Capturing out of hours trade
Half of merchant demand now lands when the branch is closed. If no one answers, it walks. Here is how to turn closed hours into a selling channel.
The rhythm of the trade has changed. Builders price jobs in the evening, self builders research at the weekend, and site teams order first thing before the counter opens. On a live Otis deployment, 52 percent of revenue and 54 percent of cart adds happened outside staffed hours. That is not a rounding error. It is most of the demand.
Why closed hours leak revenue
When an enquiry arrives at 7pm and the first response is a call back the next morning, the customer has already moved on. Speed wins the trade, and a merchant that is only reachable nine to five is competing with national chains that never close.
What good looks like
- An instant, accurate answer at any hour, grounded in live stock and pricing.
- A basket built and ready, so the customer can buy the moment they decide.
- Clean orders waiting for the team in the morning, with no re typing.
- Trade accounts captured overnight rather than lost to a competitor.
How Otis handles it
Otis runs every hour of the week. It answers product questions, quotes from a photo or a list, checks what you hold and prices it for the account. Out of hours enquiries become out of hours orders, and the branch wakes up to revenue rather than a voicemail.
More than half of the value Otis created happened when the branch was closed.
The lesson is simple. The demand is already there in the evenings and at weekends. The only question is whether you are open to receive it.
See what Otis would capture for you
Book a strategic call and we will model it against your own numbers.