How To Rise Above Your Slow Season This Fall

In just over a week’s time, the summer season will officially be over. September 22 will mark the beginning of fall. For many Canadians, these are sad times. Gone are barbeques and beach days. In their places will be chilly temperatures and fallen leaves. There are, of course, many people who love the fall. They include retailers who sell warm clothing and winter sports equipment. But what if fall is your slow season?

Does the changing of summer into autumn usually entail the slowing down of sales for your store? What steps can you take to rise above your slow season this fall?

Renovate your store with a new floor plan.

In our last blog, we posed the question “Is your store due for a renovation?” We listed such reasons as standing out from your competitors, making your employees happy and making better use of your space as reasons to renovate. Easy-to-navigate aisles combined with vivid product displays can make a huge difference in the amount of sales you process. Perhaps the upcoming slow season is the perfect time of year to spruce things up at your place of business.

“You know how when you re-merchandise one small area in your store your customers find something they haven’t seen before?” asks retail business owner and retail coach, Kathy Cruz on SavvyShopkeeper.com, “Imagine if you rearrange the entire store! If you only have an online presence, refresh your website!”

Create a marketing campaign for the holidays.

We’re certainly not saying you shouldn’t promote your business during your slow season. However, during your more-than-usual down time, it’s wise to put efforts into going full force during your busy season. Even if the start of fall generally comes with slower sales, the end-of-year holiday season will be here before you know it. It’s certainly not too early to begin thinking about your holiday promotions.

“When it’s spring, summer, or fall, you’re probably so busy with projects, you barely have time to eat lunch, let alone focus on promoting your business,” points out home improvement specialists, HOVER, “Take advantage of the natural down time winter provides to start your marketing planning for your upcoming busy season. If you have a website, make sure it’s up to date and add any new photos of projects you’ve completed this year.”

Focus on your online store.

This is a tip we can’t herald enough. It doesn’t matter what time of year it is, online shopping is a very popular pastime. This has grown especially true in the wake of the pandemic. If traffic in your brick and mortar store is slow, take this time to boost traffic in your online store. Utilize your social media accounts to promote exclusive savings in your online shop. Highlighting the convenience of shopping from home is a great way to boost sales all year long.

“Create that online shop you’ve been wanting to get on your website!” encourages Cruz, “This can sometimes involve hiring, but you might be able to use the ‘quiet’ time to do the research yourself and get your online store set up.”

Apply for a merchant cash advance.

Synergy Merchants’ unique merchant cash advance program has helped many a Canadian business owner to survive their slow seasons. To learn all about it, please don’t hesitate to call us at 1-877-718-2026 or email us at info@synergymerchants.com. You can also apply online for a free, no obligation quote!