Grand Opening Ideas and Tips For a Retail Store

When done correctly, grand openings can prove to be highly effective for increasing a retail store's exposure along with driving more direct sales. Once residents around the area know your store is open, they will naturally be more inclined to visit. This is why it's essential that all serious retail stores have an official grand opening; otherwise, it's a guessing game as to whether or not your store is open. If you are a retail store owner, check out our ideas and tips for throwing a grand opening celebration listed below.

Make It Fun

One of the biggest mistakes retail store owners make when performing a grand opening is not spending enough time, energy and resources to make it fun. If your store looks the same as it does every other day, then what's the point of having a grand opening? People want to enter a fun and vibrant store during its grand opening. You can use this to your advantage by sprucing up both the interior and exterior of your store. Try placing bundles of balloons around your store to really set the atmosphere in "fun" way. In addition, you can hang some streamers and banners inside the store to provide an extra touch to the atmosphere.

Offer Sales

If you really want to take advantage of the large crowds of new customers coming into your store during its grand opening, you should offer special sales and promotions. Whether your store sells apparel, jewelry, handbags, electronics, groceries or practically anything else, you can set a good impression by offering customers highly competitive prices on your products. This will result in more direct sales, and it will also keep customers coming back in the future, which is where the real benefit comes from. Even if you are only making minimal profit margins on the sale items, it will likely still be worth it in the long run.

Spread The Word

You can't expect to have a successful retail grand opening if you don't spread the word about it. Once you have a date chosen for your store's grand opening, start spreading the word through any means possible. You can send out emails, newspaper advertisements, local radio and television commercials, bus stop signs, etc. Be creative and don't be afraid to think outside of the box. Remember, the more work you put into advertising, the more successful your store's grand opening will be.