By the time February comes to an end we will have made it through two-thirds of the winter season. You know what that means: spring is just around the corner. And with spring comes an up-tick in sales of fashion sunglasses. That is the cycle of the business we are in. If you want to make the most of spring, now is time to start thinking about your marketing plans for the next few months.

Those of us in the eyewear business know that sunglasses have year-round utility. But there is something about spring that encourages customers to go out and buy a new pair. Maybe it is just getting out of the house, or perhaps it is the thought of increasingly longer days with warmer temperatures and more sunshine. At any rate, you have to be prepared for it.

A Great Time for Color

Spring is a great time to present customers with a variety of bold color choices. You may have invested quite a bit in bulk black sunglasses over the winter, and for good reason, but spring is the time for gold, yellow, blue, and even hot pink. We recommend setting up a couple of displays designed to present customers with color.

Creating something with a spring theme helps a lot. For example, yellow sunglasses fit nicely with floral arrangements that include lilies and daisies. The colors of spring just seem to work very well with the boldest fashion sunglasses in our inventory.

Do an Easter Promotion

Displaying your colors also works well with an Easter promotion. During the few weeks surrounding the Easter holiday, marketers are quick to add pastel splashes to their presentations. You can do the same thing. But do not neglect to tie it all together with some sort of Easter theme.

You might market sunglasses alongside new Easter hats, for example. Perhaps you could create Easter baskets for the kids filled with appropriate items like sunblock, sand toys, and the latest pair of wayfarers appropriately sized for smaller faces. There are as many ideas for Easter baskets as your imagination can come up with.

Create a BOGO for the Ladies

The ladies are more inclined to go shopping for new wardrobe items in the spring than men, so capitalize on this. A great way to do so is to offer a buy one get one (BOGO) offer. Retail customers love that sort of thing. If you don't want to go straight BOGO, you can offer a percentage discount instead. For example, buy one pair at full price and get a second pair at 50% off.

You could also consider a combination offer. This sort of promotion works well if you sell other items alongside sunglasses. Perhaps your boutique also carries hats and handbags as well. Create three-item combo packages with special sale prices.

Create a Giveaway Incentive

One final idea is to create a giveaway incentive. You might base it on summer activities like going to the beach or playing golf. Every customer who visits your store can enter his or her name in the drawing set to take place in early June – just before summer starts in earnest. You'll have all spring to collect names in anticipation of the big day.

Yes indeed, spring is just around the corner. So even though you may still have snow in your parking lot and a bit of frost on the windshield in the morning, winter is gradually coming to a close. It will not be long before your customers are looking for new fashion sunglasses for the spring. So start thinking about spring promos now.