5 Fridays, 5 Saturdays and 5 Sundays once every 823 years
There was a Facebook post recently that said the month of July only has 5 Fridays, 5 Saturdays and 5 Sundays once every 823 years. NOT TRUE! Granted it doesn’t happen every year but it does occur regularly every 5 to 11 years.
Still, any month that has five 3-day weekends is a great month for retailers!
Play up these 5 weekends to your customers and run some "FIVE" themed promotions. Here are some ideas to get you started.
- Offer $5 Specials: For example, put out tables where every item costs $5 dollars. See if any of your vendors will give you a special "deal" that you can pass on to your customers. May you can give the vendor some free publicity with signage for the table – "These specials brought to you by ABC Distributors and "your store name".
- Give a "Bounce-Back: For every $25 your customers spend on those five July weekends, they get a $5 Bounce-Back coupon that’s good through the month of August. Only a fraction of your customers will probably redeem their coupons, but everyone will like getting them!
- Make it a "Cause" Marketing Month: Advertise that your store will donate 5% of sales to a different group each week of the sale. This is a great "give back to the community" opportunity for you to show your involvement with your neighbors.
Think about what is relevant to your area. If there are any special events you can tie your promotion to, do it. Ballard lutefisk festival? Marysville strawberry days? In the swim with the "First Annual Aqua Splash"?
This is the type of unusual occurrence that large retailers take advantage of by using a "standardized 4-5-4 calendar". Now you can join them.
Talk to you soon. ~Norma