For many Erie Businesses, summer means adjusting inventory, planning ahead and preparing for an increase in foot traffic.
While every industry experiences the season differently, owners said the warmer months can have a major impact on sales.
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“We start to get a lot of folks from out of town that come to visit, book tourism is huge around the country, so you have people that go to visit a small city, or they go somewhere and stop at the bookstore and so they come to see us, which is really great,” Kyle Churman, a co-owner of Werner Books & Coffee, said.
The local businesses that we spoke to said they are looking at trends from previous years to see what they need for the upcoming summer.
“Usually, we look at end of summer, we’re like, ‘oh man, we sold a lot more air conditioners this year, lawnmower sales are down because they’re expensive, but we’re doing a lot more parts.’ Because people are looking to fix things instead of replace things,” Owen Nowosielski, General Manager of Kraus Department store, said.
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“Local Erie books are always super popular, especially the Erie true crime books; those ones are some of our best sellers all year round. But especially when people come in from out of town,” Churman said.
Both businesses said summer is one of the busiest times of the year, with both planning for it months in advance.
“We planned for this summer last fall, so hoses, all the yard equipment, the seeds, air conditioners, all that stuff. My cousin and I, we ordered it before Christmas,” Nowosielski said.
Business owners said preparation now can make all the difference as summer events, tourism and home improvement projects ramp up across the region.
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