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Giving customers an opportunity to handle high-price firearms or those portrayed in box office hits can lead to a sale — even if it’s not until several months down the road. Inside the May issue of Shooting Industry, dealers suggest high-end firearms offer a way for stores to stand out from the competition and serve as a sales magnet to get customers in the door.
“They may not buy one today, but they’ll remember you when they’re more financially ready,” lends Dan Hartman, owner of Maryland Elite Firearms in “High-End Appeal.” “Just getting to hold one plants the seed.”
If it wasn’t already obvious, red dots are red hot! Bryan Hendricks’ “Adding Value: Accessories Accent Handgun Market” highlights the lucrative market for add-on sales of red dots, triggers, barrels lights and more to handgun customers looking for ways to enhance and customize their shooting experience.
Other points of interest in the May issue include “Training Today: Instructors & Programs Adapt To Changing Times” by Shannon Farlow. He examines how instructors and ranges have navigated the turbulence of ammo shortages, the surge of millions of new gun owners and what the future of training looks like with insights from four instructors. Summer is nearly here, and with it the seasonal competition with Mother Nature to lure customers into stores. In “Don’t Sweat It,” Carolee Anita Boyles reveals ways stores tailor inventory, training and events to ensure steady summertime sales and traffic.
Global events are impacting defensive needs in the U.S. In the Personal Defense Market column, Massad Ayoob warns dealers, “There are events and influences in play which could create another ammo drought as bad as the last one, or worse.” FMG Digital Content Editor Ashley McGee aims to dispel “7 Common Misconceptions About Female Shooters” in the Arms & The Woman column. As detailed by Carolee Anita Boyles in Best Practices, there are ways for dealers to get more out of selling guns online as firearm sales continue to soar. A recent Letter to the Editor about wholesalers treating home-based FFLs like pariahs struck a nerve among SI readers. In the Industry Link column, Editor Jade Moldae shares thoughts on the topic from several home-based dealers and brick-and-mortar storeowners.
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CONTACT: JADE MOLDAE