I've often wondered why the stores in places like Soho & the Meatpacking District aren't opened in the evening, at least once/week. With the Mardi Gras like environment and the fact that some stores seemed to really making sales, maybe it'll happen more often.
I'm poorly paraphrasing here, but as the Beatles said, The love you get is equal to the love you give. The stores that were hoppin' were the stores that were giving. And I don't just mean price breaks. There was a vibe, an excitement and even the employees looked like they were having fun. And all that fun led to big crowds and I saw people buying. Yea, they got good deals I'm sure. But people were really having fun.
I don't think people have enough fun in their lives and the fact that so many people would be out for a night of shopping says something important.
Do you create opportunities for both guests and employees to have fun? You should. Of course, whatever you do has to be authentic to who you are as a brand, but put a little thought into creating some fun. It seemed to have worked for Fashion Night Out. They certainly had the eyeballs, let's hope they got the wallet too.