An Arthur Andersen study showed that most small stores are open about 50 hours a week, with 10 of those hours outside the 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. window.
With the rise in two-income and single-parent households, consumers increasingly shop in the evening and on weekends. “Many—if not most—consumers do not have time to shop during the traditional store hours of 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.,” Arthur Andersen noted in its book Small Store Survival.
Sunday is becoming one of the busiest shopping days, says Bob Gibbs, president of Gibbs Planning Group, a development company in Birmingham that specializes in planning for downtowns and retail centers. “Many retailers have the same amount of sales in four to five hours on Sunday as in eight to nine hours on Saturday,” he said.
Convenience is key for today’s consumer. But extending store hours is difficult for most small retailers because of their small staff.
Here are some ideas for maximizing the hours you’re open:
- Use a traffic counter to determine your slowest and busiest times.
- Poll customers and non-customers to find out when they want to shop.
- Consider closing during your slowest hours or days and extending evening and weekend hours. Tuesday and Wednesday are typically the slowest days for small retailers, according to Small Store Survival.
- Advertise any change in your hours well ahead of time so current customers can adjust and potential customers will be aware.
- Reassess your new hours after several weeks or months to see if they are profitable.
- Coordinate hours with other downtown retailers. For instance, several stores could stay open late one evening.
- Offer hours by appointment to your best customers.
- Hold special sales, workshops or trunk shows in the evenings or on weekends.
Obviously, you’ll never be able to match the hours of a big-box discount store. Instead, focus on top-notch service and selection to help customers perceive your store as a convenient place to shop.
