Sale Event Marketing for Furniture, Mattress and Outdoor Stores
Furniture, mattresses and outdoor living products are big purchases that people don’t make every week. Many shoppers wait for a sale. That’s why stores that sell them run on a calendar of sale events, especially around holiday weekends.
A good sale event gives shoppers a reason to come in now, makes the store easy to find, and turns a weekend of traffic into sales.
When to hold sale events
Holiday weekends are traditional sale times because many shoppers have time off to browse:
- Presidents’ Day (February)
- Memorial Day (May): also the start of outdoor furniture season
- Fourth of July
- Labor Day (September): end of the outdoor season, start of fall
- Black Friday and the holiday season (November and December)
Other good times:
- End of season for outdoor and patio furniture (late summer)
- Inventory clearance before new collections arrive
- Store anniversaries and grand openings
- Tax refund season (late winter and early spring), when some households have money for a larger purchase
Plan the offer
Keep the offer simple enough to fit on a banner:
- Percent off a category (“30% off all sofas”)
- Free delivery or free setup on purchases over a set amount
- Bundles (“Buy a bed frame, get a mattress protector free”)
- Financing offers, if you have them
- Clearance prices on floor models and discontinued items
Set a clear start and end date. A deadline gives shoppers a reason to come this weekend instead of “sometime.”
Promote it before it starts
- Email and text your customer list a week ahead and again the day before.
- Update your website and Google Business Profile with the sale dates and offer.
- Post on social media with photos of featured items.
- Put a banner up a week ahead facing the road, with the sale name and dates.
- Use local ads in the areas where most of your customers live.
Make the store stand out on sale weekend
Many sale shoppers decide where to stop while driving. The store should look different on sale days:
- Big “Sale” banner facing the road, with the event name and dates
- Height and color at the entrance: flags, feather banners or a balloon display that rises above parked cars
- Featured items outside (where allowed), such as patio sets or outdoor furniture on the sidewalk
- Extra signs pointing to parking and the entrance in larger shopping centers
Take the sale displays down when the event ends. A sale banner that stays up for weeks stops meaning anything. Displays that set up and come down quickly make that easy. (See Storefront Displays That Get Noticed From the Road.)
Check your city’s sign rules and your lease, since some limit how long banners and temporary displays can be up. (See Curb Appeal That Gets Noticed and Stays Within Your City’s Sign Rules.)
Inside the store
- Mark sale items clearly with signs showing the regular price, the sale price and the end date.
- Put featured items near the entrance, so shoppers see the best deals first.
- Staff up for the weekend so shoppers get help quickly.
- Make checkout and delivery scheduling easy.
- Collect contact information from every shopper, buyer or not, for the next sale.
After the sale
- Follow up with shoppers who didn’t buy, with a reminder or a small extra offer.
- Ask buyers for reviews after delivery.
- Review the results: traffic, sales, average purchase and which promotions brought people in.
- Plan the next sale while the lessons are fresh.
A simple sale calendar
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| 4 weeks before | Pick the offer and featured items, order banners and displays |
| 2 weeks before | Update the website, plan staffing, start social posts |
| 1 week before | Banner up facing the road, email and text your list |
| Day before | Displays up, sale signs on items, brief the team |
| Sale days | Help shoppers, collect contact info, track traffic |
| Day after | Displays down, follow up with shoppers |
The bottom line
Furniture, mattress and outdoor shoppers often wait for a sale, so plan events around holiday weekends and seasonal changes. Keep the offer simple, promote it early, make the store look different on sale days, and take sale displays down when the event ends.
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