BY COLLEEN P. CLARK
Does the rising mercury of summer mean a drop in business?
While it’s true that summertime sales do tend to dip, there are many who say that with the right marketing approach, that doesn’t have to be the case.
“For some businesses, it’s the busiest time of year,” said Mark Morgan, president of the Moorestown Business Association.
Each season provides unique challenges, but with summer also comes unique opportunities for business owners. For the most part, business representatives across the area said, it all comes down to taking advantage of increased foot traffic during summer events, and, if possible, getting more involved with the community.
Morgan said most of the success for businesses at this time of year in his area can be attributed to summer events such as ArtWalk or Moorestown Day.
The Moorestown Business Association sponsors ArtWalk on the second Friday of each month from May through September from 6 to 9 p.m.
“Shops on Main Street are encouraged to stay open later and take advantage of the increased foot traffic,” Morgan said.
Compare it to First Friday in Haddonfield, which Haddonfield Retail Coordinator Lisa Hurd said has become bigger and bigger in recent years.
“They have become increasingly popular,” she said. “It draws people in for the arts but also to shop and dine.”
Haddonfield’s First Friday events run from April through November from 5 to 9 p.m. The next one, Aug. 5, will coincide with Haddonfield’s annual sidewalk sale, which is a longstanding tradition that Hurd said attracts huge crowds and offers great promotions and buys.
“The next First Friday will be a ton of fun with music, art, sales and dining,” she said. “It’ll be exciting.
“In Haddonfield, we have some of our biggest events of the year during our summer months,” Hurd said. “We just wrapped up the Fine Art and Crafts Festival. There were 100,000 people in town over the course of the weekend.”
She added that events like that don’t just bring people in for one weekend.
“Since we draw people in from all over the region and beyond, people discover the unique shops and dining opportunities that Haddonfield has to offer and they come back later in the season,” she said.
We may be just a short distance from popular destinations such as the Jersey shore, but Hurd pointed out that not everyone goes to the beach for vacation. There are people who plan staycations, and there are even some who vacation in this area and are looking for fun things to do.
Michael Marchitto, director of economic development for Voorhees Township, said summer sales in Voorhees are actually pretty steady compared to other seasons. He said he believes the economic climate is helping local businesses because more people are staying close to home and opting for staycations.
Marchitto, who is also the township liaison to the Voorhees Business Association, said any reports he has seen show business remains at the same level through the summer, with just a slight drop for some businesses.
He added that summer events do still help sales, such as the free Summer Twilight Series, including musical performances and movies, at Connolly Park.
Independence Day is a summer event that many towns can rely on for a boost. Over in Marlton, approximately 35,000 people were in town for July Fourth events, which included a 5K in the morning, dinner and dessert from local businesses at Cherokee High School, and fireworks at dusk.
Sandy Student, a member of the Marlton Business Association, said he’s hopeful that attendance at Evesham’s Independence Day festivities — an increase in the thousands compared to last year — is an indication of how successful the whole summer will be locally.
“There’s a huge amount of people who are going to the shore. They’re doing vacations where they are gone for a week or two weeks, so there could be a tendency to have a downturn,” said Student, also the chairman of the Marlton Economic Development Advisory Committee. “The successful merchants are the ones who take advantage of local opportunities.”
There’s the National Draw Tournament for lacrosse at Cherokee High School, for example, which drew in 12,000 people this year. Student said hotels in the whole area, not just Marlton, were sold out.
“The local merchants who participated enjoyed record sales,” Student said.
There was also a positive impact on several other local businesses, such as those at The Promenade, he added.
“We have an advantage here because there’s no tax on clothing or shoes in New Jersey, so some of our local merchants saw an uptick in purchases that weekend,” he said.
Several smaller events can also add up to success.
Every Wednesday night during the summer at The Promenade, there’s a free outdoor concert. All four restaurants there — Pizzicato, Panera, Redstone Grill and P.F. Chang’s — are packed on those nights, Student said.
“We’re also seeing local farm stands that are doing great business,” Student said. “People are trying to take advantage of local produce. As a matter of fact, (several) restaurants in Marlton (were) participants in the Farm to Fork event.”
Farm to Fork Week, which was offered across South Jersey July 19 through July 25, is like Restaurant Week, except participating restaurants offer four-course meals that are made entirely of local produce.
Taking advantage of increased foot traffic during events is key, but it’s also good for local businesses to reach out to the community.
Student referred to local business owners who participate in the 5K Mayor’s Cup in Marlton, which helps to promote their business. There’s also REI, which has always been a supporter of the bicycle group Team Evesham. The store also recently offered a seminar to the public on the opportunities available to explore Black Run Preserve and how to maintain it. He pointed to ShopRite, a supporter of the local Yellow Ribbon Club, and Whole Foods Market, which recently donated more than $5,000 to the Cherokee High School nutrition program.
“Here are merchants who are reaching out to the community,” Student said, adding events such as A Taste of Evesham and Peddle from The Promenade are also great chances for businesses to get involved. “In a national downtown, here are companies that gear up and promote business.”
For the really small mom and pop shops, you might have to take a different approach in how you promote yourself, especially when business gets slow, Student said. The best thing these business owners can do, which Hurd also stressed, is use social media and e-mail to reach clientele.
Merchants should take advantage of sites like Facebook and Twitter to announce promotions and offer coupons, and they should also compile a customer e-mail database to send out blasts about special events.
Student and Hurd agreed that economic development equals community development. So not only is it important for local businesses to get involved, but it’s also important for local residents to recognize and do their part; support local businesses because they support you.
“They reinvest in the community,” Student said. “That’s why you support local merchants.”
Morgan pointed out that you can’t always match the small-town atmosphere of home if you travel and shop elsewhere. In Moorestown, for example, you can check out a show at the Moorestown Theater Company and see your friends and neighbors on stage.
That doesn’t happen on Broadway, he said.
“By seeing a show in Moorestown, theatergoers also have an opportunity to make a day of their trip to Main Street,” said Morgan, the producing artistic director for the theater company. “If you see a matinee, you can have lunch afterward, or if you’re going to an evening performance, you can have dinner on Main Street before the show.”
Hurd said that you can tell people to buy local all you want, but you need to give them a compelling reason to actually do it.
“Haddonfield has been working very hard in the last five to eight years to bring in a mix of business that’s exciting, distinct and unique,” she said. “We really try to give people a compelling reason to buy local and so far it’s working.
“A strong Main Street is vital to a core identity of a downtown,” Hurd said. “There’s no doubt about that. It’s also a well-known fact that the majority of every dollar spent locally flows back into the community … That’s sound economic reason for buying local.”
Sun Editor Ryan Venezia contributed to this report.
