It’s upon us — from now through Christmas Eve (and beyond), retail stores will be mobbed, downtown sidewalks packed, and roads jammed with traffic. While some folks have already handled their gift shopping, tons of shoppers are and will be hustling around and buying gifts for their family, friends, co-workers, and other loved ones. It’s a frenzy that annually unfolds, and it seems to be more prolific than ever in the technology and information age that we live in. 

Even if you’re the type to begrudgingly join the crowds and knock out your shopping lists, being a retailer puts you on the other side of the counter, where you’ll realize the benefits of the general public’s tendency to blow a lot of money. And don’t feel bad; if they don’t spend it in your store, they’ll spend it elsewhere. Shopper’s gonna shop. 

While some archery retailers embrace the Christmas spirit and deck out their store with decorations and the whole nine yards, others have that dingy, sort of this-is-a-guys-only-hangout atmosphere that just doesn’t appeal to the masses. You know what I’m talking about. It’s the store with guys sitting on stools and talking foolishly by the service counter. There’s stuff lying everywhere — heaps of paperwork and boxes of merchandise waiting to be checked in — and the place hasn’t been cleaned in months. 

Does that sound like a place the general public wants to shop for Christmas gifts? Of course not! If you want to be your best during a time when folks are roaming the town with wads of cash (OK, credit cards), here are some ideas to make your archery retail store holiday gift-shopping central so you can provide gift solutions and leverage the financial benefits.

Cultivate a Family-Friendly Atmosphere

One of the most important things to understand is the Christmas season will draw people into your store who normally wouldn’t come in. Perhaps it's a non-hunting spouse, a grandparent, an aunt, or an uncle. It could be anyone. The question is, what will they see and experience? That first impression can make or break their experience, and influence whether they return for future gift shopping. 

Craig Reichel and his team at Coyote Creek Outdoors in Rochester, Minnesota, take this very seriously. “First off,” he began, “we insist that our staff members use good, positive language and nothing off-color. We’re not a bunch of sailors. Secondly, we clean the store constantly. Our restrooms are always spotless. Our goal is to always make a good presentation to our customers. It is very important. Personally, I cannot stand a filthy restroom. We just won’t have that here. The customer deserves better.

“We usually always have hot coffee to drink and some sort of treats. My employees are a lot like family. Somebody is always bringing in bars, cookies or something. It’s not easy to be on a diet here (laughs). We always make sure to greet people when they arrive, and address them again when they are heading for the door. We want people to feel like they belong here.”

Another way that Coyote Creek embraces a family-friendly atmosphere is that kids always shoot for free in the range. Period. During the Christmas season, family and friends come together, and what better activity to do as a family or group than archery? 

“If a kid wants to try out archery, we’ll set up a bow they can shoot and show them how to do it,” Reichel said. “There’s no pressure or costs involved. We want them to be attracted to archery, and this has been and continues to be a great way to fan that flame. We have entire families who don’t bowhunt come in and shoot at our range. They just love to shoot archery together, and they like our atmosphere.”

For the Christmas season specifically, some seasonal decorating can help make new folks feel like they’ve come to the right place for their gift shopping. “We decorate for all of the different holidays,” Reichel said. “We try to create a nice, festive atmosphere. It’s not only fun for the customers, but our employees enjoy it, too.” 

Push Gift Cards/Certificates

Archery is obviously a highly specialized sport. What I mean by that is there are a lot of nuanced aspects. Arrows have different spines. Bows have different draw lengths and weights. Releases come in all shapes and sizes. Many archers and bowhunters also have brand allegiance — they use only very specific gear from specific manufacturers. Those are just a few of the many variables. In other words, someone who doesn’t understand all of these little details about archery and comes in to shop for gifts will find it next to impossible to buy the right thing. 

This makes gift cards a must. Not only do you make the sale up front, but you’re offering that gift shopper an excellent solution to the dilemma of sorting through all of the options. Plus, the recipient will likely love the thrill and excitement of using the gift card to buy whatever they like.  

“Many times a spouse comes in to buy gifts,” Reichel explained. “Or, parents come in to buy gifts for their kids. We almost always suggest gift certificates. Then, the recipient can come in and try out some different things and get fitted into the right products. Gift cards with barcodes are available from point-of-sale companies or from online retail-supply websites. We scan it into our point-of-sale system and set the balance to the amount paid. If the recipient doesn’t use up the entire amount in one purchase, the computer automatically adjusts the amount so they can use it in increments across subsequent purchases. It basically works the same as a gift card from a major retailer. It’s easy for us and our customers.”  

