It happens to a lot of us in the pet industry, especially the dog clothing departmentthe slow season. Fall and Christmas bring the sales rolling in, but as soon as the egg nog dries up, so do holiday sales. People still buy coats and jackets through the rest of the winter, so the real slump doesnt hit until spring and summer. Coats and jackets are the most functional dog clothing, so winter sales are usually the best. Summer items are really just variations of dog shirts, so one has to be inventive to get their business through the slow season. The best ways to boost your sales are to have clearance sales, do email campaigns, and do pet expos and fairs.

One thing youll discover in this business is that people love sales. People buying dog clothes love sales even more because many feel that its an item they should get for a cheap price. This is especially true during the slow season. So, you have to have a huge clearance sale of your winter and summer items. Also, create special offers for people like free treats or toys with every purchase. You want to make buying as appealing as possible. If you have the traffic coming into your store or website but the sales arent showing up, try this and see what a boost it will give you.

After starting your sale, you need to launch an email or mailing campaign to let everyone know about it. It also serves to remind customers of your products; its surprising how many people just forget after the holidays and winter. Youre letting them know that you still have something to offer them. Be careful not to spend too much money in this area. Always do research into what method is most cost effective. Email campaigns are great for this reason, and thats why its so important to have email addresses for all your customers and potentials.

Being in pet expos and fairs can bring in loads of extra cash if you go about them correctly. Going out to the public and meeting people face to face establishes a larger customer base and gets your name out there. Its also better to take the offensive and go get the business rather that waiting for it to find you. You can sell off extra inventory thats been taking up space on your shelves and introduce new products to test peoples reactions. The greatest part is, people come to these things with cash in their pocket ready to spend which makes things much easier for you. There are literally thousands of expos and fairs across the country all year that a retail store can take part in. Find where your targeted audience is going, and meet them there.