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Is the Solar Eclipse a Bright Opportunity for Retail?
Wegmans announced plans to close 48 of its 111 stores for 30 minutes during the total solar eclipse on April 8 so its employees can witness the celestial phenomenon. Other stores are looking at the event as a sales opportunity.
Wegmans’ stores in upstate New York and Erie, Pennsylvania, situated within or close to the path of the eclipse, will close from 3 to 3:30 p.m. All services at the locations, including pharmacy and Meals2Go pickup, will be unavailable.
“The opportunity to experience a total solar eclipse comes once in a lifetime, and we don’t want our employees to miss out,” Patrick Bourcy, Wegmans’ regional manager, said in a statement. “We appreciate all that our employees do to help our customers prepare for and enjoy events like this, and in return, we welcome the opportunity to make this a celebratory and memorable occasion for them.”
On Monday, April 8, the moon’s shadow will sweep across the U.S., allowing millions to view a total solar eclipse for the first time since 2017. According to NASA, the differences in the path of totality and timing could make the total eclipse even more brilliant, exciting, and accessible than in 2017. The next solar eclipse also won’t happen until 2044.
From a sales perspective, many websites, including Amazon.com, are selling solar viewing glasses or handheld solar viewers. Warby Parker and Natural Grocers will be handing out free eclipse glasses.
Stores alongside the path of totality — a 115-mile-wide track where the moon will completely block the sun for up to 4 minutes and 28 seconds — are expected to see a surge in traffic from eclipse seekers that will offer a major sales opportunity.
The path will extend from Texas to Maine, reaching major cities like Buffalo, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Austin, and Dallas. Hotels and airlines are luring visitors looking to see the total eclipse with special packages, and local bars and restaurants in cities along the route are staging watch parties.
The hype around the infrequent spectacle also poses risks as retailers potentially face blame for shortages of basic supplies. Four states — Ohio, Indiana, Oklahoma, and Texas — have urged residents to stock up on groceries and gas and to fill medical prescriptions in the days leading up to the eclipse, as traffic is expected to overwhelm local roads.
In Texas, Kerr County Judge Kelly issued a disaster declaration for the weekend before the eclipse, warning residents that a surge in out-of-towners could “cause extreme traffic congestion on our roadways, place an enormous strain on our first responders and hospital systems, drain our food and fuel supplies and strain our city and county infrastructure to, quite possibly, overcapacity.”
Discussion Questions
What unique opportunities and challenges will the solar eclipse offer to retailers?
What do you think of Wegmans’ move to temporarily close its stores so employees can enjoy the celestial event?
What advice would you have for stores within or close to the path of the eclipse?
Poll
Loading …BrainTrust
Neil Saunders
Managing Director, GlobalData
Nikki Baird
VP of Strategy, Aptos
Sure, the eclipse will drive some spending – mostly tourist and travel spending as people attend events. I guess spending on things like solar glasses will also see a boost. But overall, and in the context of wider spending trends, this is a very limited opportunity.
As for stocking up on groceries – has the world gone mad?!
What advice would you have for stores within or close to the path of the eclipse?
Uhm: Carry on and Sell calmly ?
(Can’t wait for Monday, if this is a real story!)
The solar eclipse offers retailers a chance for increased sales and foot traffic, but also presents challenges like shortages and congestion. Wegmans’ choice to close stores for employees reflects a caring culture. Nearby retailers should stock up, prepare for foot traffic, and manage logistics.
Why would you need to stock up on groceries for a 30 minute event? If I were a retailer I’d be more worried about the quality of the glasses being sold in my store. This is one area you can’t afford to mess up.
Thank you! Reason prevails.
Good for Wegman’s, which is voted one of the best companies to work for every year. This type of thinking is why.
Lunar eclipse? Been there, done that. I suggest today’s hype will absolutely surpass the experience.
Partial eclipses are common as you said. I believe it’s because most of the eclipse will be visible in North America during the day this time vs in non-inhabited areas or other parts of the world. Many of the cities along the path of totality are in the US and Canada. My area is quite close to the path so I will likely drive nearby to see it since the next total eclipse in my area is in another 400 years.
Adorama, B&H Camera, Skies Unlimited… a few retailers will, or I suspect already have, experienced the boom that will come from the eclipse.
Drugstores, convenience stores, and mass merchants in the path of the totality might do well to have some approved viewing sunglasses. By some, I mean a few. After the event, these things are deader than dead.
And foil. Lots of foil for hat making.
For the rest of us, this will be an amazing experience—just not one we need to gear up for.
Well, the natural skepticism aside for anything that comes on April 1, I will engage with this in genuine fashion. It’s a very narrow band of opportunity, though even where the eclipse is 40-50%, it’ll be noteworthy. But I have a friend who lives in Hillsboro, TX, and she is vacating the premises. While the eclipse itself may only be 30 minutes, it is a multi-day event to drive in in enough time to get your seat. And her biggest concern is the town’s not-so-great plumbing and the enormous demand that is going to be placed on it over a 3-4 day period. So it’s not as small of a window as you may think, and I can imagine the traffic jams both going in and getting out. Retailers in the band may need to treat it more like a disaster surge than anything else. Hopefully it all runs smoothly!
Historic events spark new sales opportunities and this eclipse is an urgent limited-time offer. From viewing glasses to social watch parties at homes and restaurants, retailers along the eclipse path can capitalize on this momentous occasion.
Challenges include coordinating a campaign in time, ensuring availability and planning for a 30-minute window that will create traffic havoc before, during and after the event.
This is like a sporting event – but it’s not. Seriously, it’s a big event that creative retailers can use for a special promotion, sale, etc.
And as for Wegman’s shutting down for the hour… Congrats to them for thinking of their employees during this unique opportunity. Unlike the Super Bowl, the World Series, or the Stanley Cup, you don’t need to have a high-priced ticket to attend the “event.” You just need to have time.
Time will tell, as it always does, however I cannot envision this driving a lot of traffic. Interesting marketing campaign by Wegman’s but I think the majority of people are not even aware this is happening.
An eventful nonevent if you will.
I would suspect some people would be having a party , so there is an opportunity to stock up for that but I don’t see people rushing to the store during the event. Enjoy it because it won’t be around for long while next time.
I say close up the store, let employees and customers have fun for short while.
If it were an episode from The Office, Michael Scott would be closing his Dunder-Mifflin branch for 4 hours, from the parking lot playing The Sign by Ace of Base – aka “I Saw the Sun”, passing out cheesy t-shirts from Times Square, and mistakenly using cheap sunglasses to look into the sun.
I would consider it more of an opportunity to build brand loyalty, particularly for hospitality services. Handing out free eclipse glasses has been a great way to drive in-store traffic leading up to the eclipse too – I grabbed some of those Warby Parker glasses for my family. While it seems like fearmongering I have to say that every hotel in Niagara Falls is booked solid and there has been price gauging (major hotels cancelled customers who booked last year so they could double prices) to the point where the city declared a state of emergency as they’re expecting 1 million additional people next Monday. Whether the numbers are over-inflated or not, parking in Niagara Falls is chaotic on a normal day so I can imagine merchants along the actual path of totality will see a decent boost in sales along with the disorder