balls you think you have time to throw in the air.
Learning is the most important gift you can give yourself and your business. Stay tuned – and please let me know if you want to learn but don’t know where to start. 🩷
Questions: [email protected]
Timely Tip
Just wanted to add this. As I met with one of you this week, I learned that she had had a massive security fraud incident with Shopify. She had $50,000 taken.
If you use Shopify and all of a sudden have a massive number of spam emails hit your inbox, assume you are under attack.
The best way to avoid incidents like this is to frequently change your password. Make the password long and hard to remember. Turn on two-step verification. Use something like Google Authenticator and not your phone number.
My Tennessee retailer is not alone. I quickly found another incident where the retailer lost $30,000 in the Chicago area. Shopify advertises that they do not use the phone. Thieves know this. They make your inbox impossible to understand so that they have time to steal your money. Protect yourself.
3 Tango Tidbits
Meghan Browne Style
Pearls are still trending big — no surprise there — and crosses. Meghan Browne has a pretty selection of crosses!
This new LORI bracelet stack made its debut recently and has already been a hit with many of you — pearl and gold cross charms — perfect timing heading into Easter.
Mary Lake-Thompson
These flour sack towels are designed by Sara Thompson, Mary Lake-Thompson’s daughter, under her own line — Montgomery Street (a division of Mary Lake-Thompson Ltd.). Some of you mix and match these mother and daughter designs – and some of you stay true to one. Either way it’s easy for you. And you make it easy for your customers to update their home for the season with a quick switch of a pretty towel!
Cobblestone Living
The Cassandra top from Cobblestone Living has been in the collection since day one and is still one of their most popular pieces. It’s silk, it’s flattering on a variety of figures, and it goes with everything. Some things just work — this is one of them.
Elevate your Everyday!
A Tidbit More
Here’s another tip: Google’s “Results About You” personal information removal tool
2026: Go to your Google app, tap your profile picture, & look for “Results about you.” Or click here. Register the personal info you want monitored (phone number, email, home address). Google will alert you whenever that info shows up in search results. You can then request removal right from the dashboard.
It’s free. Over 10 million people have already used it.
NOTE: It removes the link from Google search results. It doesn’t delete your info from the actual website. It’s like pulling your name off the directory but the page still exists. Still worth doing – most people find you through Google, not by typing random URLs.
Tango Showroom at AmericasMart Atlanta
Building 2, Floor 10, Suite 1000B · by the round elevators
Open Monday – Friday 10:00 – 4:00
“You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”
— Martin Luther King, Jr.
Happy Spring! I’d love to hear what you decide to start.🌸
❤️AmyFay
With heart eyes on – finding things we ❤️!
Market Fun – January, 2026
❤️ Miles and Bishop — Union City, TN
❤️ Barbara Stewart Interiors — Bowling Green, KY
AmyFay Chandler
Consultative sales rep helping independent retailers build smarter, more intentional businesses. Representing Tango brands to Tennessee and Kentucky retailers through AmericasMart Atlanta — and my own lines to retailers across the United States.
Also from AmyFay
📚 Caroline B Cook — The Virtue Series (children’s books)
🌿 Sweet Tree Jewelry (handcrafted clay earrings)
🛒
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