Summer is a busy season for many small business owners with retail stores.
Longer daylight hours, warm summer nights, and family vacations can mean greater odds of having customers browse through shops in your neighbourhood.
Harness that potential business and attract more customers with a store that’s ready for summer. Here’s how:
- Hire more people. The last thing you want on a busy summer day is a lineup of customers at the cash that’s so long it discourages people from making a purchase. Make sure you have enough staff on your schedule to cover busy shifts – not to mention sick days and employee vacations. Re-hire any good student employees from last summer who left to go back to school. Chances are they need the hours, plus it saves you the time and effort of training.
- Merchandise for summer traffic. Design your store displays to appeal to vacationers – whether they’re local or visiting from out of town. Focus on the placement and merchandising of summer travel essentials or “packable” gift items and souvenirs so customers can find them easily. Off-shelf or secondary placements near the cash help showcase top-selling seasonal items.
- Get seasonal with your marketing. Tailor your summer promotional campaigns to reflect the peaks of the season. Engage customers with loyalty marketing offers that meet their needs throughout the summer. Vicinity’s Scheduled Promotions feature makes it easy to plan out discounts and specials ahead of time, so you’re not scrambling to prepare for events like Father’s Day (June 19), Canada Day (July 1), the Civic Holiday (August 1), Labour Day (Sept. 5), as well as local events within your community.