Well, memorial day has come and gone which means summer is unofficially here. As a product based business owner you already know the shift that comes with the season… traffic slows down, people are distracted, and a lot of your customers are mentally somewhere between a beach and a backyard barbecue.
The good news is that with every change of a season means a fresh new way to talk about your products, to mix up your marketing, and to have a little bit of fun, so today we’re going through a quick hit list of ways to marketing and reposition your products for the summer season.
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How to Reframe Your Product Messaging for Summer
One of the easiest ways help your product stand out this summer is to change the way you talk about it. Ask yourself – what problem does my product solve specifically in the summer, or how might my customer use this product this season – because the answer in June might be different than October.
Think about what your customer’s life actually looks like right now. Maybe they’re traveling, maybe their kids are home and their routine is completely blown up, they might be entertaining more, attending more events and parties, or just spending more time outside.
So what does that mean for your messaging? A jewelry brand might shift from “everyday wear” to “vacation accessories” or “your new beach stack.” A skincare brand stops talking about dry winter skin and starts talking about sun exposure, sweat, and humidity. A home goods brand that was selling cozy and curl up on the couch vibes in February pivots to outdoor entertaining, hosting, and easy summer tablescapes. A fitness or wellness brand leans into the “I actually have time to take care of myself this summer” energy.
Same product. Different story.
Why Your Summer Visuals Matter (and How to Update Them Fast)
Just as important as the words you use are the images you show. From colors to context, your imagery it’s what pulls people in, and it’s worth it to give them a refresh.
From your home page banner and best selling product photos, to your emails and social media. You want them all feel like summer. Think bright, think outdoor, think summer context. That could mean your jewelry at a rooftop dinner, your skincare sitting on a beach towel, your home goods on an outdoor dining table.
And this doesn’t require a full photoshoot. Snap a few photos with your iPhone in natural light, pull graphics you used from previous years (no one will remember) and if you’re an AI user, check out Shopify’s free app Tinker or ChatGPT updated image generator. Its output has gotten way better.
How to Create a Summer Collection Without Launching New Products
Even if you’re not launching anything new, curation is marketing. Pull together a collection of your products that make sense for summer – things that are great for travel, for outdoor entertaining, for gifting, for the beach – and give it a name. A summer edit, a vacation collection, a hot girl summer bundle – whatever fits your brand voice.
And don’t be afraid to think outside the box a bit here. People will think of your product the way you tell them to, so even if something isn’t traditionally thought of for the season or a specific use case, just you presenting it that way can make all the difference.
There’s a great PR example Nora of Wolf Craft used with one of her clients who made leather tassels. When she was pitching that client for gift guides, she pitched the tassel as something to use on your luggage so it’s easy to spot on the carousel.
Which Summer Gifting Occasions Product Businesses Should Target
Graduations, weddings, birthdays — oh my! There are so many gifting occasions packed into the summer months. July and August are actually the highest birth months of the year (no surprise there), not to mention Father’s Day, hostess gifts, teacher gifts, and what feels like a never-ending wedding season.
Make sure you call these occasions out explicitly in your marketing and curate collections to match. Don’t make your customers do the mental work of figuring out what makes a great gift for what – tell them.
Should You Change Your Posting and Email Schedule for Summer?
Summer schedules are different and your customer’s behavior is likely to reflect that. The best thing you can do is pull your website and email data from last summer and see what if any changes there were. Instead of peaking on Sunday evenings, you might find Tuesdays to be a higher volume day. If evenings are typically when your customer shops with you in the fall, mornings might be more popular in the summer.
Depending on how long you’ve been in business and how disciplined you are with your marketing, you might not see any shift at all because you’ve already trained your customer through that consistency.
Either way, you data will know.
You might also want to consider increasing your email frequency over the summer. I know, it sounds weird to do that when summer months are typically slower for retail. But that’s exactly the reason to do it. If you thought people weren’t paying attention to you September – May, they’re really not paying attention to you June – August. The more times you show up, the better chance you have of making a connection.
What Type of Social Content Works Best in Summer
If you are using social media in your marketing strategy, now is a great time to lean into short-form content. People are on their phones at the pool, on vacation, waiting for their kid’s camp pickup. They’re browsing, not researching. Lower the bar for yourself and meet them where they are.
