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The summer season is (almost) in full swing. And while tourist and hospitality industries generally see a lift in sales, traditional retail can see sales cool as temperatures heat up. This slump in sales is due to many shoppers choosing to spend their money on trips, outdoor concerts, festivals, sporting events, and other seasonal experiences.

But this slump doesn’t have to be accepted as the status quo. In fact, smart retailers can cash in on tourism spending while marketing successfully to local customers and remaining relevant within their communities.

Whether your retail business is primarily online or also has brick-and-mortar locations, you can take advantage of the summer selling season by employing a few sales-boosting strategies.

Check out these summer marketing ideas and see if you can implement them across your stores and sales channels. (Pro tip: using an efficient point of sale system can help).

We cover:

Host summer-specific events and promotions

Who doesn’t love a party? The summer months are filled with BBQs and pool parties, so create an event that shoppers will want to attend. Crank up the air conditioning, serve lemonade, and schedule things like in-store demonstrations, free classes that spotlight the use of some of your products, or trunk shows with your best vendors. Not only can this increase traffic to your store, but it helps to build a sense of community and customer loyalty.

DermWarehouse, a skincare and beauty retailer, makes more than 85% of their sales online, but they still know how important it is to get those in-person sales in their Columbus store. They host a monthly open house series where customers can partake in giveaways, exclusive promotions, and free skincare consultations.

This has helped them spread the word about their business locally, and they see more than 50 people for each event. What’s more, attendees tell their friends and family, and each event continues to grow—as do sales. These events are a great way to push new products and get rid of excess inventory with the help of smart inventory management. Even if customers don’t shop at the event, they’ll often convert later on.

Collaborate with local events

Partnering with local summer events and festivals is a fantastic way to promote your retail store. Start by identifying events that align with your brand and reach out to organizers about sponsorship opportunities or pop-up stall experiences. Make sure you have:

• Eye-catching signage
• Branded merchandise
• Promotional materials (flyers, business cards)
• Interactive elements (demos, games)
• Portable POS systems for seamless transactions

These collaborations increase brand visibility and support direct customer engagement, networking opportunities, and a boost in sales and customer loyalty. They can also enhance your store’s local presence and attract new customers.

Market summer sales to tourists

If you get a good amount of tourists in your city during the summer, promote your summer store sales to visitors by distributing flyers at your local welcome center and contacting tour companies to create an exclusive offer for their customers. Hotel concierges, local guides, and Airbnb hosts can also be excellent promotional partners. Create multi-language flyers if you have bilingual or multi-lingual store associates and if your community tends to attract tourists from the same regions.

According to 2024–2025 data, 96% of travelers read online reviews before deciding on travel plans, with TripAdvisor hosting 1 billion reviews across 8.6 million listings (Travel Review Statistics (2024–2025)).

Make sure you’re listed there. It’s also important to create a Google Business Profile and to use Bing Places for Business to show up in Google and Bing’s maps and search engines. Both Google and Bing can greatly improve your search engine optimization (SEO) and your generative engine optimization (GEO) so you can attract tourists and locals alike.

Travelers tend to still use social media, even when they’re on vacation, so ramp up your efforts online to increase your visibility. It’s also a great idea to incentivize customers to talk about you on social media by offering vacationers discount coupons if they share tagged photos of themselves using your products during their travels.

Promote your loyalty program

Run a summer-specific loyalty program to significantly boost retail sales. Start by introducing a program that rewards customers for repeat summer purchases with exclusive perks. Advertise the program through email marketing, social media, and in-store signage for maximum visibility.

To get the most out of your summer loyalty promotion, consider offering:

• Exclusive discounts: offer discounts on summer products or services for loyalty members.
• Double points days: designate specific days where members earn double points for their purchases.
• Seasonal rewards: create rewards like branded beach towels, sun hats, or travel kits for reaching certain spending thresholds.
• Referral bonuses: encourage existing members to refer friends by offering bonus points or discounts for successful referrals.

You can also take your loyalty program a step further by bundling popular seasonal items into a limited-time summer subscription box. These curated boxes can include bestsellers, new arrivals or exclusive merchandise, and they’re great ways to surprise and delight loyal customers while increasing average order value (AOV).

Create seasonal product promotions

Shoppers tend to view limited-edition, seasonal items and bundles as special, “must-buy” gifts for themselves or others. Not only can they help you boost your average order value, but you can curate them strategically to move slower-selling inventory with faster-selling goods.

Dr. Barbara Sturm does an excellent job here. She sells a special “Summer Kit,” which contains 7 products specifically “designed to maintain hydrated, healthy and glowing skin during the warmer months.”