Push Gift Suggestions via Social Media

Not surprisingly, social media is the king of advertising during the Christmas season. Not all folks think of the small archery dealer in town when they’re dreaming up gift ideas, so you have to get in front of them. 

“We’re very active on social media,” Reichel explained. “We try to do more and more all the time, and we do quite a lot of paid advertising these days because we’ve seen the benefits. It is quite a learning curve, but we’re getting there. It’s the easiest and fastest way to reach our customers and potential new customers. We also have a billboard and run radio ads, but social media is big for us.”

The key to social media is to present something interesting and captivating. During Christmas, it would be wise to spotlight certain products as gift suggestions. 

“We try to make our Christmas posts and advertising festive and attractive,” Reichel detailed. “All we’re trying to do is get someone’s attention. We hold a lot of events that we promote through social media, including some during the Christmas season. All we care about is that people attend our events and then learn if they have an interest in archery. Our events reach a lot of new customers. Our job is to get the message out, and social media helps us do that.”

Offer Throw-In Incentives on Big-Ticket Items

It’s no secret that people love deals. It doesn’t necessarily have to be $100 off of a new bow. You just have to put offers out there that make people feel like they’re getting a deal. A great way to do this is to offer some type of incentive with a larger purchase. For example, perhaps parents have been on the fence about buying their son or daughter a new bow for Christmas. Well, if you offer a Christmas special where a youth bow purchase includes six free arrows, you’re waving the carrot in front of the rabbit; an incentive like that gets people to act. 

With the purchase of a higher-end bow or crossbow, you could throw in a free trail camera or a gift certificate. 

“Frequently, we’ll bundle something of value with a higher-priced item,” Reichel said. “One thing we do all the time is throw in a free T-shirt with a new bow or gun purchase. You wouldn’t believe how many Coyote Creek Archery T-shirts are out in the general public. You can hardly go anywhere without seeing one. As far as item bundling specific to Christmas, an example could be a free quiver with a bow purchase. Or, it could be that they get a sight for half off with a bow purchase. Our main goal with every sale is the customer feels like they bought a great item at a fair price.

“We’ve also offered sales during which customers must purchase a bow between specified dates and then we throw in a free $100 gift card,” Reichel continued. “We want the customer to feel that they’re getting a great value, and the benefit is that the $100 gift card has to be spent here in our shop. They can either spend it in the future or they can use it to buy accessories. Again, the goal is to give them the impression that they received a great value.” 

Hold a Weekend Event With Treats

When families get together on weekends during the Christmas season, many love to poke around the town with no specific plans. Maybe they’ll hit a coffee shop or grab breakfast somewhere, and then they’ll peruse the town and visit several shops. Maybe a lot of these families aren’t thinking about hunting or archery, but if you advertise a Christmas-oriented event with incentives such as free treats and hot drinks, you could attract just about anyone to the store. 

“When we hold events,” Reichel said, “there’s always coffee and usually some treats. We’ll have candy canes and hot apple cider. When you walk in, it’s the first thing you smell. It’s my wife’s special recipe. Most customers head over for a cup pretty fast. Again, we try to make it a festive atmosphere. Another thing is we sell smokers, and the guys here are practically professionals at smoking meats. They’ll smoke up a bunch of meats, and the customers are over there having a little bite to eat. Obviously, we don’t sell it; it’s just to give the customers a treat and let them taste the great food that’s been prepared on the smokers we sell.”

Final Thoughts

Just as sure as the sun will set in the West every evening, folks will flood the cities to shop for Christmas gifts as Christmas draws near. There are a lot of places people can spend their money on gifts, and one place very few people will go is a dingy, dusty hole in the wall. In general, families want to shop in a clean, inviting atmosphere where they feel welcome, even if they are not archers themselves. If you follow the tips outlined here, the general public will find your shop inviting, and you can have your piece of the Christmas-gift-sales pie. 

Sidebar: Offer Pre-Assembled Gift Grabs

If a customer doesn’t fancy the idea of buying a gift card, a way to sell them something tangible that isn’t specialized is to assemble gift boxes. These should be filled with generic items. Think about things such as deer, turkey, or elk calls, a headlamp, wind checkers, trail cameras, bowstring wax, etc. You could also toss a gift card in the box. You could offer several different boxes at different prices. Anyway, not everyone wants to give just a gift card. Pre-assembled boxes can make an ideal solution.