Short Reels, quick TikToks, a single product photo with a punchy caption — this is not the season to be churning out long educational carousels or highly produced content. Show the product in a summer moment, keep it fun, keep it fast. Behind the scenes, a quick demo, a this-or-that, a day in the life.
The bonus here is that lighter content is also easier to make, so if your content creation has felt like a slog lately, summer is basically giving you permission to simplify.
How to Create Buying Urgency in Summer Without Running a Sale
While there are plenty of opportunities to have a “summer sale” you don’t need to slash prices to get people to buy… you just need to give them a reason to act now.
This could be limited summer bundles, low stock callouts for season favorites, or just creating FOMO and positioning your product as their summer must-have.
How to Use Your Rewards Program to Drive Summer Sales
Your most loyal customers are your lowest hanging fruit — they already know you, they already love you, and they just need a reason to come back. Summer is a great time to give them one.
If you have a rewards program, run a bonus points event. Offer double or triple points for purchases made during a specific window and make sure you’re actually telling people about it. A dedicated email to your rewards members, a mention in your regular campaigns, a pop-up on your site. A lot of people are sitting on points they’ve completely forgotten about and a simple reminder is sometimes all it takes to get them back to your store.
How Brick-and-Mortar and Pop-Up Sellers Can Win in Summer
If you have a brick and mortar, do pop-ups, or are in a tourist area, summer is your season to show up in person. Farmers markets, local community events, street fairs — people are out, they’re in a good mood, and they’re spending. Getting in front of them where they already are is one of the easiest ways to drive awareness and sales without any kind of digital strategy.
And if you sell something that doesn’t travel well (think fragile, bulky, or liquid) make sure your shipping options are front and center for the tourists and visitors who discover you in person but can’t take it with them. Don’t let logistics be the reason you lose a sale.
The Right Way to Clear Out Old Inventory Before Summer Starts
If you’ve got products that have been sitting around since the fall or winter and are collecting dust on your shelves, this is literally your last chance to move them. Honestly, the best time to do that was before memorial day, but the next best time is right now.
Don’t be stingy with your markdown, go direct to 30% off at a minimum and run a flash sale this upcoming weekend to move through as much as you can.
And that my friends is a wrap on your summer marketing playbook. The big takeaway here is that summer isn’t something to survive, it’s just a different season with different opportunities, and a little bit of intentional repositioning goes a long way.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How do I market my products differently in summer?
Start by reframing your existing products for summer context — ask yourself how your customer’s life looks different right now and what problem your product solves specifically in this season. Update your messaging to reflect summer moments like travel, outdoor entertaining, and gifting occasions. You don’t need new products; you just need a different story.
Should I run a summer sale or discount my products?
You don’t need to discount to drive summer sales. Instead, create urgency through limited summer bundles, low stock callouts on seasonal favorites, and FOMO-driven positioning that frames your product as a summer must-have. If you have a rewards program, activating it with bonus points during a specific window is another way to drive purchases without cutting your margins.
How often should I email my list during the summer?
Consider increasing your email frequency rather than pulling back. Summer is when customers are most distracted, which means showing up more often — not less — actually improves your odds of making a connection. Pull your email data from last summer to see if your audience’s open and click patterns shifted, and adjust your send days and times accordingly.
What summer gifting occasions should eCommerce stores focus on?
Summer is packed with gifting moments: graduations, Father’s Day, weddings, hostess gifts, teacher gifts, and birthdays (July and August are statistically the highest birth months of the year). Make sure you’re calling these occasions out explicitly in your marketing and curating collections that match each one — don’t make your customers do the mental work of figuring out what fits.
Do I need a new product photoshoot for summer?
No. A few iPhone shots in natural light, graphics repurposed from previous years, or AI tools like Shopify’s free Tinker app or ChatGPT’s image generator can update your visuals without the cost or time of a full photoshoot. The goal is to give your home page banner, product photos, emails, and social content a summer feel — bright, outdoor, contextual.
What should I do with products that haven’t sold since fall or winter?
Right now is your last real window to move slow or stale inventory before writing it off. Go straight to 30% off at minimum and run a flash sale this weekend. Don’t be conservative with the markdown — the goal is to clear shelf space and recoup cash, not protect the margin on something that isn’t moving anyway.
