The back to school shopping season is known as the second biggest spending period to the Christmas rush. In other words, there’s BIG money to be had. Even if you’re not selling school supplies or clothing, you can definitely prepare your business for the rush and capitalize on some additional traffic by focusing on the right areas.
1. Stock Up Now and Sell Later
Inventory is one of the biggest issues with parents shopping with their kids. Everyone has the roughly same list, so running out of something could destroy your sales. Preparing early for what will sell (electronics, clothing, accessories etc.) will ensure that you are prepared for the flood of shoppers.
2. Let Customers Know You’ve Got the Goods
This is the time to market to kids and parents (and even teachers) that you’re the place to shop. Tie-in back to school activities to give context to your products/services so that buyers understand why they should be stopping by. Investing in some additional advertising, including offline marketing like flyer inserts, radio and direct mail could help drive walk-ins. Online, look for more local ways to push your message. Facebook ads can help you localize your marketing and geotarget prospective shoppers.
3. Promotions Get People In the Door
The word “SALE” is what parents are looking for. Set up an attractive loss leader and get them in the store to capitalize on the rest of your goods. This magnet will help clear out older stock and move new stock. Support your sales with a capable workforce and you’ll be moving customers more efficiently. Guerilla marketing can help get you noticed if your sale isn’t being supported in traditional marketing.
4. Do Your Homework
How does your business relate to back to school? There’s a wide variety of ways to creatively tie this period to your industry, so doing a bit of research to see what others are doing could help with your own business. Forge the connection and tell the story and people will be convinced. It’s a stressful time for parents, so playing on that can also help attract some traffic.
Here are a few creative ways to associate different industries to back to school shopping:
Restaurant: Specially-priced meals for the family after a long day of back to school shopping.
Garage: Body work and trim packages to bring your kids to school in style.
Salon: Pamper mom after a long day of school supply shopping.
Retail – clothing: Learning in style. Set up your school wardrobe with a 2 for 1 promo.
Coffee Shop: Bring in your back to school shopping receipt and get a free chocolate chip cookie with your purchase of a beverage.