Increase Revenue.
Elevate Visitor Experience.
Strengthen Your Mission.

Visitor Services and Retail
Strategy Designed for
Museums and Cultural
Institutions

A museum’s front-of-house experience should extend the organization’s mission while strengthening visitor engagement and financial stability. I partner with museums and cultural centers to improve visitor services, streamline operations, and build purposeful, dynamic, revenue-positive retail and on-site experiences.

Get in Touch

“I have spent three decades helping museums create clear operations, confident staff, and mission aligned retail spaces.

I am a proud member of the Chickasaw Nation and enjoy working with Native tribes and Indigenous cultural organizations across the United States and Canada with cultural respect and understanding.”

- Jin Jo Garton

My Approach

I use a customer-first method built around four core pillars of museum visitor services and retail success:

  • Visitor Engagement

  • Mission Alignment

  • Product Relevance

  • Operational Efficiency

Every project begins with understanding your visitors, your goals, and the unique story your institution wants to share.

I collaborate closely with your team to develop a retail strategy that feels authentic, culturally respectful, and financially sustainable. The result is a museum store that enhances the visitor experience, supports your mission, and performs with consistency.

Museum Front-of-House Operations

  • Customer service systems and visitor engagement training

  • Retail staff hiring and training

  • Point-of-Sale and back-of-house setup

  • E-commerce planning and implementation

  • Open-to-Buy budgeting

  • UBIT tax and copyright guidance

Product Selection and Merchandising

  • Professional product sourcing through trade shows and gift markets

  • Ongoing buying aligned with mission, goals, and budget

  • Vendor identification and relationship building

  • Custom product development and licensing

  • Visual merchandising and display strategy

New Store Development & Existing Store Improvement

  • Store layout and fixture design

  • Custom or prefabricated fixture recommendations

  • Lighting plans

  • Visitor audience identification

  • Initial buying plans and inventory build-out

  • Retail branding and policy creation

Testimonials

  • "Jin is one colleague who uniquely stands out. I was immediately impressed with her knowledge of retail management, merchandise planning, and product development which far exceeds that of many of her peers. Jin is a joy to work with because of her amazingly positive attitude and can do spirit!"

    Susan Tudor
    Past President, Museum Store Association

  • “Under Jin's direction, the museum store sales increased tenfold. She is a human dynamo of energy and ideas. She does not ruminate about what should be done; she does it. She has won several performance awards at OU, both for her store and for her own accomplishments. She is the ultimate can-do personality.”

    Michael Mares, Ph.D.
    Director Emeritus, Sam Noble Museum

  • “Working with Jin Jo has made connecting with Native American people & various Tribal communities much easier. To have her as a cultural connection and person who advocates for museums, artists and Native communities helps simplify conversations that may not have always been a clear path. She knows what museums need, and she knows how to reach out to a vast array of different Tribal affiliations. Our museum opening was a success due to her. I recommend her highly.”

    Kelli Davis
    Manager of Retail and Visitor Services, Agua Caliente Cultural Museum

  • “I cannot even begin to express my gratitude for Jin Jo Museum Consulting and what she has helped us accomplish for our retail store in a very short amount of time! Jin assisted us in obtaining unique products that are flying off of the shelves. Our increased retail revenue is a direct reflection of us working with Jin Jo Museum Consulting. She has been a life-saver for our institution!”

    Nicole Armitage
    Past Director of Operations, Oklahoma Contemporary

Client Highlights:

I’ve had the privilege of partnering with museums and cultural institutions including:

Let’s talk

I’d love to learn more about your institution and how I can support your visitor experience and retail goals. If you’re interested in exploring a partnership or would like more information, please reach out.