This past year was a good one for gun store owners, and after some new legislation, the future is looking bright for them as well. The Supreme Court’s June 23, 2022 decision in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen deemed the State of New York’s restriction on carrying a concealed weapon in public unconstitutional. This decision forced states to honor Second Amendment rights and will bring new customers to gun stores in 2023.

As a gun store owner, you can use some of these ideas to draw new and existing customers into your shop. 

Bring customers to you.

Think of events you can host to attract locals to your shop. Try to get creative and do things that will generate excitement among the locals to gain maximum exposure. Some ideas can include the following.

• Host charity or political fundraisers. These events bring awareness to your shop and generate goodwill in your community. You’ll definitely create good vibes by showing your support for local charities.
• Give seminars about gun safety. You can offer beginner classes for those who are new to firearms and refresher classes for your more advanced customers. Try to bring experts to join you or give classes of their own. 
• Have a shooting competition. Offer a prize to attract contestants. The reward could be one of your products or a discount at your shop.
• Host a lady’s night out. There are lots of female gun enthusiasts out there. Many of them would appreciate a safe space to practice their skills. 
• Offer product demonstrations and training sessions and try to get manufacturers to come in and do a demonstration as well. Potential buyers will get to understand firearms and the differences between some of your products.

These events can turn your gun store into a hotspot if you offer them often regularly. In addition, some of these events will portray you as a community-minded or family-friendly business, which will make you more appealing to potential customers and set a good example of responsible gun ownership.

Build your online presence.

Make sure your shop is visible on the internet. If you don’t already have a website, now is a great time to create one. Doing so will make it easier for people to buy from you and will expand the range of your customer base. You will have to find a high-risk payment processor that offers ecommerce credit card processing to sell products online.

Depending on your location, local laws may be prohibitive about selling firearms online. That said, you could still showcase your products and services to generate interest and have people come to your physical location to make an actual purchase.

Once you have a website up and running, you can get people to sign up for newsletters and create a following you can send emails to. You can also link your site to Facebook and other social media accounts and even do some social media advertising or push-out promotions to help you develop more of an audience.

Become a subject matter expert.

Though gun shop owners typically know all about firearms, you can stand out in the crowd by publishing content that will establish you as a subject matter expert. Create a blog that talks about the latest gun laws, products, safety, or any other topic that might interest gun owners and enthusiasts. Then, when readers come across your posts, they’ll be more likely to choose you over the competition.

Offer credit card processing for firearms.

Offering firearm credit card processing would be a great benefit for your potential customers. Between the cost of a gun, ammunition, and accessories, purchasing a firearm can get costly. Therefore, buyers will appreciate not having to lay out all that cash.

Though not every processor offers gun store credit card processing, there are companies that would be happy to have you as a customer. Humboldt Merchant Services can put you in touch with high-risk payment processors. If you’re looking for a firearm payment processor, contact us online or call us at 877.387.5642. One of our representatives will be happy to help you.