Patchogue retailers got together Tuesday night to face a challenge not uncommon for downtown areas in the 21st century.
That is, the challenge of getting more people out shopping.
The heart of the issue was identified as such: Patchogue Village is becoming a place where people go for a specific thing — whether to eat, see a show, or run a quick errand — and then leave.
Solutions to the myriad problems that were identified Tuesday night at the BrickHouse Brewery ran the gamut.
Below are some of the ideas and suggestions:
- Do a better job of letting people know all Patchogue Village parking lots are free before 6 p.m.
- Team up to circulate one another’s posts on social media. (Think of likes and shares.)
- Shift the overall retail focus to attracting one specific type of product, like with NYC’s diamond district.
- Get more business to participate in the designated sidewalk sale days.
- Collaborate more often with the New Village at Patchogue complex to more effectively market to its residents.
- Distribute downtown-only flyers or coupon books similar to what you might find at Tanger.
- Create a widely distributed promotional video showcasing existing retail options.
- Improve lighting in the parking lots and North and South Ocean Avenue.
- Offer coupons in downtown stores that could be redeemed in the other stores.
- Team up on keeping later hours to create a critical mass of nighttime shopping options for people.
- Somehow carve out spaces in larger buildings to make them more suitable for retail.
