Open for Business: How to Determine Your Store Hours- Retail

Open for Business: How to Determine Your Store Hours- RetailOpen for Business: How to Determine Your Store Hours- Retail

Perhaps you’ve been in the B2C game for some time, or maybe you’re just ready for a time change. Believe it or not, there are strategies to consider as you set your store’s hours. What are the best store hours for your business? It’s certainly common to believe that the longer the hours, the greater your chance for a sale. After all, every penny counts when it comes to small business, right? Maybe not. Opening early and shutting the doors late to accommodate the possibility that one additional customer may pop in is a surefire way to lose money—fast. Let’s walk through some surefire ways to nail down exactly when you should be open for business.

Look to Your POS

Your store’s point-of-sale (POS) system holds a serious treasure trove of data. With a little number crunching, you can easily determine the days and times your business is most busy. That knowledge will enable you to staff appropriately, and open and close your doors when it makes the most business sense.

If you’re like any other business owner, you’re gearing up for the holidays—and with that comes a shift in shoppers’ mindsets. Holiday shoppers are super busy with their regular lives that they are expecting stores to be open when it works best for them—which often means keeping the lights on later than usual. Again, look to your POS system’s historical data. When were you most busy at holiday time last year? Use that as a blueprint for your store hours this season and adjust accordingly as the season wears on. And remember—just because it’s the holidays doesn’t mean you have to stay open all hours of the day. Only adjust your schedule if the data tells you it makes sense.

Measure Your Foot Traffic

You can hire someone to stand at the door and count customers, or you can install surveillance cameras and make the process somewhat more automated. But one of the most innovative, accurate, and useful ways to measure your guests is to work with a company that specializes in just that. Vendors like Aislelabs use info gathered from guests who sign into local WiFi networks to track foot traffic.

Consistency is Key

Although your data may be telling you otherwise, keeping your schedule consistent is key for offering predictability to customers. You don’t want to force guests to memorize a schedule that’s all over the place, so stick to a defined set of business hours during the week and save your wavering for the weekend.

Don’t Forget the Competition

This one seems obvious, but it’s worth mentioning. What hours are your competitors open? You’re going to want to be on-par with them, but definitely not at the expense of your revenue. If it doesn’t make business sense for you to be open during your competitor’s operating hours, don’t do it. We just caution you to take this into consideration as you plan your schedule.

In addition to competitors, have a look at your neighbors. You may be located in a shopping center or strip mall where the stores surrounding you are open much earlier than you, or close much later. Talk to your neighbors to understand the volume they get during those hours you’re closed. It might be worth aligning your schedules better to accommodate those guests you’ve been missing.

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Open for Business: How to Determine Your Store Hours- Retail