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A dialogue in the shopping mall:

— Can I help you find anything?
— No, I'm just browsing, but... wow, this is a really cool store.
— Well, thanks a lot. That means a bunch. We just opened two weeks ago actually.
— I didn't think I'd seen it when I walked by last time.
— Yeah, I just decided to open the store. It's been an idea that's been floating in my mind for about a year now and I just made the decision to pull the trigger and opened the store and here we are.
— Wow, it's your store. You're a self-starter. It's awesome.
— Yeah. Well, if you need anything, just let me know. I'm happy to help.
— Okay. Thanks.

I suppose this is just a colloquialism. I think I've heard it used a few times before, but I just wanted to ask you guys what it really means and what you think of this expression.

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    A similar phrase is "Thanks a bunch.", which could mean a sincere "Thanks a lot.", but could also mean a more sarcastic "Thanks for nothing." (Thanks though it did not help at all.)
    – user3169
    Commented Dec 13, 2014 at 22:34

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It's an informal version of "that means a lot", a phrase used to show appreciation of something.

To rephrase:

— Can I help you find anything?
— No, I'm just browsing, but... wow, this is a really cool store.
— Well, thanks a lot. Your opinion is very important to us. We just opened two weeks ago actually.

The store owner wants to show that the opinion voiced by the visitor ("this is a really cool store") is important to him.

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    I'd say "informal" rather than "cool". Your rephrasing as "Your opinion is very important to us" is very nice. "The fact that you think our store is cool is strong evidence that our design for the store is good" is more accurate, but of course no one would ever say that.
    – Ben Kovitz
    Commented Dec 13, 2014 at 21:26

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