A suggestion to offer extended shopping hours in Summerland’s downtown deserves further consideration.
The idea was suggested during last week’s business walk, when representatives from municipal council and the Summerland Chamber of Commerce met with business owners and managers downtown and along Rosedale Avenue.
This is not the first time Summerland has considered offering extended shopping hours.
In December, 2011, downtown businesses offered evening shopping on Fridays and in early 2012, the Summerland Merchants’ Committee contemplated bringing back the extended Friday hours during the warmer months.
Extended shopping hours could benefit downtown businesses and customers, since offering extended hours would allow more opportunities to shop locally.
At present, a significant number of working people in Summerland have day shift jobs in other communities. Under the present structure of business hours, Saturday is the only time they can visit local businesses. Additional hours would offer additional opportunities to shop locally.
While businesses can set their own hours, a plan to extend business hours will work best if a number of businesses make the effort together. Doing so would market Summerland’s downtown as a whole. Then, when customers come to one merchant, they can easily stop at others during the same trip.
It is easy to suggest the concept of additional shopping hours, but making this idea into a reality could prove challenging.
For small businesses with limited staffing resources, additional hours are a significant undertaking. The cost of additional staffing must be considered.
However, the potential benefits should also be considered.
Additional hours could add a vibrancy to Summerland’s downtown.
