Hard to believe that we are already into "summer", I always think its summer once past Memorial Day.  Although my kids are still in school for another month, and my weekends are filled with soccer, baseball and softball, I start planning for summer barbeques and entertaining in my newly landscaped backyard. 

From everything I’m reading I’m not the only one who plans to spend time entertaining at home.  With the sluggish economy, there are many who do not plan to take summer vacations or are altering their previous year’s vacations, based on the cost of fuel, flights, etc.  This is evident to me, as I am getting solicited by camps that used to fill up in the Fall. 

So what is the good news in all of this?  People may not be traveling, but they view themselves as having more discretionary funds to spend on ‘things’ for their home, for themselves, for their kids and to bring to friends, when invited elsewhere.  So capitalize on this, by drawing them into your store with eye appealing window displays that speak to lazy days of summer, welcome them in your store with ice cold lemonade, ice tea and cookies and cross merchandise your product selection to ensure larger sales. 

For example, if you sell outdoor polycarbonate glassware, you could pair this with outdoor coasters, a recipe book for summer drink concoctions, a wine chiller, an outdoor chess set, well you get the idea, the list goes on, but all of a sudden, someone who came in to just buy some outdoor glasses is buying up an entire collection.  I’d love to hear your ideas about what to cross merchandise, or things to do in your store to really welcome your customer in…