Small store owners in the U.S. say that the biggest impediments to undertaking marketing and promotional activity during the holiday season are lack of time and a dearth of ideas. That finding, detailed in a new survey from Vistaprint, suggests that promo products distributors who provide creative ideas and efficient project management and fulfillment can score sales with small, independent retailers eager to stand out. 

Admittedly, such sales might not be huge in dollars; the survey found small store owners in America spend an average of $560 on marketing their businesses during the holiday period. Still, savvy distributors that conceive winning campaigns could possibly expand that spend, as there’s a deep, compelling need for stores to thrive during the holidays – something good marketing can clearly help achieve. As the survey noted, 40% of surveyed owners said that a bad holiday season will cause them to struggle over the next 12 months, while nearly one-third (29%) indicated that the survival of their business in 2018 depends on holiday season revenue. Some 56% of respondents to the survey, which polled 500 Main Street businesses, said that they find it difficult to compete with large retailers during this time of year. 

According to the study, 81% of small store owners plan on decorating their storefronts this season. Besides storefront decoration, the top marketing activities small store owners plan to undertake are promotional offers or discounts (64%) and themed social media posts or campaigns (44%). Again, consultative distributors can potentially shift some of that spend to promotional products by demonstrating to prospective small store clients the cost-effective efficacy of promo items. Data from ASI’s Ad Impressions Study could help with talking points. 

Vistaprint, an online provider of promotional products and other marketing materials for businesses, is owned by Cimpress (asi/162149), which Counselor ranks as the eighth largest distributor in the industry based on estimated 2016 North American promotional product sales of $225 million.