In recent months, footfall has been impacted by the hot weather and the typical summer-season decline. Summer can be a difficult season for furniture and bed retailers with many customers prioritising holidays and other spending over buying large-ticket items. The key is to give people a reason to visit now rather than “later”, which is what this month’s article is all about. With August underway, let’s explore some strategies that tend to work well in the summer months to boost footfall.

Create a seasonal reason

Instead of simply discounting products, build campaigns around summer needs. This could include a summer bedroom refresh – lighter duvets, cooling mattresses, breathable bedding and bedroom furniture. Or perhaps focus on being ‘guest ready’ for beds and mattresses for visitors staying over the holidays. From guest rooms to first-time buyers and renters who often move during the summer, target this audience with a ‘moving season’ approach. Finally, think about university and start promoting student furniture and mattresses.

In-store events

Events give customers a reason to visit beyond shopping. Examples include sleep health weekends with mattress demonstrations, interior styling workshops, free bedroom/dining/living room design consultations, family fun days and charity fundraising weekends. Events are a great way to increase word-of-mouth and footfall numbers, which could turn into buyers.

Offer incentives

Rather than the usual discounts, consider offering extra incentives, such as free delivery and assembly, interest-free finance promotions, trade-in offers for old mattresses and limited-time “Beat the Autumn Price Rise” events.

Improve local marketing

Focus on people within a 10 – 20-mile radius. Use platforms such as Facebook and Instagram ads to target homeowners, Google Business Profile updates with current offers, local radio and newspapers, community Facebook groups (if permitted) and why not reach out to any local influencers to do a one-off collaboration focused on interiors. Furthermore, make sure you always encourage satisfied customers to leave reviews, as these influence local shoppers too.

Partner with other local businesses

Have you thought about teaming up with other businesses in your area? Whether that’s an estate agent, housebuilder, independent retailers, cafes and removal companies – partnerships can drive cross-promotional benefits through referral vouchers or shared promotions, while helping to expand your reach.

Make the showroom an experience

Customers are more likely to visit if they can test mattresses, sofas, furniture products properly, as well as get informative advice from sales experts. Interactive displays also outperform rows of products, so think about how you can incorporate this in a balanced way.

Promote urgency

Urgency should be genuine to maintain trust. Some key examples for the summer include “Summer Sale ends Sunday”, “Free delivery this week only”, “Bank Holiday Event” and “First 25 customers receive % discount”. Make sure to leverage customer data too. Email and SMS previous customers with messages such as “Ready for a mattress upgrade?”, “Exclusive customer-only summer offers” and “Furniture/products to match your previous purchase”. Past customers can often be more responsive than new prospects.

Summer campaign ideas

This brings us nicely to summer themes and what that offer might look like. Here are some examples:

• Summer Sleep Event – Up to 40% off selected mattresses, pillows and bedding
• Guest Room Ready – Save on spare beds and guest furniture
• Staycation Bedroom Makeover – Furniture bundles with free delivery
• Cool Sleep Week – Cooling mattresses and breathable bedding
• New Home Summer Event – Finance plus free assembly

Get digital

Creating short videos showing mattress testing, bedroom transformations, delivery and installation, customer testimonials and staff expertise on products, as well as store guides are great ways to engage and connect with potential shoppers. Keep the content snappy, fun and concise to maximise impact. These tend to perform well on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, especially when targeted locally.

Don’t forget to track

Data is crucial. With whatever campaign, promotion or event you end up running, make sure you track the data. This is vital for reflection, analysis on what worked well and what didn’t, as well as providing an informed decision on future campaigns. Key metrics to track include store visitors, conversion rate, average order value, offer redemption, cost per store visit from paid advertising and sales by campaign theme. This helps identify which promotions drive genuine footfall rather than just online engagement.

Final thought…

In keeping with the data theme, this is where RetailSystem can help too. RetailSystem’s cloud-based, real-time data means that you can access reports and sales data anytime, anywhere. With more than 50 reports instantly available, you can make informed decisions wherever and whenever you need to, all at a click of a button. Sales analysis was never easier. Find out more by clicking below.

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