Winter can be tough for some people. It can be tough for retail too as traffic is often down. Independent retailers have an opportunity to leverage the season, to make it more enjoyable for you and your customers.
Here are six suggestions to get you thinking abut winter differently:
- Reach out to retirement villages and nursing homes. Pack up key items from your shop and tele it on the road – go to those customers who can’t come to you because of the cold.
- Offer free delivery. If option one does not work for you promote a delivery service so people shut in can still get their fix. Be the retailer who goes the extra mile.
- Add to your customer service. have somewhere people can place their umbrellas and raincoats when they enter.
- Keep your shop warm. Offer hot coffee, tea or hot chocolate. Maybe have a slow cooker with some delicious home cooked vegetable soup using a recipe from a magazine you have in-store.
- Have a summer sale. In the middle of winter, at the coldest, have a blow-out sale and call it something like a SIZZLING SALE. Get people warm with great prices.
- Change your music playlist. If you’re using an online music service, select brighter, warmer music.
If your shop is in a really cold area consider an outer door to keep the warmth in. They do this a lot in Europe and the US in Winter.
Winter is a seasoning which you can show off your point of difference and get people seeing your retail business differently.
