For retailers that stock sunglasses as a core offering, the obvious prime sales season aligns with the bright, hot days of summer. Shoppers flock to boutiques looking for stylish shades to take advantage of abundant sunshine. Nevertheless, once the autumn calendar page turns and temperatures drop, sunglass sales invariably cool off as well. Rather than resign themselves to months of slow turnover in accessories, savvy merchants use creative strategies to sustain momentum beyond summer. Through social media campaigns, targeted promotions, strategic inventory shifts and emphasizing year-round utility, retailers can sell sunglasses proactively even when skies turn gray.
Getting Social
One of the most effective ways for sunglass shops to counter seasonal sales dips is harnessing the power of social media to spur organic discovery beyond just summer months. Too often, retailers curate content only aligned explicitly with peak seasons. However, maintaining vibrant feeds that showcase products attractively, share styling tips, and nurture follower relationships throughout the year provides invaluable exposure. For example, as winter weather arrives, merchants could post photos of models wearing bold, colorful frames contrasted against white snowy backdrops. Getting creative on social channels represents a largely untapped opportunity to boost accessory sales headed into winter.
Run Targeted Promotions
Besides social media, small retailers should also take advantage of off-peak periods to run specially priced promotions aimed at attracting local attention. During quieter weeks in November or January when customers shop less for accessories, boutiques could offer limited-time percentage discounts or bundled pricing on sunglasses. The people at Olympic Eyewear say that savvy owners may offer bulk sunglasses deals with multiple pairs at reduced costs to incentivize volume purchases as gifts for later giving. Store signage and email marketing campaigns could accompany promotions that remind shoppers of the alluring pricing. Limited-time percentage-off sales centered on gifting themes prove exceptionally effective at targeting promotion-minded buyers less swayed by seasons or weather.
Emphasize Year-Round Utility
Part of the seasonal sunglass sales challenge simply comes down to customer perception. Shoppers view shades primarily as hot weather accessories. Nonetheless, modern quality sunglasses have evolved into effective solutions for reducing glare and protecting eyes all year round. Retailers need to reframe the year-round value of sunglasses beyond just beach vacations and pool visits. Stores can install creative educational displays explaining how the sun’s harmful UV rays penetrate cloud cover to degrade vision, along with high-quality polarized lens technologies that filter and soothe eyes. Explaining how premium shades reduce headaches and eye fatigue from snow glare in winter or serve practical purposes like shielding from rainfall can make customers reconsider off-season utility.
Diversify Inventory
In addition to recasting public perceptions on usage occasions, retailers should also reassess actual sunglass inventory during the winter months. Stores often load up on mostly lightweight, brightly hued plastic frames aligned with stereotypical summer aesthetics during June and July. However, they likely still have discontinued, or slower-moving styles left over occupying precious display real estate headed into winter sales doldrums. Savvy owners could ship some warmer weather styles to outlet locations or offer bundled promotions to liquidate overstock. The newly freed up space provides opportunities to usher in collections of darker, bolder sunglass frames and lenses more suited to winter outfits and cold weather palettes.
Conclusion
While the obvious peak selling season for sunglasses may be summer, creative retailers have plenty of proven techniques to drive customers and sales through winter as well. Harnessing social media inspiration, running limited promotions, reframing practicality and keeping inventories relevant beyond just summer represent tremendous opportunities. Sunglass shops employing some or all these tactics can sell like pros all year long.
