Key Points:
Transforming drops in dining room numbers by boosting delivery sales.
Embracing the 2025 arctic blast by offering meal deals, cozy cuisine, and door-to-door incentives.
Tapping into the post-season NFL frenzy by promoting shareable dishes, gameday bundles, and TV-watching essentials.
Every year, as the holidays end and the new year begins, many businesses experience a post-holiday season slump. As frigid temperatures cause in-person dining to take a winter break, this year’s record-breaking arctic conditions could prove to be advantageous for restaurant delivery.
As extreme winter weather coincides with post-season football, restaurants can re-energize delivery sales and ice-out the post-holiday slump.
5 Ways to Stump the Post-Holiday Slump
1. Embrace Arctic Appeal
Cold weather can be a strong motivator for customers to stay in and order food delivery. Leverage this with marketing campaigns that focus on the convenience and comfort of hot, delicious meals delivered straight to their doors.
Cold-Weather Cures: Promote cozy comfort foods like soups, stews, pasta, and hot sandwiches.
Snow Day Deals: Offer snow days discounts or free delivery during extreme weather days.
Mercury-Based Discounts: Tie discounts to the thermometer, (i.e., 15% off when temps drop below 15 degrees.)
Hot Drink Pairings: Include a free hot beverage with pre-set amount delivery orders.
2. Tap into Football Fever
The NFL playoffs bring people together, making it the perfect time to promote shareable game-day dishes and TV-watching essentials.
Touchdown Bundles: Feature group-friendly items like wings, sliders, and nachos.
Halftime Warm-Ups: Offer exclusive deals on pizza, appetizers, and desserts.
Winning Discounts: Provide a next-day discount if the local team advances in the playoffs.
Watch Party Essentials: Offer platters or catering deals perfect for hosting at-home tailgate parties.
Collaborate with Teams and Influencers: Partner with local sports bars or social media influencers to promote your playoff specials.
Sponsor Local Sports: Drive community support and brand visibility by sponsoring local kids' sports teams or leagues.
3. Unify Strategies
Consolidate offerings that ignite excitement for the playoffs with cold-weather comfort. Create catchy taglines and hashtags to promote your unified campaign across social media.
Inspiration:
Blizzard Bowl Bundles
Football Frenzy Fuel
Wildcard Weekend Winners
Deep Freeze Pizza
Touchdown Tacos
Gridiron Grills
4. Level-Up the Delivery Experience
Cold weather demands an exceptional delivery experience to ensure customers come back season-after-season. Focus on quality packaging, timely deliveries, and reliability.
Tips:
Insulated Packaging: Invest in high quality packaging that keeps food hot and beverages warm.
Timely Deliveries: Guarantee delivery times, especially during game days, by offering pre-ordering.
Get the Word Out: Highlight your ability to deliver even in adverse weather conditions on social media.
5. Boost Audience Engagement
Engaging with your audience can amplify your reach and create a loyal customer following.
Ideas for Fan Engagement:
Photo Contests: Ask customers to share images of their game-day spreads for a chance to win free meals or future discounts.
Trivia Challenges: Offer rewards for correct answers to football-related trivia questions.
Game Predictions: Engage followers with team predictions and polls, offering small rewards for participants. Award discounts to those who correctly guess game outcomes, over-under scores, or quarter-by-quarter stats.
Weather Alerts: Use email and social media to alert customers about upcoming cold-weather specials.
Playoff Engagement: Share behind-the-scenes clips of your kitchen preparing game-day orders to spark customer interest.
2025 Wildcard Weekend Schedule
Wild Card Weekend kicks off in Houston and concludes in Los Angeles with the opening round beginning with the Houston Texans hosting the Los Angeles Chargers on Saturday 1/11/2025 at 4:30 p.m. ET on CBS.
Saturday, Jan. 11
Los Angeles Chargers at Houston Texans, 4:30 p.m. ET (CBS, Paramount+)
Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens, 8 p.m. ET (Prime Video)
Sunday, Jan. 12
Denver Broncos at Buffalo Bills, 1 p.m. ET (CBS, Paramount+)
Green Bay Packers at Philadelphia Eagles, 4:30 p.m. ET (FOX, FOX Deportes)
Washington Commanders at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 8 p.m. ET (NBC, Peacock, Universo)
Monday, Jan. 13
Minnesota Vikings at Los Angeles Rams, 8 p.m. ET (ESPN/ABC/ESPN+/ ESPN Deportes, ESPN2/ESPN+)
FAQs
Why do sales drop after the holiday season?
Customers tend to cut back on spending after the holidays to recover from seasonal expenses and holiday exhaistion, with many people focusing on saving money or eating healthier, which may shift purchasing habits.
How does cold weather impact business during this period?
Harsh weather conditions may deter customers from dining out, reducing foot traffic. Though delivery orders may increase, logistical challenges like road conditions or staffing can impact operations.
How can I encourage customers to order delivery despite the cold?
Offer incentives like free or reduced delivery fees for orders during specific times. Create "meal deals" or family-style bundles that make dining at home easier, cozier, and more appealing.
Can post-season football help my business?
Yes! Post-season football is an opportunity to offer game-day specials, cater watch parties, and create themed menu items. Run promotions during games to drive orders, such as discounts for every touchdown.
How do I manage staff during the slow season?
Adjust staffing levels to match demand during peak delivery times. Cross-train employees to fill in for multiple roles as needed.
Take Away
With cozy cuisine, timely delivery, and engaging promotions, your restaurant can stump the post-holiday slump. By aligning your marketing strategy with extreme weather conditions and the NFL playoff season, restaurants can transform a slow season into a season of opportunity.
By Eileen Strauss
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