How is changing infrastructure going to affect your business

The Commonwealth Games continue to shake up the Gold Coast region as it prepares for the 70 incoming nations and territories. For many, the prospect of hosting such a popular event is exciting, but it also has the potential to be a tax on local business owners. 

Alterations in infrastructure 

According to the Gold Coast Bulletin, the area is expected to have six million extra people through the city over the 11 days that the event runs in April. To keep things in order, roads from Hope Island to Coolangatta will have lanes dedicated to the Games only.

These lanes will include signs and signal changes to ensure athletes don't get stuck in traffic jams, causing them to miss their game. In addition, business owners are being asked to keep their staff and customers off of the main roads. 

These changes are going to affect over 350 business owners as these new routes could impact everything from delivery operations to the amount of customers going through the door. There will be over 27km of roads that are closed to general traffic which reduces the amount of eyes on your storefront, or might deter customers from going out of their way to get to your shop. As a result, businesses may not receive the increase in sales that they thought they might from the Games. Instead, sales might actually decline. 

How can you make sure it's business as usual? 

It is in business owners' best interest to stock up on shipments prior to the games getting started. This will require an analysis of inventory stocks to see what products will most likely run out with crowds. Of course, part of this is predictive analytics to identify what products the tourists (or athletes, even) will want so you can stock up on that, and attract customers. Try to tailor your storefront so it is Games themed, and even consider hosting an event like a sports themed paint night or healthy cooking course to bring patrons to you. 

In addition, stores will need to bring it with the bargains and the creative advertising. Easy ways to promote sales are via social media and the use of hash tags. When people are searching Commonwealth Games hash tags (something as simple as #CommonwealthGames2018) could give your store the online visibility it needs to entice both locals and tourists to go out of their way to visit you. 

If you have any questions about how your commercial property is going to be affected by these changes, contact our team here at Ray White Surfers Paradise.