And don’t forget about “Christmas in July.” This quirky mid-year holiday is a great excuse to run limited-time sales, offer holiday-themed bundles, or host festive events that surprise and delight your customers.

But make sure you’re not wasting time adding new inventory to your point of sale—use Lightspeed Wholesale to import inventory images and data and to get new summer products on the floor fast.

Run flash weather-based promotions

Implement weather-based promotions to engage customers by addressing their immediate needs, such as getting extra protection from the sun.

You could:

• Use dynamic pricing: adjust prices based on weather conditions. For instance, offer discounts on ice cream during heat waves to attract customers seeking cool treats.
• Run promotional discounts: create special offers for loyalty program members tied to specific weather events. On particularly hot days, promote sunblock and sunglasses at discounted prices with purchases for loyalty members.

Make sure to announce any weather-based promotions on social media to create buzz. Use catchy phrases and engaging visuals to draw attention to your offers. For example, post about a “Sunny Day Sale” on Instagram with bright, cheerful imagery.

Host a contest

Consider hosting a contest or giveaway that encourages your customers to submit designs to be featured on limited-edition summer merchandise. You can reward all of your customers with discounts on the final products and feature the winners in special spotlights. This can help you keep loyal customers engaged, while expanding your awareness of what shoppers want.

Brainstorm ideas that would encourage word-of-mouth advertising while increasing traffic to your store. This could mean giving away raffle tickets for a free prize to those who make a purchase or who shares their summer pictures on your social media channels, then you could select a random winner.

The goal is to increase interaction and build brand awareness, so make the prize relevant to your brand or products. Create visually interesting promotional material to encourage user-generated content (UGC) and social media mentions and shares. Finally, it’s also a great way to help liquidate extra inventory that might be taking up space on your shelves.

Shine the spotlight on your summer campaigns

You know what they say: out of sight, out of mind. Maximize the visibility of your summer marketing initiatives by highlighting your products everywhere you do business, including:

In-store summer vibes

Create window displays for your summer promotions and set up seasonally relevant merchandising displays. Ensure all of your teams are prepared to engage shoppers; they should be well-informed about all of your summer products and promotions so they can communicate with customers effectively.

Summer colors and content on your website

Curate a section on your website dedicated to summer merchandise. For best results, display a banner on your homepage to encourage customers to shop your seasonal items.

Take a look at this example from the gift shop City Bird. The front page of their website has a banner promoting their “Summer Favorites,” and clicking through the banner takes you to a curated page filled with summer-themed products.

Engaging social media campaigns for summer

Ensure your fans and followers know about all the great things you have to offer this summer. Regularly post images, videos, and stories to engage your audience. If you’re on Instagram, consider creating a dedicated Highlight showcasing all of your summer-centric content to provide customers with easy access when they visit your profile.

Timely summer email and SMS messages

Finally, come up with compelling messages and campaigns to attract new and existing customers. Consider offering special, limited-edition mobile promotions to attract the attention of last-minute shoppers who haven’t picked up everything they need for their next trip. Make it fun, interesting, and relevant and consider using SMS notifications to give the promotions a personal touch. For instance, you can text shoppers at 11 am on a Thursday for a one-day sale through midnight the weekend before a popular concert or travel weekend.

Drive foot traffic and local discovery

Visual merchandising

Foot traffic tends to increase during the warmer summer months for both locals and tourists, so make your visual merchandising something that stops everyone in their tracks. If it’s feasible, push your store outside by setting up display tables or racks on the sidewalk. Passersby will see what you have to offer and most likely feel inspired to enter your store.

Your windows are key real estate. Use fun and creative visual merchandising that draws shoppers into your doors. Take advantage of a summer or travel-themed window display, or create a compelling visual collection of products for warmer months—think hats and visors, sunglasses, lip balm, moisturizers, outdoor toys, etc.

Use signage on the sidewalk or walkway so it won’t be missed. And if you have a sidewalk easel, tie a few balloons to the sides to promote a sale or new merchandise.

Finally, optimize the interior layout of your store to make it easier and more enticing to shop your biggest categories for summer. And figure out what last-minute add-on items would work best at your checkout counter, such as sunglasses or lip balm with SPF.

Sidewalk sales

Take your visual merchandising a step further by hosting a sidewalk sale. These events are a proven way to attract foot traffic; they also produce a sense of urgency that encourages fun impulse buys. Offer marked-down items, bundle deals or “buy one, get one” offers on seasonal merchandise. Promote your sidewalk sale in advance through social media and local event listings to maximize turnout and visibility.

