What’s a curbside sale?

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Curbside sales are outdoor events where retailers sell off-season merchandise outside their stores. Clothing, book, and gift shops are common participants, while electronics and luxury goods retailers typically do not participate due to security concerns. Curbside sales are popular with customers looking for bargains and can help retailers attract new customers and clear out seasonal stock. These sales can be annual, biannual, or one-time events and may feature additional attractions like face painting and prize draws.

A curbside sale is an outdoor sales event that retailers hold to get rid of off-season merchandise. In curbside sales, merchandise is always placed outside the store. Since the exterior entrance to most stores has traditionally been off a sidewalk, this is where the sale’s name originates. Curbside sales can be annual, biannual, or one-time events. A sidewalk sale is usually held in the summer months.

Any type of retail business can have a curbside sale. In general, however, clothing stores, book stores, and gift shops are among the retailers most likely to have these types of sales. Electronics and luxury goods retailers usually don’t sell sidewalks because their products are expensive and can be easy to steal if placed outdoors away from the store’s security cameras. The only security a small sidewalk sale can have is a cashier looking out of the store window. Some may have a table set up outside with a till to make change, but many of these street sales are set up for customers to pay for their purchases inside the store.

A curbside sale for a clothing retailer could be as simple as several racks of clothes and a few dumpsters of accessories, all discounted between 50% and 75% off. A bookstore’s curbside sale may feature shelves of books organized by discounted prices, such as a rack marked two books for the price of one. Some curbside sales can involve an entire mall or shopping center.

Customers usually like curbside sales because they can look for bargains without having to enter the store. Sidewalk sales are also convenient for people who walk dogs or push babies in strollers. They boast retailers by enabling them to attract new customers as items outside the store attract attention. Having a curbside sale is also a great way for retailers to keep repeat customers happy as seasonal stock can be cut back by large quantities. Retailers can advertise the sale in advance in local newspapers.

Stores often need space for fall and winter items, so summer is a great time to mark items that haven’t sold. Some curbside sales may also feature back-to-school bargains. Events like face painting and prize draws can help attract customers to a sidewalk sale.




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