Dear retailers,

The Sew HQ team fully appreciates the challenging trading conditions created by this year’s COVID-19 pandemic, particularly for independent stores. It’s great that shops have finally reopened, and the good news for fabric and haberdashery stores is that interest in sewing and other needlecrafts has grown hugely during the lockdown period. As things gradually return to normal, Sewing Week is just the thing to give stores a much-needed boost and help them make the most of the festive season. We know that hosting a Sewing Week event is more challenging this year, so the Sew HQ team has put together some suggestions for ways you can maximise your event while still staying within the safety guidelines:

➤ Encourage customers to register prior to the event using a time slot booking system with contact details for track and trace

➤ Include virtual and online elements as part of the celebration. Online elements could include: discounts/flash sales/competitions on your website which can be promoted via your social media pages. Customers may also be able to take advantage of any in-store promotions/offers/sales you may be running for Sewing Week via telephone orders, mail orders and via your social media channels

➤ Email mascot patterns and other Sewing Week patterns to customers instead of providing print-outs

➤ Run a ‘Find the Elephant’ hunt. Create a competition where an image is hidden on a page of your website (e.g. our felt elephant mascot) and if a customer finds it and reveals where it is they get a special discount code to use. It’s an opportunity to build engagement and provide an exciting twist to your event online

➤ Experiment with video content - virtual tours of the store or new product roundups so that customers are kept informed of the latest ranges, with relevant links to allow for easy purchase. This could include Facebook/Instagram lives recording the celebrations so that customers can virtually check in to see what offers/promotions are available

➤ Begin pre-promoting the event on all store/workshop calendars and customer newsletters. Set up Sewing Week Facebook groups and regularly encourage your in-store customers to sign up

➤ Encourage customer ‘ambassadors’ to spread the word on your behalf - this might be regular visitors to your shop

➤ Keep the editorial team at Sew magazine in touch with your initiatives allowing us to further promote via our social media channels nearer the event

➤ Provide free samples of fabric to avoid customers touching products they do not intend to buy

All retailers hosting Sewing Week events must ensure that they adhere to government guidelines on COVID-19 safety. A link to the relevant guidelines can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-coronavirus-covid-19/shops-and-branches

Kind regards,

The Sew HQ Team