With winter only weeks away, many retail shop owners will have that sinking feeling – slow sales and not too many customers coming through the door. Every bike sale seems to be harder and take longer than in the summer when customers want a new bike and want it now!
Several shop owners we spoke to recently agree that when the bad weather starts the shop will go quiet, but within a week or two the die-hard customers will be back – rain or shine. Let’s hope so! We asked for suggestions to keep the winter blues away and the following common theme emerged: use the quiet time to work on the business.
Here’s a few thoughts on what that might mean for you:
Make sure your stock database is up to date and correct. Know what you have and what it cost you to buy.
Check your accounts payable and know what you owe. If you’re falling behind, now is the time to contact suppliers and discuss options – delayed terms or if they’re really worried maybe they’d like some stock returned. Identify slow-moving bikes and stock and offer some specials or bundles – but be creative to try to hang onto some margin.
Time for a good tidy up. Tidy up your desk, and your computer desktop. File that pile of invoices or scan them into your bookkeeping system. Spring clean the workshop, get rid of as much junk and clutter as you can – you’ll feel better! Check the overall appearance of your shop – dirty front windows with cobwebs and dead blowflies is not a good look – fix it! Make sure every bike on the floor is clean, complete, priced and ready to go.
Chase up uncollected lay-bys and repairs – some extra cash is always handy!
Check your opening times and contact details on Google, Facebook, Instagram etc, and on your website, on suppliers websites and anywhere else you can think of. Also, there’s never a bad time to post photos, stories, ride info etc on your social media.
And of course, in the shop, think about a special display for lights, wet-weather clothing, winter chain lubes and mudguards. Move these items into the high traffic-flow area of your shop, if not right up the front counter or front window! One retail veteran said he has his front windows sign-written every June with the words, “Winter cycling season starts now!”
The BIN spoke to several shop owners reporting great results from setting up a Wahoo with Zwift or similar on the shop floor and encouraging customers to have a go – not everyone has a smart trainer and having a test ride can be a real eye-opener for them. Consider running some maintenance classes – remember that most of your customers don’t know how to remove their wheels, change a tube, lube their chain, or check their brake pads for wear. No need to go high-tech! (Look for an upcoming BIN feature on the benefits of offering a retail ‘experience’ to customers visiting your store.)
And as an old bicycle industry veteran once said, “If you can hang on until September, everything will be ok.” Wise words indeed.
