Do Not Leave Your Retail Business In The Dark! Simple Steps To Keep The Flow Of Customers Coming All Day
Winter tends to be a rough time in every industry, especially retail. Far from the influx of pre-Christmas sales, this time of year is all about saving your profits and weathering the long January pay gap. Worse, short days and dark afternoons mean that even the small trickle of customers dies an early death. But, of course, you can’t shut up shop just in case someone does come your way.
This dilemma sees retailers forking out a fortune on wages with no promise of returns. All at a time when every cent counts. It’s a struggle, and it’s one that not every shop manages to bounce back from.
Luckily, there are steps to help your retail efforts survive this winter, even once darkness falls. What’s more, they’re not as complicated as you’d think. If your business dries up once the 4 pm winter darkness sets in right now, then keep reading to find out how you can turn things around.
# 1 – Make it clear that you’re open
While it may not be the primary cause for quiet winter afternoons, some customers may simply fail to notice that you’re open. Shorter winter hours now aren’t unheard of in retail, and a dark shopfront is only ever going to send one message. As such, you should take efforts to tackle this misunderstanding.
An outdoor LED shoebox light or something similar is probably your best bet as this will literally light a guiding path to your door. Equally, well-lit signs expressing your open status could see more passers-by popping in, even if just to escape the latest downpour!
# 2 – Provide warming incentives
Speaking of people using your shop space to avoid the weather, providing warming incentives could also see your afternoon winter sales peaking. Free tea or hot chocolate, for instance, can work wonders for making your shop a haven.
Even if customers only step in because of these offerings, they’ll still browse in the process. And, if they like what they see, this small effort could lead to brand new acquisitions.
# 3 – Focus on reaching customers in their own homes
Increasing sales for winter is now also about switching your focus to reaching customers in their own homes. Online shopping is a fantastic way to boost profits at this time of year because consumers will invest no matter the time of day, and irrelevant of the weather. This at least provides some steady income regardless of how quiet your highstreet location gets.
You should even find that increasing efforts with online offers and more regular social media postings can pay the way for your shop staff until things pick up again.
A final word
Winter is never going to be easy in the world of retail but, with these pointers to hand, you might find that you’re able to keep your business thriving no matter how dark it gets outside. And, while you’re busy with efforts like these, spring might just spring upon you at last.
© New To HR
