Friday, March 4, 2011

Capture Extra Dollar Store Sales with the Right Store Hours

If you are starting a dollar store one of the many decisions you must make before opening is exactly what hours to be open for business.  In many cases the final decision regarding store hours is easy to make.  It is embedded in the lease contract you signed.  However for many who are about to initiate their dollar store start up there is only a basic set of rules regarding operating hours.  The final decision is yours to make.  While you probably have some preferences regarding how early or late you are at your store, there is more to the decision.  In this article I present 3 important methods for collecting the data you need to consider before making your final decision. #1) Coordinate with nearby complementary businesses.  When starting a dollar store you will find that businesses attracting your targeted shoppers provide a great means of establishing store hours.  Not only is this helpful during your dollar store start up, but after as well.  As complementary businesses begin to extend their hours for the summer or holidays, or reduce them during the slowest selling times, you can follow their lead. #2) Consider the store hours of other dollar discount retailers in your drawing area.  One of the most important methods for determining the correct hours of operation for your business is the hours of operation of other dollar discount retailers.  After all, if you are not open and their store is open, it is not hard to guess where your customers will be headed when they need items and you are closed.  In addition to the lost sales, many of the shoppers will decide to move all their purchases to your competitor.  Obviously, lost customers means lost sales for your store. #3) Routinely examine your own dollar store sales.  After starting a dollar store it is important to look at by-hour dollar store sales across the week.  When are your first sales being made?  How about the last sales of the day; when do they typically occur?  Is it really worth the payroll to average a dollar or two in sales during the last hour of business every day? When starting a dollar store it is difficult to know the right hours of operation.  Then after your dollar store start up the hours of operations have a significant impact on your daily dollar store sales.  Routinely examine not only your own sales.  Also stay in-touch with the hours of operation of complementary businesses and competitors to make sure you are on the right track with your hours of operation.  You will be rewarded for good decisions with more and more sales. To your dollar store start up success! Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 If you are starting a dollar store one of the many decisions you must make before opening is exactly what hours to be open for business.  In many cases the final decision regarding store hours is easy to make.  It is embedded in the lease contract you signed.  However for many who are about to initiate their dollar store start up there is only a basic set of rules regarding operating hours.  The final decision is yours to make.  While you probably have some preferences regarding how early or late you are at your store, there is more to the decision.  In this article I present 3 important methods for collecting the data you need to consider before making your final decision. #1) Coordinate with nearby complementary businesses.  When starting a dollar store you will find that businesses attracting your targeted shoppers provide a great means of establishing store hours.  Not only is this helpful during your dollar store start up, but after as well.  As complementary businesses begin to extend their hours for the summer or holidays, or reduce them during the slowest selling times, you can follow their lead. #2) Consider the store hours of other dollar discount retailers in your drawing area.  One of the most important methods for determining the correct hours of operation for your business is the hours of operation of other dollar discount retailers.  After all, if you are not open and their store is open, it is not hard to guess where your customers will be headed when they need items and you are closed.  In addition to the lost sales, many of the shoppers will decide to move all their purchases to your competitor.  Obviously, lost customers means lost sales for your store. #3) Routinely examine your own dollar store sales.  After starting a dollar store it is important to look at by-hour dollar store sales across the week.  When are your first sales being made?  How about the last sales of the day; when do they typically occur?  Is it really worth the payroll to average a dollar or two in sales during the last hour of business every day? When starting a dollar store it is difficult to know the right hours of operation.  Then after your dollar store start up the hours of operations have a significant impact on your daily dollar store sales.  Routinely examine not only your own sales.  Also stay in-touch with the hours of operation of complementary businesses and competitors to make sure you are on the right track with your hours of operation.  You will be rewarded for good decisions with more and more sales. To your dollar store start up success! Retrieved from "http://www.articlesbase.com/small-business-articles/capture-extra-dollar-store-sales-with-the-right-store-hours-1574613.html" (ArticlesBase SC #1574613) Submit articles to Articlesbase.com, and watch your traffic increase. Click here to make it happen. Liked this article? Click here to publish it on your website or blog, it's free and easy! Bob Hamilton - About the Author: Learn how you can Start your own Dollar Store Business. Bob Hamilton is an entrepreneur, author, writer, business consultant and trainer.
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