Grand Final Eve: The Public Holiday Challenge for Small Business Retailers
Today is a public holiday in Victoria. Grand Final Eve. A day off so we can all get ready for the football.
I’ll leave the debate about whether it should exist to others but note that Victoria’s small businesses fund a holiday for an event that has not yet happened.
Okay, I can’t leave the debate. I think this public holiday is stupid, not warranted. It was brought in as an election stunt, and of course people voted for it. Ugh! Small business retailers carry the cost, especially those where most of what they sell is at prices not under their control.
If you run a shop in Victoria, today is about a simple piece of arithmetic. Public holiday penalty rates apply. That means the day has to earn its keep.
Plenty of shops find a strong morning and a dead afternoon, because by 2pm everyone is at a barbecue or the pub. If that is your pattern, trade the morning and close at lunch. There is no rule that says a public holiday is all or nothing, unless you’re in a shopping centre with such rules.
For some shops, though, this is a genuine trading day. If you are near a strip with cafes and pubs showing the build-up, there is foot traffic to serve. Cards and small gifts for hosts. Snacks and drinks if you range them. Balloons, team colours, anything celebration. The theme of the day is gathering, and gathering is a retail occasion. Lean into it in the window this week, not on the day.
Interstate readers, you have a different opportunity. Your Victorian suppliers and reps go quiet on Friday, but your customers do not. Saturday itself is a big one for last-minute party purchases everywhere the game is watched.
If you are closed today, like plenty will be, I hope you’ve adjusted hours on Google, posted about it on your socials and put a sign in your window. The quickest way to burn goodwill is a customer standing at a locked door wondering why.
Whatever you decide, decide it from your own numbers rather than habit. That is the whole game, on holidays and every other day.
Enjoy the football. Carn the underdogs.