Boosting Your Craft Business During The Summer Slump

Published on July 19th, 2024|Last updated on September 24th, 2024

As the weather, sporadically, warms up here in the UK it’s not uncommon for many craft businesses to notice a drop in online sales. It can feel discouraging and disheartening to say the least, but we are in this boat together and there is some positives we can take from this otherwise frustrating situation. A quiet time allows us to regroup and set the stage for the upcoming busier times. Let’s take a look at why sales might dip during the summer months and how you can turn that quiet period into a productive and profitable time for your craft business.

Why Do Sales Drop in Summer?

  • Holidays & Travel: Many people prioritise spending time outdoors, travelling and enjoying family activities leaving less time and finances to spend on online shopping. We all like to make the most of the big yellow ball in the sky right?
  • School Breaks: Schools out for summer! Parents shift their focus to family activities decreasing their time and budget for online shopping. Not to mention the increased financial burden for parents who need to buy school uniform.
  • Seasonal Spending Patterns: Summer is all about experiences rather than products. It’s not surprising that customers prefer allocate their budgets on vacations, events, outdoor activities instead of non-essential purchases.

Even though the points above are perfectly logical, it doesn’t eradicate the sorrow in our hearts when our lovingly handmade products won’t sell. But as the determined craft business owners that we are we can divert that energy into something much more productive and boost your business.

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Here’s How to Make the Most of the Summer Slowdown

  • Optimise your online presence: Update your website and product listings. Freshen up your images and descriptions while checking for any outdated content. Make SEO improvements to improve your search rankings.
  • Engage with your audience: Increase your presence on social media by sharing behind-the-scenes looks at your crafting process, summer-themed projects, Q&A sessions. Consider using email marketing to send out newsletters with summer promotions and sneak peaks of new products.
  • Product Development and Inventory Management: Time for a good clear out and get yourself organised! Take inventory of your supplies, identify your best sellers and make sure you have sufficient supply. Innovate and test new ideas, experiment with and plan new products for the upcoming season.
  • Plan for the Future: You don’t have to say it out loud, but plan for Christmas. Products, marketing calendar, promotions and advertising strategies. Maybe you might even like to diversify your business and consider offering workshops and tutorials as part of your services.
  • Customer Engagement and Feedback: Conduct customer surveys, find out what they love about your products and maybe where you could make improvements. Use the feedback to refine your offerings. You might consider offering loyalty programmes to reward your dedicated customers and use their reviews and testimonials as part of your advertising campaigns.
  • Collaboration and Networking: Community over competition, find other small business owners or influencers that compliment your own to cross-promote products. This can introduce your brand to new audiences and drive sales. Local markets, fairs and online communities offer the perfect opportunities to build a strong network and form new customer bases.

A summer slump doesn’t have to mean a grinding halt in your craft business. By leveraging the quieter time to optimise your business online, engage with your customers, develop new products and plan for your future, you can ensure your pathway towards the busy season ahead. Embrace the opportunity, look for the positives, and you’ll be well-prepared to thrive when sales pick up again.

If you want to use your summer slowdown time to research a more cost-effective sales platform for your crafts then check out Crafter’s Market UK.