Tips for Today: Tax-Free Shopping
It may feel like summer has just begun, but many retailers are already preparing for the back to school shopping season. Additionally, many states are participating in the tax-free shopping weekend tradition – generally held in the first two weekends in August to promote back-to-school shopping.
While each state has its own list of eligible items (as well as the price cap for those items), we’ve rounded up a few tips for retailers to make the most of the weekend, regardless of their location:
Group Eligible Items
School supplies, shoes, clothing, computers, art supplies… group whatever items your state allows for tax-free sale that weekend together so that it’s easy for your customers to shop. It might also be helpful to post signage reminding customers what items (at what price point) are eligible so that there are no surprises when they reach the register.
Create An Additional Special Offer
What other strategies can you employ to attract customers to your store? By offering an additional discount or special offer to your tax-free shopping customers, you can increase the chance that they’ll shop with you over another shop! Some ideas might include:
- Spend $100, get a $25 gift card for next time
- Spend $150, take 20% off
- Buy (certain item) get (another certain item) free
- Buy (certain item) get (certain sample size products) as a bonus
Over-Schedule Your Employees
Treat tax-free shopping weekends like any other major shopping weekend. Make sure you have extra employees on hand to assist customers on the floor, ring them up, help them with their bags and re-stock the floor during downtime. Make sure all employees understand the tax-free shopping discounts so they can clearly explain them to customers.
How is your small business preparing for the tax-free shopping weekend(s)?
