When you have a physical storefront, you spend most of your time looking for ways to increase foot traffic. There are many tried and tested methods for this that you can employ. But during this time when people are looking to forget the restrictions of the lockdowns and have some real fun, your best bet is to give them just that. Arrange in-store events and activities that will draw in people, attract new customers, and make your products very appealing to purchase.
You don’t even have to worry about having the physical resources to meet demands, as you can simply look into event rentals to cover any necessary items you will need. This allows you to focus solely on the type of events you want to have and promote them. It is a good idea to have a schedule for the events as well. That way, you can have enough events a month that people are excited to visit the store, but not so many that they feel like it’s not special.
You may even want to create demand by limiting the number of customers allowed in the store during the event day. Another great idea is to give goodie bags to those who register online and other effective marketing strategies.
Holiday Events
These are the easiest to plan for as you can rely on the existing decorations and expectations people have about holidays as your theme. You can provide activities or special discounts on items that can be used for the holiday in question.
A clothing store can give huge discounts on their red items for the Christmas holidays. This will encourage people to buy more red items and other colors of items to help them accessorize the red.
Vendor Events
Retailers that sell via consignment or have space for popular product lines can have a lot of success with having events that highlight their vendors. You can have an event that puts all your vendors in your space with booths people can visit for consultations, free samples, discounts, vouchers, and more.
Alternatively, you can have monthly events where you highlight a vendor of the month. This will allow the vendor to set up an attractive area in-store and take their time with clients. The vendors will appreciate the attention and exposure you’re giving them and may help with advertising it. The extra attention and the new customers they bring in will be an excellent opportunity for you because once they are in the store, they will explore the other selections available as well.
Appeal to Children
Parents are constantly on the lookout for events that are enriching for their children. If your store sells items that are at all related to children’s needs, you can draw a huge crowd by having events that appeal to them.
Bring in a mascot to take photos with the kids, artists to give free face painting services, and best of all, provide supervision. Parents will be able to leave their children to the fun and relax in a calmer area of the store. This is where you can place items that you want the parents to notice and purchase. Include some sale items or buy-two-get-one-free deals to attract their attention as well.
Personalize the Event
Allow people to rent out your store for special occasions. You can shut down the store for walk-in customers and tell them the store is closed for a special event. Hand them vouchers for a sample item or a discount deal so that they are motivated to return.
People love to feel special, and being able to rent the whole store will appeal to many customers. You will find a lot of business in this way, from bridal parties to birthday celebrations and graduation parties.
Conclusion
Your event does not have to be the unique or expensive display that you can afford. It simply has to be about giving your customers a fresh experience that they can enjoy and share on their social media platforms.
Make full use of people’s desire to have Instagram-worthy experiences by allowing pictures to be taken in-store and providing an attractive party wall where they can take glam shots. That way, they can share the posts they tag your store in and feel motivated to visit again.
These events are a great way to keep your store’s social media feed exciting and active. People do not want to see one marketing post after another. Having many shots of different fun events and re-sharing posts by happy customers will be a lot more interesting. It is a great way to ensure that when you share a marketing post, more people are likely to pay attention to it than ignore it as just another advertisement.