Are you searching for retail store grand opening ideas? You may be an online shopper, but it’s worth visiting your favorite store in person. The experience is unlike anything you can get at home.

There are so many reasons to visit your local stores. It’s more than just the things you can buy there, and it’s about everything that makes in-person shopping special.

What Are Grand Openings?

As shopping becomes more accessible and more convenient, retailers should find ways to create an in-person experience for their customers.

Carrie Habel, Senior Manager at Parker Avery and a retail and consumer goods consultant. “Brand events that connect on a personal level are key to establishing lasting relationships with customers.”

Hosting a special event for your customers is one way to make them feel connected and loyal. You can use a grand opening as an opportunity to market yourself more effectively by creating buzz around the store.

Grand Re-openings Post-pandemic

Many companies have found that a grand store opening is a great way to get the word out about their new store, but there is no reason why they can’t use reopening events for this exact purpose.

Hillary Cullum, a consultant for retailers and brands alike, has been watching stores open after the pandemic. She says that she sees some successful reopening events.

Our experiences have reinvented the retail industry over the past year. With an increasing trust and reliance on eCommerce,

“Having a physical presence is still incredibly important even though consumers have shifted traffic to online shopping. The role of stores in this new era is changing.”

Cullum said that a store’s success should not be measured by sales alone but also consider its customers’ marketing and service needs.

Grand Opening Ideas 

You should know that a successful event requires more than just an opening and closing of the doors. Here are six grand opening ideas that can help you prepare:

Balance your event budget

In terms of marketing, grand openings have many benefits. The exposure is enormous, and it can be a way to get back in touch with customers.

In developing grand opening ideas, you should consider the cost of the event and your return on investment. “It’s important to balance marketing with an event spend,” said Cullum. And others agree.

Ben Reynold, the CEO and Founder of Sure Dividend, stated that planning a grand opening can be problematic.

“You might run into financial problems if you don’t create a budget and maximum spending limit for it.”

Promote the event on social media

Lightspeed customer Capitol Nutrition used an influencer to amplify their social media reach during the company’s May 2021 grand reopening. The company also enlisted a well-known fitness guru and business consultant as an advisor, which helped them maximize success.

The store did a 20% off sale and also had PJ Braun come to the store. Braun signed products, answered questions about supplements for fitness enthusiasts, and was available for meet-and-greets with Capitol Nutrition customers.

PJ Braun, a famous fitness influencer, was brought in to help promote the event. They also used Facebook ads and Google Adwords to target people interested in their product.

The Head of Marketing at InMotion Marketing, Bryan Philips also believes that social media marketing should be part of a retail store’s grand opening ideas.

“Making well-informed and creative content will engage your potential customers’ attention. When combined with the promise of a good deal or good time, that should help them choose to attend.”

Partner with other retailers

Partnering with other stores can help you reach more people. Moriarty’s Gem Art, a family-owned jewelry business in Indiana advertised their reopening to specific demographics by partnering with companies that cater to those audiences.

One of our biggest sales days in 2021 was when we partnered with a local brewery and other shops to get the word out. Click To Tweet

We also sent emails, SMS messages, and postcards to previous customers.

Small businesses with physical locations can often find partners in the area who share similar interests. This has helped us grow our business and introduce new people to ours.

According to John Frigo, Digital Marketing Lead of Capitol Nutrition, Partnerships are an effective strategy for small businesses.

“We do a lot of events in the spring and summer, things like tent sales, ax-throwing events, and community bike rides. We partner with local gyms or trainers because they give us exposure that we wouldn’t have otherwise had access to as well as vice versa.”

Make your checkout smooth

It is crucial to think about how your customers will react if you are planning an event. While there may be some interest before the event, people change their shopping habits all of the time and have high expectations for what they want from retailers.

As the pace of change in retail accelerates, brands must consider how customer habits have changed. Habel says,

“looking at how they buy and how they choose what to buy is essential.”

Safety should be the top priority when reopening stores and retailers need to plan for seamless checkout experiences. This includes having self-checkout stations or contactless payment at registers.

Retail consultant Carlos Castelán suggests that if stores want to increase safety for their shoppers and employees, they need to make the checkout process more efficient. This will not only improve customer experiences but also keep them safe.

Hone your delivery and pickup options

Castelán believes that buying online and pick up in store (BOPIS) and curbside pickup can provide solutions for those who may be too scared to return.

“Those stores will see further growth.”

Ben Wallington, CEO of Designerwear, believes that brands need to sell products everywhere. He says this is what will help them thrive.

“The ability to sell from home is a great advantage,” said Wallington. Click To Tweet

Physical stores will need to work on their online retail capability to support openings or re-openings. Castelán says,

“Until more shoppers feel comfortable returning to brick and mortar shops, we can expect them to give many physical retailers business via the internet.”

Final Thoughts on Grand Opening Ideas

I hope you’ve learned something with these grand opening ideas. It’s clear that retailers are expected to serve both physical and digital demands. Tying these channels together is important, especially if you’re planning your grand opening event not just for sales on the day but also for web store visitors or online shopping cart conversions in the future.