Beat the Winter Blues with a Clearance Extravaganza
Near the end of winter and the start of spring, a crisp, cool atmosphere arises in the mountains. People are itching to get outdoors as cabin fever attacks and reaches a peak. This is the perfect time to hold an outdoor clearance sales event under a tent.
Dust off all the holiday décor that didn’t sell. Include last year’s models that are going to be replaced soon (or already hit the skids). Put out the winter gear that you’ll soon have to pack up anyway. The end of winter, which comes about the beginning of March in Asheville, Hendersonville and the Greenville upstate areas is the perfect opportunity to dust off these products, and set up a clearance extravaganza outside your shop.
Choose a day when clear skies are predicted and bring out all the unsold items from the previous season to create a display of clearance sales items to bring out the hoards. Your regulars will thank you and those cabin fever sufferers will get to know you as they wander through.
What You Need to Make it a Smashing Success
Even though it’s winter and most events are held indoors, the crew at Hendersonville Tents works year-round and needs to have some lead time to get the right tents together for you and schedule set-up and tear-down times to coincide with your store hours and clearance sales times. So call as soon as you’ve set a date.
Once you’ve chosen the tents (you may need two or three, depending on how much merchandise you plan to exhibit), then you need to prepare for all the other items you’ll need. Luckily the folks at Hendersonville Tents Party and Event Rentals can provide many of the items you need, including:
6-foot and 8-foot long tables
Skirts for the tables if you want to get fancy
Padded resin and metal folding chairs
Lighting so you can stay open into the evening hours
Stage to feature entertainment and call out specials
Audio equipment to spread the word
All You Need is Stock for Clearance Sales
Take into account how popular an item is when you put it on clearance. Sometimes it’s best to kick off an outdoor clearance sales event by marking down the top-selling items just a little and putting them within easy access of the entrance.
Customers grab those hot items quickly and move inside for more deals. And that’s where you place the must-go items. And hold off on the really deep discounts until the last day of the sale when you might decide to let them go at cost, hoping to at least recover your initial investment.
Send Them on Inside
If the entire store contains items that need to be sold due to a change of season, consider a store-wide clearance sale to create enthusiasm and get folks in your doors. Ideally, your tents are set up just outside the door, so that even if there’s still a chill in the air, they won‘t have to venture too far out into the elements to continue shopping.
Bring in your key staff for clearance sales events to they can answer questions and guide browsers through the sales items and into the store. Keep registers staffed so people don’t have to wait. And make your event a real talk-of-the-town success by serving warm apple cider and donuts, or keep a popcorn machine popping fresh corn — anything to draw customers in and keep them there.
Get the Word Out
Now that all the internal arrangements are made, it’s time to make a plan to draw the people in. Introduce your clearance sales event as an annual thing. Let customers know that they can expect to have help every year beating back the winter blues.
Rely on your social media platforms as the big day nears, sending out tweets and mass texts to your mailing lists and followers. And include information about the sale on your regular advertisements for a good month or so prior to the sales event.
And update your website. Remember that before they leave the house, many people quickly check online to verify the date of the big clearance sales event, the hours and the location. Then they’ll break out of the house can come ready to shop and beat back the winter blues with you.
Hendersonville Tents is a family-owned and operated company. 2017 marks the 33rd anniversary of providing tents, tables, chairs, dance floors, pipe and drapes, tableware, games, specialty lighting, PA systems… everything you need to host a memorable outdoor event. Hendersonville Tents provides a personal touch to your party. Whatever your needs, Hendersonville Tents has got you covered.
keyword: clearance sales
