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A Fun Retail Promotion Idea
Tip #460 - A GREAT Month for Retailers
Dear Tip of the Weeker,
You may have seen it on Facebook or read about it in your inbox... the claim that once every 823 years July has 5 Fridays, 5 Saturdays, and 5 Sundays and that this once-a-millennium phenomenon is happening next month.
Well, it's not entirely true.
July 2011 certainly does have 5 Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, but it is a regular calendar occurrence that follows a predictable pattern. July has 5 weekends once every 5 to 11 years, not every 800+.
Still, any month that has 5 Fridays, 5 Saturdays, and 5 Sundays is a great one for retailers!
Play up the 5 weekend days to your customers and have a fun "FIVE" themed promotion. Here are just a few ideas for you to consider:
- Offer $5 specials on the 5 Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Put out tables - everything on the table for 5 bucks. You could even call your favorite, most cooperative vendors and see if they have any special deals you could buy into that would be a great $5 value for your customer.
- Give a bounce-back. For every $25 your customers spend on the 5 Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays in July, they get a $5 Bounce-Back Buck good during August (or $1 for every $5 spent depending on your price points and merchandise mix.) Only a fraction of your customers will redeem their bucks, but everyone will like getting them!
- Make it cause marketing month - 5 charities, 5 weekends, 5%. On each of the 5 Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays donate 5% of sales to a different group. This is a great publicity opportunity, too!
- And, of course, this month would be a great time to launch your regular "5th Saturday" program - Bob explains this fun, money-making promotion in this 2:27 minute video.
Even though it's not a once in a lifetime month, enjoy your five summer weekends and have some fun in the store!
FOOTNOTE: This kind of calendar aberration is the reason big retailers use a standardized 4-5-4 calendar. I wrote about it in Tip #441!
