Bank Holiday Special Ideas to Grow Your Business
Many businesses are familiar with the dreaded 'Summer Slump'. The worldwide phenomenon slowly rears its head around May and is known to impact both hospitality and retail businesses.
But what does this mean in real terms? During the warmer months, sales drop, employee productivity slows and profits plateau across the global economy.
Businesses can remedy this by taking advantage of the upcoming long weekends and bank holidays. This year, the UK celebrates the Queen's Jubilee with an extra-long weekend. For businesses, this holds an opportunity to drive sales, increase foot traffic and get more customers in the door.
Here's how your business can take advantage of the upcoming bank holidays and turn the summer slump into a sales boom.
How do bank holidays impact business sales?
According to HRNews, hospitality and entertainment businesses are likely to tap into increased consumer spending and should expect increased footfall during bank holiday weekends.
Similarly, retail businesses should experience a spike in sales - although this is often capitalised through bank holiday deals and limited-time offers [1].
Dates to add to your calendar
UK businesses should keep the following dates in mind when planning summer sales and events:
- Thursday 2nd June: Spring bank holiday
- Friday 3rd June: Platinum Jubilee bank holiday
- Friday 1st July: School summer holidays
- Friday 29 August: Late summer bank holiday
Bank holiday sale tips for retail businesses
Retail businesses can defeat the summer slump by highlighting and promoting key seasonal items.
This is the perfect opportunity to move summer stock and clear space for new seasonal merchandise. Consider running a flash sale where shoppers can enjoy reduced prices on big-ticket items to entice customers.
Think carefully about what's going on sale
Think about what items in your store are most likely to be popular during the summer months. These will probably be holiday garments, beachwear, and high-margin accessories like hats and sunglasses in clothing stores. For convenience stores, turning the spotlight to DIY tools, garden furniture, and outdoor party accessories should help drive traffic in-store.
Bank holiday discounts should be useful to your customers and your business. Be savvy about what stock to promote to garner the most interest and give customers value for money.
Start your sale early
Waiting until mid-summer to launch a sales campaign might leave your business behind the trend. To stay ahead of the competition, start your sale early. This will also give you a better chance of attracting customers looking for bank holiday offers.
You could also offer a loyalty scheme where customers can earn points towards future purchases or sign up to your mailing list to receive exclusive bank holiday discounts.
Plan to clear out any remaining home and garden summer stock for your August bank holiday sales to make room for your Autumn/Winter inventory and generate some much-needed cash flow.
Focus on foot traffic with Near St
NearSt is a point of sale (POS) integration that uses geotagging and other location-based features. This means that businesses can add their shop to Google Maps, create a complete Google My Business profile, and even integrate with Facebook and Instagram Shops. Near St targets local customers and helps your store rank in search results when they search for a business in their local area.
The Epos Now Complete Solution is the best option for your business.
Its cutting edge technology will streamline your processes and improve your business.
Benefits include:
- Integrated card payment systems
- Quick and easy product management
- Flexible reports on everything from stock levels to staffing
- Hundreds of apps to adapt your system to your business needs
- Expert support to ensure you get the most out of your produce
Bank holiday ideas for hospitality businesses
While many hospitality businesses will experience an uptick in trade during bank holidays, there are steps that owners and managers can take to ensure their company is getting the most out of these special days.
Host an outdoor event
Consider running a bank holiday special event or promotion outside to attract more customers. If your business has open air space, use it to its full potential by setting up a pop-up bar, BBQ or beer garden. Customers will appreciate the chance to enjoy some al fresco dining or drinking, and it's an excellent opportunity to show off your summer menu.
If you don't have any outdoor space, think about ways you can bring the outdoors inside. Creating a summery atmosphere with plants, flowers and outdoor-themed decor will help transport customers to a sunnier place and make them feel like they're on vacation.
If you have the staff available, extend your opening hours to make the most of the increased footfall.
Create beer tokens and bank holiday discount codes with VoucherCart
VoucherCart allows businesses to set up voucher cards, eVouchers, and reloadable plastic gift cards that can be redeemed at the point of sale.
Attract new customers online by offering big savings, free delivery or discount voucher codes via your website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and email. Then, entice customers in-person with swipeable gift cards, discount codes and tokens.
When creating your bank holiday social media campaign, use relevant hashtags, and consider running a competition where customers can win prizes like free drinks or meals with their VoucherCart token.
Queue bust for a customer-focused service
Queue-busting is one of the industry's top buzzwords this season. It refers to taking orders and payments on the go while customers are waiting - busting the queue and reducing waiting times for guests.
There are multiple benefits to this; it's a more efficient process for kitchen staff who can start making orders quicker, it's a more interactive experience for customers and it makes life easier for wait staff.
Introduce efficiency with the Pro+
Restaurants can introduce queue busting this bank holiday with the Epos Now Payments Pro+. The Pro+ is a portable, all-in-one card machine and POS device. Employees can take orders and send them directly to the kitchen or bar, check stock levels, make menu changes and accept payments from anywhere at flat rates.**
Its in-built printer and wireless connectivity mean that merchants can accept payments anywhere, whether inside the restaurant or out on the terrace.
Set your business up for success with a reliable POS
Epos Now can provide retail and hospitality with the tools and resources to boost in-store numbers like never before with specialist hardware and award-winning software.
Contact our expert team or find out more online about a POS trusted by over 40,000 businesses like yours.
