http://retailminded.com/summer-retail-tips/

Summer is here… whether the calendar officially says so or not. With Memorial Day behind us and countless schools across the country already having said goodbye to their students, retailers should embrace the good  – and even the challenges – summer will bring their way.

To help strengthen your store summer experience, consider the following tips.

Tip 1: Embrace the summer season with seasonal “extras”. 

From complimentary cucumber water (or even plain old H2O) to sidewalk sales to special events, summer welcomes the chance to mix things up a bit. Embrace these opportunities as a way to connect and engage with your customers.

Tip 2: Encourage seasonal hours from you and your retail neighbors. 

Depending on your store location and who your target market it is, it may make sense to keep your store hours open longer in the summer than other months. One key reason here is that the sun is out longer during the summer, keeping sidewalks busier and people more excited to be outside. If your entire Main Street community, shopping area or even just yourself marketed this as a summer benefit for your customers, you may be rewarded with extra sales and increased store visibility.

Tip 3: Welcome pets to stop and get refreshed at your store.

You may not sell pet supplies, but that doesn’t mean your customers aren’t busy walking your local streets with their dogs in tow. Put out a bowl of water and make sure to keep it filled, refreshed and cool for all pups to stop and linger when they walk by your store. Your added bonus? Their owners will be standing still directly in front of your store to view all that they can within your window displays and (hopefully) open doors. Even better? Welcome dogs in your store. Pet owners will often pick you over other area retailers for this reason alone!

Tip 4: Keep your summer enthusiasm & working hours in check. 

We all fall into those moments when we don’t want to work… we want to play. But despite gorgeous days, tempting invitations from friends and community events you may want to attend during working hours… stick to your professional agenda. Hire seasonal staff to offset these hours, but make sure you aren’t compromising store success as a result. Your staff – no matter how seasonal or temporary they may be – should be trained and prepared for the customers that walk through your doors.

Tip 5: Keep things from getting too repetitive. 

You open the store… you close the store. And in between, there are bound to be some routines that need to stay in place. But with summer here and customers excited, make sure your store excitement keeps up with that consumer enthusiasm. Create special events to get customers into your store that not only get them shopping, but also having fun. Partner with other businesses to have some stand-0ut, unique retail experiences that don’t happen everyday. Play your music a little louder even… and change up your tunes to keep the vibe “beachy” as part of your summer theme. Speaking of themes, why not have some? Create a theme a week, a theme per day of the week or a theme per month and get your team and your customers excited to be a part of it! The real goal here is to make your store a place people want to be – including you.

Finally, enjoy the occasional showers that summer may bring, the extra hot days that may come your way and all the other summer related surprises in between. Using these days to get a jump start on holiday planning isn’t a bad idea, either. That is, of course, if your slow. And we hope you’re not.

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