Omnichannel retail

Offer buy online, pick up in store (BOPIS) so your shoppers will have a fast and easy way to pick up their purchases, while getting firsthand exposure to your store. BOPIS shoppers often spot other items they’d like to purchase on the spot or in the future. What’s more, if your visual merchandising or events are attractive, they’ll be more likely to return to enjoy shopping in person as part of their community.

Gamified shopping

Consider creating geo-location promotions that make it exciting for shoppers to visit your store if they’re in the local vicinity. For example, you could offer a 3-hour flash sale for shoppers within a three-mile radius or offer a limited-edition gift with purchase (GWP).

Create unique experiences

While this should be a year-round focus, summer is a great time to think about how you can encourage customers to stay in your store and tell their friends about their experiences. Consumers will return to your store for an experience, not just for products, so create something completely your own—whether that’s an in-store demo/class, a take-home trial, or hosting an onsite expert. The right in-store experiences have the power to increase both customer dwell time and sales conversions.

From the music you play to your seating areas, aesthetics also play an important role in keeping customers in your stores. Encourage them to stay longer by offering free Wi-Fi, refreshments, and a clearance bin in the back of the store; shoppers love a great deal. When experiential retail is done right, your store remains a draw—even when you’re not hosting events.

Consider curating a summer-themed playlist to set the tone—think upbeat, beachy tracks that match the season. If your store layout allows for it, designate a “cool zone” with fans or portable AC units where customers can relax, especially on hot days. This not only enhances comfort but also encourages longer visits.

Create a back-to-school shopping experience

If your store offers items for children or families, curate a special back-to-school shopping experience that reduces stress for the whole family. Think about how you can make it fun and what kinds of services you can add. For instance, you can offer onsite monogramming services for pencil cases, special product bundles, music your demographic likes to hear (such as a DJ playing the latest radio hits for parents and teens or a playlist of popular children’s tunes for parents and younger children). Think about the consumer behavior and preferences of your shoppers and community, then get creative executing something meaningful and fun.

To streamline these types of experiences, especially for small boutiques or pop-ups, consider using a small business POS system that can handle transactions efficiently while enhancing the overall customer journey.

Join forces with a great-fit business

Is there a retailer nearby in the area that serves a similar audience? Consider partnering up to create a combined sale or event. Two heads are better than one, and you get double the advertising and marketing by teaming up with a like-minded business for a new collaborative product launch, giveaway, or summer event. Combine your efforts in a joint email to both of your customer lists, and offer a discount for shopping at each other’s stores.

Not only will you have the added benefit of sharing customers, but you’ll also share the workload—and the rewards.

Take it a step further by collaborating with local fairs or festivals. These events often draw large crowds and offer excellent exposure. Here are a few ideas to get started:

• Partner with a local summer fair to host a pop-up booth featuring your best seasonal products
• Partner with a local stationery shop to curate a special back-to-school shopping assortment.
• Sponsor a community event like a Fourth of July parade or summer music festival in exchange for signage and mentions
• Coordinate with nearby vendors to create a “festival passport” — customers who visit all participating stores get a prize or discount
• Use directories like FairsandFestivals.net to identify upcoming events in your area and reach out to organizers early

These partnerships not only boost visibility but also position your brand as an active part of the local community.

To help manage inventory and checkout across multiple locations or events, integrated retail software can make setup and coordination much easier.

The bottom line

Implement the strategies above across your stores and sales channels, and you’ll be well on your way to scorching summer sales. And make sure you’re stocked and organized for the season ahead with the right inventory management software.

Finally, reflect on your summer performance. Track metrics like foot traffic, loyalty program sign-ups, and coupon redemption rates to evaluate campaign ROI and identify what worked best. These insights can help you plan even more effective promotions next year.

Lightspeed Retail has powerful capabilities for executing compelling marketing campaigns. Whether you’re looking for deep customer insights to inform your decisions or need tools to drive sales and customer loyalty, Lightspeed has got you covered.

Ready to discuss your unique needs? Talk to a retail expert today

Frequently asked questions about successful summer promotions and sales

What are effective summer event ideas to attract customers?

Host in-store events like BBQs, parties or product demonstrations. Provide refreshments, giveaways and exclusive promotions to create a fun, engaging atmosphere.

How can I market my retail store to summer tourists?

Distribute flyers at local welcome centers, list your store on review sites like Yelp and TripAdvisor and offer exclusive deals to tourists through partnerships with tour companies.

What are some summer-specific loyalty program ideas?

Offer exclusive discounts on summer products, double points days, seasonal rewards like branded beach gear and referral bonuses to encourage repeat purchases.

What are some engaging summer store display ideas?

Set up tables or racks outside your store, use summer-themed window displays, and add eye-catching signage. Balloons and easels can attract foot traffic and draw customers inside.