How do you decide what to promo?

[JTPets]

I'm feeling lazy and fishing for ideas. 😅

I usually fall back on simple stuff like:
– 10% off storewide coupons
– 25% off clearance items I want to move out

But I know there are smarter ways to do it.

What are your strategies for deciding what to promote—and how do you manage those promos once you’ve picked them?
Do you go by seasonality? Inventory levels? Margins? Just vibes?

Would love to hear what works for your business!

[DinaLRosenberg]

We go by vibes- but do try to keep it seasonal.

The summer solstice is coming up so we have a silent auction happening virtually on instagram stories. We post photos and the starting bid is at least 50% off- we add new products each day and bidders learn what they win when bidding closes.

[JUYBoutique20]

Great question!!! I definitely do seasonal sales, but I want to start having like promos on categories.  So, one week I might have a dress promo then another week do a jean promo.  Not necessarily a sale, but gift with purchases would be fun.

[DinaLRosenberg]

sometimes we offer enter to win with purchase. So for example you spend a certain amount of money- you get entered to win a gift basket, etc.

[Bronze_Palms]

Love this question! My team will help me decide what to do.

It sounds like you're in retail for pet products so maybe you can break up your inventory by category then rotate categories over the 12 month period. For example: 

1. Food & Treats
2. Toys
3. Collars & Leashes
4. Bedding
5. Cleaning Products
6. Health/Wellness

Then you can rotate a promo for them every 6 months. It will give you something to focus on during your monthly newsletters and get people back into the shop for wellness products that go to you specifically for toys, for example!

A great promo we ran in the salon a few months ago was Buy 1 product, get 1 25% off! This really only means each product was 12.5% off, assuming they were both the same price.

Hope that helps!!