Selling The Seasons: Fall
Labor Day marks the beginning of a new season: Fall. School is back in session across the country, summer vacations have come to an end, football is back, and cowboy hats switch from straw to felt.
Just as the fall season brings on a cooler breeze and colorful foliage, it also carries a change in mindset and behaviors to the American worker and consumer. Understanding these changes and behavioral patterns can give a business owner an advantage and be able to ride the momentum from a successful summer into this new season.
Seasonality is one of the biggest factors that determine a business’ sales performance over a stretch of time. Unfortunately, however, it is often over looked particularly by small business owners and newer entrepreneurs. Each season brings about change and potential, just like a new inning in baseball, or a first down, a new season is a fresh slate to target a consumer who has different needs, budgets and objectives.
In the fall season the American consumer is spending on average +/- 10% less compared to summer, this is mainly due to a decrease in spending on travel and vacation based expenses and is lower compared to winter months as the fall season doesn’t factor in holiday spending.
What are people opening their wallets for in fall, other than pumpkin spice? According to economic data electronics and apparel are the top 2 categories surging over 18% and 14% respectively compared to the other seasons. The catalyst to both is back to school and the changing weather leaving consumers to spend big within each of those categories.
As a business owner there can be a couple things to do to help your brand keep up with trends, seasonality and take a piece of the capital shoppers are going to spend as the fall approaches.
Promotions, season- specific products, and incentives surrounding back to school, fall weather or holidays (thanksgiving, Halloween) may seem like simple strategies to sell the Fall, but I am often surprised how the majority of small businesses and new entrepreneurs over look them and the value season-based strategies offer.
Students and families are the focus of this season, trends are set, connections made, it’s the ideal time to get your product into a dorm, home, or workplace create buzz and start conversations. In addition, fall is where people begin to settle in, spend less time outside and the majority of their days at home, the office and the classroom, those are your forums to promote to and build your product’s value.
Ask yourself, is your business doing anything for the fall season to attract or retain customers? What strategies have you surmised? What is your course of action and most important what are your goals for your business, sales and otherwise for this Fall?
If your answer to any of those questions or themes is bleak, it’s time to get intentional, strategic and creative. Don’t know where to start? Look at your biggest competitors, what are they doing for fall? How are they pushing different collections, product versions, launching sales or events? Observe, study and replicate.
The days are indeed getting shorter, don’t let this seasonal window and opportunity to pass your business by, the dollar bills are as fleeting as the leaves in the wind.
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